For the week of Oct. 3–9
Musical Toronto’s weekly Critic’s Picks are a fully curated list of some of the best concerts happening now through the end of the week. This is not to say we are the provocateurs of taste, but simply seek to provide a good weekly summary. For a look at the full breadth of what’s available in and around Toronto, check out our curated concert listings in the Musical Toronto Datebook.
The big news for opera fans this week is the opening of Bellini’s Norma, the first of two productions in the Canadian Opera Company fall season. It stars Sondra Radvanovsky in the title role. Arguably the greatest of all Bellini creations, this opera demands great voices, especially in the title role, the Mount Everest of soprano roles, on par with Isolde, Brunnhilde and Aida. And we’ve got not one but two greats sopranos in Radvanovsky and South African Elza van den Heever. The Toronto Symphony Orchestra is offering both a pop program (the Music of ABBA) and the heart of the repertoire (Beethoven and Tchaikovsky) this week. Guest director/cellist Christophe Coin joins Tafelmusik in Haydn, Boccherini and Dittersdorf. Young American dramatic tenor Issachah Savage, who wowed audiences two seasons ago as Siegmund in Die Walküre, gives a recital with the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto.
Monday 3
U of T | Enrico Elisi, piano at Walter Hall. 7:30 p.m. $10–40
New faculty member in the U of T Faculty of Music, Italian pianist Enrico Elisi, plays Bach, Mendelssohn, Berg, Debussy and Liszt. (Very few) details, here.
Tuesday 4
TSO | ABBA at Roy Thomson Hall. 8 p.m. $33.75+ (Repeats Oct. 5 at 2 & 8 p.m.)
Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s pops Maestro Steven Reineke leads the TSO in the music of ABBA, with vocal ensemble Rajaton. Info, here.
Soundstreams | Density 2036 at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. 8 p.m. $15–20
Soundstreams presents Density 2036, an evening of new music. Details, here.
COC | Quartet Masterworks: Beethoven at Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre. Noon. Free!
The New Orford String Quartet (violinists Jonathan Crow and Andrew Wan, violist Eric Nowlin and cellist Brian Manker) plays Beethoven String Quartet No. 12, Op. 127. Show up an hour early to line up. Info, here.
Wednesday 5
St. James Cathedral | Cantatas In The Cathedral at St. James Cathedral. 6 p.m. PWYC
Bach’s Cantata “Schmucke dich, o liebe Seele” BWV180 with soprano Katherine Napiwotzki, alto Rebecca Claborn, tenor Asitha Tennekoon, and bass Graham Robinson. Details, here.
COC | Virtuoso Masterworks at Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre. Noon. Free!
Prize-winning pianist Leon Bernsdorf plays Liszt, Debussy and Samuel Barber. Show up an hour early to line up. Details, here.
Thursday 6
Adam Sherkin | Write Off The Keyboard at Lobby of the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts. Noon & 5 p.m. Free!
Pianist-Composer Adam Sherkin, under the auspices of Steinway Piano Gallery, plays Haydn and his own compositions. Details, here.
Women’s Musical Club of Toronto | Issachah Savage at Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building. 1:30 p.m. $45
American dramatic tenor Issachah Savage sings Beethoven, Schumann, Strauss, Quilter, Copland, and Spirituals. At the piano is Michael Shannon. If you want to hear Savage speak, he is the special guest of the Toronto Wagner Society on Tuesday, Oct. 4th 8 pm. at the Arts and Letters Club, 14 Elm Street in downtown Toronto. Free for members and $20 for non-members. Info for WMCT concert, here.
COC | Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma at the Four Seasons Centre. 7:30 p.m. $50–375
Bellini’s Norma presented by the Canadian Opera Company, starring Sondra Radvanovsky, Isabel Leonard, Russell Thomas, Dmitry Ivashchenko. Stephen Lord conducts. Info, here.
Tafelmusik | The Eloquent Cello at Trinity St. Paul’s Centre. 8 p.m. $39–93 (Repeats on Oct. 5–9)
Tafelmusik presents The Eloquent Cello with guest director/cellist Christophe Coin. Repeats on Oct. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. Details, here.
Friday 7
Gallery 345 | The Ruby Trio at Gallery 345. 8 p.m. $10–20
The Ruby Trio plays Haydn, Shostakovich, Beethoven and Hatzis. Info, here.
Saturday 8
TSO | Beethoven & Tchaikovsky at Roy Thomson Hall. 7:30 p.m. $59–113 (Repeats Oct. 9, 3 p.m.)
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra presents a program of Mozart, Tchaikovsky and Beethoven. Violinist Esther Yoo is the soloist in the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. Karina Canellakis conducts. Repeats on Sunday, Oct. 9 3 pm. Details, here.
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