My review of the COC’s revival of Verdi’s La traviata is now available at bachtrack.com.
Solid La traviata revival at the COC
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Tag Archives: coc
September upcoming
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.
June – festivals and more
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.
Werther at the COC
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.
@bachtrack
COC’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle/Erwartung double bill still impresses after 30 years
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
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.
Even more Grimm
Back in December 2012 I reviewed the 500th performance of Dean Burry’s opera for children, The Brothers Grimm. On Wednesday I went to the 25th anniversary performance in the RBA. It was packed; with loads of kids, some quite young.
COC announces 2026/27
The COC announcement of the 2026/27 season dropped this morning with zero fanfare; not even an embargoed presser in advamce. It’s pretty mixed and, rather to my surprise not far off what I predicted; at least in my more pessimistic version. So…
The COC’s Barber revival is as fresh now as the first time
The Barber of Seville is back at the COC with an excellent cast;, young and old, and it’s as lively, colourful and energetic as ever. My full review is now published at bachtrack.com.
The Barber of Seville continues at the COC until February 21st.
Photo credit: Michael Cooper
Coming up in February
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
