And so to September

sept23The new season starts to ramp up in September.  My month will start at Factory Theatre on the 7th with Mary Beath Badian’s The Waltz; a coming of age drama set in Saskatchewan.  That runs until the 17th.  The following night there’s a screening at the Four Seasons Centre of Atom Egoyan’s new film Seven Veils that was created in conjunction with last season’s production of Salome.  A young woman is tasked with remounting her former mentor’s production of Salome.  It stars Amanda Seyfried, Ambur Braid, Michael Schade and Michael Kupfer-Radecky.  It’s a chance to see the film ahead of the official premier at TIFF.  More details and tickets here.

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August 2023

august23August is looking less dead than it did a few days ago.  Here’s a selection of what’s on.  There’s a site specific production of Tennessee William’s Suddenly Last Summer at Sorry Studios.  That’s presented by Riot King and runs August 9th to 13th.  Hyejin Kwon has a DMA recital at Walter Hall on the 5th at 7.30pm with some interesting singers presenting various songs to texts by Goethe in a staged performance directed by Anna Theodosakis.  (Free).

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News

phantombirdVOICEBOX:Opera in Concert announced their 2023/24 season.  It’s quite interesting; three Verdi rarities:

  • Un giorno di regno on November 25th 2023
  • Ernani on February 25th 2024
  • La battaglia di Legnano on April 7th 2024

And for something completely different, Alice Ho’s The Phantom Bird of Han, performed by Symphony Nova Scotia, is now available on Youtube.  Definitely worth a listen!

Soundstreams 2023/24

soundstreams2324Soundstreams has announced the line up for the 2023/24 season.  First up, and very exciting, is The Bright Divide, which will play Nov 10th and 11th at the TD Music Hall (the new performance space at Massey Hall).  It’s a staged show, directed by Tim Albery and featuring two works inspired by the work of Mark Rothko.  There’s Morton Feldman’s Rothko Chapel for viola, timpani and choir and a new work by Cecilia Livingston; mark for viola and voice.

Electric Messiah is back.  This time it’s at Theatre Passe Muraille from December 14th to 17th.  Adam Scime is in charge again for the Messiah where you don’t know what to expect.

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July 2023

july2023So what’s coming up in July?  Let’s look first at a few late June shows I haven’t mentioned before.

  • This Saturday (17th) there’s a MAKEWAY Showcase Concert at St. George by the Grange.  It’s basically workshops of WIP including Rebecca Grey’s Bus Opera.  Tickets by donation.
  • The following Saturday, Opera by Request are presenting a concert version of Rossini’s Rarely seen Otello at College Street United Church.
  • June 22nd, 24th and 25th Toronto City Opera have a run of Die Fledermaus at the Fleck Dance Theatre.

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Opera Atelier 2023/24

Opera Atelier have announced a two show Toronto season for 2023/24.  The fall show is Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice which will play at the Elgin Theatre from October 26th to November 1st.  This is the 1774 version with Orphée sung by an haut-contre.  Colin Ainsworth should be just about ideal.  He’s partnered by Mireille Asselin, also pretty much ideal as Eurydice.  Anna Julia David sings Amour.  The orchestra is Tafelmusik and the chorus will consist of Tafelmusik Chamber Choir and the Nathaniel Dett Chorale.

4. Tenor Colin Ainsworth as Orpheus and Artists of Atelier Ballet in the Elysian Fields in Gluck's Orpheus and Eurydice. Photo by Bruce Zinger.

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June is almost upon us

june2023June is fast approaching and, as ever, it’s one of the odder months in the performance calendar.  Here’s what has caught my eye (so far).

  • June 1st to 25th at Crow’s is Alex Bulmer’s Perceptual Archaeology (Or How to Travel Blind).  This is a show for blind and sighted people about, well, travelling blind (literally).  Since blindness is my worst fear I don’t know whether I can do this one.  We’ll see.
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Back end of May

may2More May listings…

  • Sarah Porter’s L-E-A-K  opens tonight at the Theatre Centre and runs until Sunday.  It’s described as “an absurdist and poetic lesbian love letter to the ocean”.  I’m intrigued.
  • Nightwood Theatre and Tarragon Theatre are jointly presenting Fatima Adar’s She’s Not Special.  It runs at the Tarragon Theatre from May 24th to 28thHere’s the blurb… “Leave expectations at the door. We are not putting on a play, we are throwing a party. This is a concert, comedy show, and confessional all in one. Come celebrate your mediocrity with us!”
  • Soulpepper are opening a run of Athol Fugard’s 1972 classic Sizwe Banzi is Dead at the Young Centre on the 25th.  That runs until June 18th.
  • The weekend of the 26th to 28th is the Toronto Bach Festival.
  • Finally, on the 26th and 27th Confluence Concerts have a concert at Heliconian Hall called All the Diamonds.  It’s an eclectic mix of music about the night sky performed by the usual suspects.

Tapestry’s new digs

You may have been following this saga.  Basically, Artscape had a twenty year lease on a lot of space in the Distillery District which they leased out various arts organisations and studio artists, including Tapestry Opera and Nightwood Theatre; who jointly occupied the Ernest Balmer Studio and adjacent space wherein I attended many, many performances, rehearsals, workshops and so on.  It’s what made the Distillery District more than a bunch of tourist tat and over-priced restaurants. But the lease ran out and the landlord declined to renew.  Tourist tat is more lucrative than art and the Distillery District’s owners have always struggled with the idea of any purpose other than maximising profits.

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