Tag Archives: soundstreams

A busy week

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Next week is a bit crazy.  Tomorrow is the Elizabeth Krehm memorial concert in aid of St. Mike’s ICU.  They are playing Mahler 2 and it’s PWYC with a tax receipt.  8pm at Metropolitan United Church.  Tueday sees the opening of Philippe Boesmann’s Julie at 8pm at the Bluma Appel.  It’s an important, if bleak, contemporary piece and for the first time here, in a Soundstreams/CanStage presentation, it will be sung in English.  It runs until the 29th so plenty of chance to catch it.

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Get your Messiah here

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life-of-brian-movieAs Brian Cohen discovered picking a Messiah is a tricky business.  So is picking a Messiah.  As usual the winter solstice season in Toronto offers multiple options.  The nearest thing to the John Barbirolli approach is the TSO at Roy Thomson Hall.  This is your big, grand Messiah with famous soloists, modern instruments and a big chorus.  This year, besides the perennial Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, there are soloists Erin Wall, Liz DeShong, Andrew Staples and John Relyea and, best of all, Andrew Davis conducts.  This one is on December 15th, 16th, 18th and 19th at 8pm with a 3pm matinee on the 20th.

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Upcoming events – mostly November

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AbrahamsOratorio_Poster_v1.4As ever there’s no shortage of announcements of new and interesting stuff in the Toronto area.  Here are a few from the inbox.  Next week, there’s a premiere of David Warrack’s oratorio Abraham.  It’s a multi-faith event in aid of the Syrian Refugee Program at Metropolitan United Church.  It’s on Wednesday, October 28th at 8 p.m. at Metropolitan United Church, 56 Queen Street East, Toronto.  Richard Margison stars as Abraham and joining him are five principal vocalists; Ramona Carmelly, Meredith Hall, Hussein Janmohamed, George Krissa and Theresa Tova, three choirs: the Elmer Iseler Singers, the Jarrahi Sufi Choir with Whirling Dervishes,and the Bach Children’s Chorus  David Warrack will be at the piano.  Whirling Dervishes?  Get in!  It’s a good cause.  General admission tickets are $54; $36 for students.  $75 VIP tickets offer reserved seating and an invitation to the post-concert reception.  Tickets and more information at www.abrahamoratorio.ca. Continue reading →

Beyond the Aria

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KrisztinaSzabo_Adrianne-Pieczonka-Beyond-the-Aria_Sept-29_1The second show for me yesterday was presented by Soundstreams at Koerner Hall.  It was a programme of works written since 1970 and featured Adrianne Pieczonka and Krisztina Szabó with a percussion heavy chamber ensemble conducted by Leslie Dala.  I’ve heard Krisztina a lot in contemporary work but it was a rare treat to hear Adrianne do something other than Verdi, Strauss and Wagner.  The “opera grind” as she put it in an introductory chat with Lawrence Cherney of Soundstreams. Continue reading →

September approaches

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Rachel-66-pinwheel2It’s almost September which means there may even be stuff to write about soon.  Here’s what’s in my calendar so far.

August 31st at 12.15 pm there’s a concert in the Music on Mondays series featuring soprano Rachel Krehm and an orchestra conducted by Evan Mitchell performing Dove sono by Mozart, selections from Strauss Op 27 and Dvorak’s 8th Symphony.  It’s at Holy Trinity Church near the Eaton Centre. PWYC suggested $5.

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Soundstreams subscription offer

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Soundstreams, Toronto’s contemporary music specialists, have pointed out that one can use their “Pick 3” subscription package to get a discount on all three of their vocal offerings in 2015/16.  The three shows are:

  • A concert with Adrianne Pieczonka and Kristina Szabó in a varied, indeed fascinatingly eclectic, programme on September 29th 2015.
  • Boesmans’ opera Julie which runs November 17th to 29th 2015.
  • A choral concert with Scottish composer James MacMillan including his Seven Last Words from the Cross.  This one is on March 8th 2016.

Subscription packages start at $135 and are available at soundstreams.ca

Casting for Julie announced

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cervoni

Lucia Cervoni as Carmen in Magdeburg

The casting for Philip Boesmans’ chamber opera Julie, to be staged by Soundstrams and Canadian Stage in November has been announced.  The title role will be sung by London, Ontario mezzo Lucia Cervoni.  I’ve not seen her but judging by reviews she seems to be very much in the same space; physically and vocally, as Malena Ernman who premiered the role.  Jean, her feckless lover, well be sung by Clarence Frazer.  He’s been on terrific form lately and seems a good pick, though it’s a rather thankless role.  The toughest sing in the piece is probably Christine, Jean’s fiancée and a servant in the household.  This goes to Ottawa’s Sharleen Joynt.  She really impressed me as Zerlina in Against the Grain’s #UncleJohn and I’m really intrigued to see what she does with a high coloratura role which is, I believe, her normal turf.  Continue reading →

Song for Athene

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johntavenerLast night’s Soundstreams concert at Trinity St. Paul’s was devoted to works by John Tavener and people who were close to him.  The principal performers were soprano Patricia Rozario, Choir 21 and the Toronto Children’s Chorus joined, as needed by Christopher Dawes on piano and organ and Erica Goodman on harp.  Conducting duties were split between Elise Bradley and David Fallis.  There was plenty of explanatory material from artistic director Lawrence Cherney plus some from Ms. Rozario as well as taped comments from Tavener to set up the pieces.

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More contemporary music

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Andrew Ager’s Führerbunker is coming to Toronto under the auspices of the Centre for Opera Studies in Italy.  It plays at the Tranzac Club on May 1st and 2nd at 7.30pm.  It’s a one hour piece, in German, dealing with the last days of the Hitler regime.  There’s an article about it at Musical Toronto.  Tickets are available here.

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