Tag Archives: tapestry

Upcoming events

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There’s quite a lot happening before the COC season kicks off again with the opening of Handel’s Hercules on April 5th.  Here are some of the highlights including several rarities.

On March 22nd at 7:30pm and 23rd at 3pm the Cantemus Singers are putting on a concert performance of Purcell’s The Fairie Queene at the Church of the Holy Trinity. The cast includes Iris Krizmanic, soprano (Juno); Maria Soulis, soprano (Mopsa); and Michael Pius Taylor, tenor (Phoebus).  Tickets are $20; $15(sr/st); $10(child).

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Tapestry Briefs

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tapestry_quartetTapestry Briefs is the product of the Composer-Librettist Workshop run annually by Tapestry.  Four composers and four librettists come up with sixteen ideas for a new opera and work up a scene from each.  Last night twelve scenes from the most recent workshop were presented in a fully staged format with piano accompaniment in Ernest Balmer Studio and adjacent Distillery spaces.  The quartet of singers for the evening was made up of some of Toronto’s top singer/actors; Carla Huhtanen, Krisztina Szabó, Keith Klassen and Peter McGillivray.  Piano accompaniment was from Gregory Oh and Jennifer Tung.

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Ruth

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ruthLast night Tapestry and the Wilfred Laurier University Faculty of Music co-presented a workshop of Ruth, a new piece by Jeffrey Ryan to a libretto by Michael Lewis MacLennan.  It’s not exactly an opera, perhaps more like one of Britten’s Church Parables.  It is quite short; one act of nine scenes, six of which were given in full last night with a read through of the three not yet set.  The whole piece lasted maybe an hour.  The emphasis is very much on the voices; three soloists and the choir.  Last night it was given with piano accompaniment but the composer suggested that it would work for either organ and/or a small ensemble.

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Yet more shows

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The Toronto opera/recital calendar just keeps on giving.  Late April and May are always a bit crazy with the usual three operas on at the COC but there’s a stack more stuff going on.  The latest additions to my calendar are a new Queen of Puddings Music Theatre commission La Selva de los relojes (The Forest of Clocks) by Canadian composer Chris Paul Harman.  This vocal chamber work setting texts by Lorca will be performed by Krisztina Szabó and an ensemble of 6 instruments as part of the free lunchtime concert series at the Four Seasons Centre at noon on April 30th.  Sadly this will be the last work from Queen of Puddings who are winding up this summer.  Next is Ruth, a new opera by Jeffrey Ryan, which will be workshopped by Tapestry at the Distillery on May 4th. Finally there is a Talisker Players show called On the Wing featuring Erin Bardua and Vicki St. Pierre in a birdsong themed programme.  It’s playing on May 7th and 8th at the Trinity St. Paul’s Centre.