Category Archives: Toronto theatre news

October upcoming

Posted on by
Reply

Music – concerts and opera

  • 2nd October – UoT Opera perform at noon in the RBA
  • 3rd October – Mozart’s Così fan tutte opens at the COC. Seven performances to October 18th
  • 6th October – Soundstreams present Steve Reich at 80 at Koerner Hall
  • 13th October – Tracy Dahl gives a recital at noon in the RBA
  • 15th October – Opera Atelier preview their upcoming Charpentier show in the RBA
  • 16th October – Toronto Operetta Theatre present La Grande-Duchess de Gérolstein in the Jane Mallett Theatre
  • 22nd October – Opera Atelier open The Death of Orpheus at Koerner Hall. Further shows on the 23rd and 24th
  • 29th October – Emma Nikolovska is in recital at Koerner Hall
Continue reading →

September upcoming

Posted on by
2

The season starts to ramp up a bit…

Concerts and Opera

  • September 1st at Lula Lounge, Louisa Lyne & di Yiddishe Kapelye, present Leonard Cohen in Yiddish as part of the Ashkenaz Festival.
  • September 18th is the opening of Verdi’s La Traviata at the Four Seasons Centre. There are ten performances split between two casts with the last on October 17th.
  • September 23rd sees the Ensemble Studio open the Free Concert Series in the RBA. Note these shows are still free but are now ticketed.
  • September 30th is National Truth and Reconciliation Day and the COC has a lunchtime lecture/recital in the RBA by mezzo Camryn Dewar on The Evolution of Female Indigenous Representation in Canadian Opera from 1879 to Present.
Continue reading →

Looking ahead to a quiet August

Posted on by
2

Musically August is pretty quiet in Toronto. Opéra Queens have a PWYC concert; Sisters in Arms, at the Tranzac on the 1st (5-7pm). Confluence Concerts emerging artists programme has a concert called Side-by-Side at Heliconian Hall on the 20th and that’s about it. There’s a bit more happening in the theatre world. Summerworks runs from the 6th to the 16th with 27 works in the programme at various venues but mainly at The Theatre Centre. It’s heavy on dance but there are half a dozen or so one act plays too. CanStage’s Twelfth Night continues in High Park until September 6th.

It’s all about the Fringe and TSM

Posted on by
Reply

July in Toronto is pretty much about the Fringe and TSM.

The Fringe runs June 30th to July 12th and there are 123 shows across 27 venues plus free events. Obviously for a critic that’s overwhelming. Right now I have ten shows booked, including anything that looks vaguely opera related. So:

  • Minimum at Factory Theatre… the Premier of Ontario living in Hamilton on minimum wage.
  • You Choose at Tarragon… an improvised murder mystery from the Howland company
  • God Save the Sodomites at Native Earth… is anyone in Sodom worth saving?
  • Sinner at Theatre Passe Muraille… breaking up with white Jesus
  • Songs for Moby Dick at Theatre Passe Muraille… operatic epic about a whale
  • Night Journey at the Arts and letter Club…studying The Odyssey
  • Brava at Soulpepper… Yannick Gosselin celebrates divas
  • Potato Potato Saves the World at Soulpepper… can a sketch comedy troupe save the world?
  • Ooga Chaka at Soulpepper… two prehistoric cave painters invent art
  • Catching a Cheese Pervert at Soulpepper… Canada’s most prominent anti-vegan influencer searches for the cheese pervert in her hometown
There’s tons more of course and I may add some shows based on word of mouth later but interests and logistics (no-one wants to do shows at Tarragon and Soulpepper on the same day!) came up with this as a starting point. Continue reading →

June – festivals and more

Posted on by
Reply

Here are some shows to take in in June:

Opera, music etc

  • Opera 5’s Toronto Opera Festival at Theatre Passe Muraille. The double bill of Puccini’s Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi runs June 3rd to 7th with casts including Rachel Krehm, Krisztina Szabó and Greg Dahl. June 12th to 14th is the world premiere of Cecilia Livingston and Duncan McFarlane’s Parélios.
  • June 11th to 14th the TSO is performing Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at Roy Thomson Hall. Soloists are Golda Schultz, Ema Nikolovska, Saimir Pirgu and Jongmin Park. Gustavo Gimeno conducts. The Friday performance will be livestreamed to Sankofa Square with a singalong option for the Ode to Joy.
  • June 16th to 21st, COC, Tapestry Opera and Luminato are presenting Rene Orth’s Ten Days in a Madhouse at the Bluma Appel Theatre.
  • June 22nd is Against the Grain’s Opera Pub (Pride edition) at the Tranzac.
  • June 27th and 28th Toronto City Opera presents a fully staged version of Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld with orchestra. It’s at Trinity St. Paul’s.
Continue reading →

Coming up in May 2026

Posted on by
Reply

Coming up… music etc

  • May 2nd.  The Artists’ Studio of the Canadian Children’s Opera Company are presenting Judith Weir’s The Black Spider.  It’a very rare chance to see a Judith Weir opera in Toronto.
  • There are two free shows on the 4th.  At noon Opera 5’s interns are performing in the RBA and in the evening it’s AtG’s Opera Pub at the Tranzac.
  • On the 5th there’s a sneak preview of Toronto Summer Music in the RBA at noon.
  • On the 6th Jane Archibald has a recital at Koerner Hall.

Continue reading →

Coming up in February

Posted on by
Reply

Here’s a few things to look forward to next month.  Weirdly everything I know about so far is in the first half of the month so I’ll maybe do a supplemental for the back half in a couple of weeks time. Continue reading →

Upcoming in the New Year

Posted on by
Reply

Here’s some of what January has to offer…

Toronto Operetta Theatre is doing Imre Kalman’s The Czardas Princess over the New Year holiday.  It’s st the Jane Mallett Theatre and there are shows on December 30th and January 2nd, 3rd and 4th.

Continue reading →

Looking forward to December

Posted on by
Reply

‘Tis the season of family holiday shows and Messiahs.  Not that I’m planning to do much of either but here are some shows that you might be interested in…

  • On December 7th, the earliest of the Messiahs.  Toronto Choral Society have a matinée performance at Koerner Hall.  Soloists include Quinn Kelsey and Teresa Tucci .
  • The Ensemble Studio have a noon hour concert on December 9th in the RBA
  • Rogers vs Rogers opens at Crow’s Theatre on December 10th.  This is another adaptation by Michael Heaney of a book about Toronto shenanigans.  He was also responsible for The Masterplan.  Previews are the 2nd to the 9th with the run extending to January 3rd.

Continue reading →

A couple more interesting things this week

Posted on by
Reply

I’ve only just found out about a couple of events this week that may be of interest.

Soulpepper has a free showing of Ingmar Bergman’s 1957 masterpiece The Seventh Seal.  It’s on Wednesday, November 12th at 7pm and it’s free.  If you have seen The Comeuppance and the movie you’ll get the connection!  If you haven’t seen the movie I would say it’s one of the most important post war films.  It has a fantastic performance by Max von Sydow as a world weary crusader and an equally fine one by Bengt Kerot as Death.  The cinematography, by Gunnar Fischer is exceptional.  No gimmicks.  No special effects.  Just a very beautiful and moving film.

Then on Sunday November 16th at 7.30pm at Arrayspace Lindsay McIntyre is performing and producing Morton Feldman’s Three Voices in which the live singer works with two pre-recorded vocal tracks.  It’s a most interesting hour long piece.  I recently reviewed a recording of it by Dory Hayley for La Scena Musicale.  Tickets for that are “at the door” or here.