Tag Archives: coc

October upcoming

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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
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September upcoming

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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.
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June – festivals and more

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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.
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Werther at the COC

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The COC’s production of Massenet’s Werther opened at the Four Seasons Centre on Thursday evening. My full review is published at Bachtrack.

TL/DR version… there’s some excellent music making but the production doesn’t really elevate a rather dull, sentimental opera.

Victoria Karkacheva as Charlotte and Russell Thomas as Werther. Photo: Michael Cooper

@bachtrack

COC’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle/Erwartung double bill still impresses after 30 years

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My review of the COC’s excellent revival production of the Robert Lepage double bill of Bartók’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle and Schoenberg’s Erwartung is now published at Bachtrack.

Christian Van Horn and Karen Cargill in Duke Bluebeard’s Castle – Photo: Michael Cooper

@bachtrack

Coming up in May 2026

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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.

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