Tag Archives: scott

The King’s Grief

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The King’s Grief is the latest show from the Happenstancers who performed it at Redeemer Lutheran on Friday and Saturday evenings. Like pretty much all Happenstancers’ shows it takes a number of works with multiple acts/movements/etc and combines them in unconventional ways. This programme was built around Judith Weir’s King Harald’s Saga, Thomas Adès’ Court Studies, from The Tempest and the only three songs that survive by Lady Mary Dering with some Oliver Knussen, George Benjamin, John Dowland and Colin Matthews thrown into the mix.

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Orlando: Ema Nikolovska and Sean Shibe

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Orlando is a touring programme which mezzo-soprano Ema Nikolovska and guitarist Sean Shibe brought to Koerner hall on Thursday evening. For some background on the show see my interview with Ema earlier this month. As promised it was more of an “experience” than a conventional song recital. The overarching theme, sometimes obvious, sometimes less so, was Virginia Woolf’s Orlando.

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Lucian, Plato and the Secrets of the Pussy

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Lucian, Plato and the Secrets of the Pussy was my eighth and last show at this year’s Fringe.  It wasn’t on my original list but I heard good things during the week so I added it.  I’m glad I did.  It’s written by Jules Spizzirri and Sydney Scott and directed by Alyssa Featherstone.  It’s playing (there are two more shows) in one of the Fringe’s larger spaces; the Michael Young Theatre at Soulpepper.

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The Two Deaths of Ophelia

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The latest Happenstancers gig, which took place at 918 Bathurst on Thursday evening, was an exploration of the death of Ophelia and related ideas with works for assorted chamber ensembles plus/minus voices.  Ten composers; all of whom could at a stretch be considered “contemporary”, were featured in a programme that, with interval, lasted two and three quarter hours.  That’s a feat of stamina for performers and audience alike as none of the music performed was “easy” and no notes or introductions were provided.

Each half of the programme started off with a piece by Linda Catlin Smith, who was in the audience.  Stare at the River for piano, string bass, trumpet, clarinet, violin and percussion was quite sparse and open textured while The River was more obviously lyrical with guitar, cello and Danika Lorèn replacing piano, trumpet and bass.

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Migraaaants

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Migraaaants is a theatre piece by Matei Visniec translated by Nick Awde and currently playing at Theatre Passe Muraille in a production directed by Siavash Shabanpour.  The programme describes it as a “dark comedy”.  I’m not so sure.  It certainly has absurdist elements and is occasionally funny in a very uncomfortable way but “comedy” I’m not so sure.  Besides, the subject matter; forced migration and people trafficking into and around the EU, is seriously grim.  The “dark” part is on the money.

Migraaaants promo photo by Zahra Salecki

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The Bright Divide

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Soundstreams’ concert on Friday evening in the new TD Music Hall at Massey Hall was inspired by the Rothko Chapel in Houstion, Texas.  It featured two works; Morton Feldman’s Rothko Chapel, commissioned for the opening of the chapel, and Cecilia Livingston’s mark, commissioned for Friday’s concert.  Both featured chorus (Soundstreams Choir 21), viola (Steven Dann), celesta (Gregory Oh) and percussion (Ryan Scott).  mark also featured baritone Alex Samaras).  Both were staged by Tim Albery with lighting by Siobhán Sleath and projections by Cameron Davis.

The Bright Divide/ Soundstream

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The Master Plan

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The Master Plan by Michael Healey opened last night at Crow’s Theatre in a production directed by Chris Abraham.  It’s based on Josh O’Kane’s book Sideways: The City Google Couldn’t Buy and deals with the tortuous relationship between Google subsidiary Sidewalk Labs, Waterfront Toronto and the various other stakeholders involved in developing the (relatively) small parcel of land, Quayside, at Parliament and Queen’s Quay and the wider future of the Eastern Portlands.

CrowsTheatre_TheMasterPlan-photobyDahliaKatz-6178

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Lovesongs

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Soundstreams’ on-line concert, Lovesongs, recorded in Koerner Hall and streamed (access codes are PWYC, min $7) features three works; two by and one “in homage” to Claude Vivier with an intro by Lawrence Cherney and David Fallis who conducts on the first and third pieces.

lovesongs

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The Home Project

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What is home?  Where is home?  The Home Project; a joint production of Native Earth Performing Arts and the Howland Company presented by Soulpepper, addresses these questions through three actors personal visions reflecting, in their own way, three aspects of the Canadian experience.  The stories are interwoven on a simple set of moving boxes and a few pieces of furniture.  The sound stage is more important than the physical stage and aural effects; well handled considering we are outside and there’s plenty of background noise, are crucial.

HomeProject-QasimKhan-CheyenneScott-AkosuaAmoAdem-photobyDahliaKatz-1038x576

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More courses from Iain Scott

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Iain Scott has three opera appreciation courses starting in November

  • Opera and the Supernatural at the University of Toronto (School of Continuing Studies)…for information and to register call 416 978 2400
    It’s on Tuesday afternoons 2-4 pm 12, 19, 26 November 12th, 19th and 26th and December 3rd and 10th
  • Opera 101 – The Fundamentals at the Royal Conservatory of Music… for information and to register call 416 408 2424 x 623
    It’s on Thursday afyernoons 2-4pm (November 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th)
    4 Thursday afternoons 2.00 – 4.00 pm
  • Mozart at the Opera at the Miles Nada JCC… for information and to register call 416 924 6211
    It’s on Monday afternoons 1.30-3.30pm (November 18th and 25th and December 2nd, 9th and 16th)

There’s also the 17th annual “Rosedale Weekend seminar on January 25th and 26th 2020 on the subject of Wagner’s Parsifal.  More details at www.opera-is.com.