For the week of May 8–14

Classical music and opera events happening in and around Toronto for the week of May 8 to 14.

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 here: Musical Toronto Datebook.

Monday 8

Elmer Iseler Singers | Get Music! Gala Concert. 7:30 p.m. Metropolitan United Church, 56 Queen Street East. $25-$55

Conductor Lydia Adams and the Elmer Iseler Singers present Get Music!, a gala grand finale and performance of works by Canadian and International composers. Joining them are guest conductors from participating secondary schools with their choirs, in this Educational Outreach Initiative in memory of John C. Bird. Full details found here.

Tuesday 9

Canadian Opera Company | Vocal Series: Women on the Edge. Noon. Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre. Free.

The fine Canadian mezzo Allyson McHardy, currently appearing in Louis Riel, sings Schumann’s Poèmes de la reine Marie d’Ecosse, and Zemlinsky’s Six Songs after Poems by Maeterlinck. Rachel Andrist is the pianist. Be sure to show up an hour early for a seat. Here’s the full program (PDF). Listing info here.

Canadian Opera Company | Tosca. Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. 7:30 p.m. $35-$235. Repeats May 11, 12, 14. Check website for start times.

Puccini’s Tosca, a perennial favourite, is the last production of the COC season. Paul Curran directs a traditional take on this verismo gem. Adrianne Pieczonka sings Tosca, Marcelo Puente is Cavaradossi, and Markus Marquardt is Scarpia. (Performances on May 11 and 14 star the alternate cast of Keri Alkema, Kamen Chanev, and Craig Colclough) Keri-Lynn Wilson conducts. Be sure to check the listing for all the details.

Wednesday 10

Canadian Opera Company | Vocal Series: Transformations. Noon. Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre. Free.

Now that we’re near the end of the opera season, a few of the COC Ensemble Studio artists are presenting their recital programs as part of the noon hour series. Tenor Aaron Sheppard sings Finzi’s A Young Man’s Exhortation, based on text by Thomas Hardy, with pianist Stéphane Mayer. Mezzo Megan Quick offers Robert Fleming’s The Confession Stone, a cycle closely associated with contralto Maureen Forrester. Soprano Samantha Pickett sings Samuel Barber’s Hermit Songs. Ensemble pianist Hyejin Kown is at the piano for both. Here’s the complete program. Be sure to show up an hour early for a seat.

Thursday 11

Canadian Opera Company | Vocal Series: Bach Cantatas. Noon. Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre. Free.

COC Ensemble Studio mezzo Lauren Eberwein sings two Bach Cantatas,Ich habe genug, BWV 82, and Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust, BWV 170, with chamber accompaniment by members of the COC Orchestra. Hyejin Kwon is the organist. Listing here. Be sure to show up an hour early for a seat.

Show One Productions/Sony Centre for the Performing Arts | Eifman Ballet – Red Giselle. Sony Centre for the Performing Arts. 8 p.m. $55-$145. Repeats May 12 and 13. Check website for start times.

Following the huge success of Trio Magnifico, Show One is bringing the Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg to Toronto for performances of the Red Giselle. It tells the story of famous ballerina Olga Spessivtseva. The work draws parallels to the classic ballet Giselle, with a provocative twist. Details here.

Art of Time Ensemble | Doghouse Roses. 8 p.m. Harbourfront Centre Theatre. $15-$64 Repeats May 12, 13.

An evening of the words and music of Steve Earle, a folk artist for contemporary America. Singers Andy Maize, Susie Ungerlieder, Tom Wilson, and Gregory Hoskins will perform Earle’s music, and Michael Ondaatje and Rick Roberts will read his words. Full listing here.

Friday 12

Toronto Consort | Helen of Troy by Cavalli. Trinity St. Paul’s Centre. 8 p.m. $27-$67.

A concert performance of Helen of Troy, a comic opera by Francesco Cavalli, with Kevin Skelton (Menelaus), Michele DeBoer (Helen), and Laura Pudwell (Hippolyta). Full details found here.

Saturday 13

Met Live in HD | Der Rosenkavalier. At select Cineplex locations. 12:55 p.m. $28 Encores on June 17, 19, 21. Check website for times and locations.

The final presentation of the 2016-17 Met Live in HD season is a biggie. Not just because it’s a new production of Der Rosenkavalier directed by Canadian Robert Carsen, it marks the final performance of beloved American soprano Renée Fleming as the Marschallin. The rest of the cast includes Latvian mezzo Elina Garanca (Octavian), Erin Morley (Sophie) and Gunther Groissböck (Ochs). German maestro Sebastian Weigle is at the helm. Not to be missed! Info here.

Canadian Opera Company | Louis Riel. 7:30 p.m. Four Seasons Centre. $35-$235.

We’ve come to the last performance of the run of Harry Somers’ Louis Riel, brilliantly re-imagined by stage director Peter Hinton. It received uniformly fine reviews. After it closes, the production moves on to Ottawa and Quebec City. Russell Braun is stunning in the title role. Johannes Debus conducts. Highly recommended. More details found here.

Sunday 14

Orpheus Choir of Toronto | Identities: Glorious and Free. 3:30 p.m. Koerner Hall. $45-$75.

Orpheus Choir pays a musical tribute to Canada with this concert, including the Ontario premiere of Larysa Kuzmenko’s The Golden Harvest. It commemorates the 125th–anniversary of Ukrainian immigration to Canada. Soloists are soprano Andriana Chuchman and baritone James Westman, joined by the Vesnivka Choir, the Toronto Ukrainian Male Chamber Choir, the Orpheus Choir and the Orpheus Concert Orchestra under the direction of Robert Cooper. Listing info here.

For more events, visit our DATEBOOK CALENDAR.

Joseph So

Joseph So is Professor Emeritus at Trent University and Associate Editor of Opera Canada.He is also a long-time contributor to La Scena Musicale and Opera (London, UK). His interest in music journalism focuses on voice, opera as well as symphonic and piano repertoires. He appears regularly as a panel member of the Big COC Podcast.He has co-edited a book, Opera in a Multicultural World: Coloniality, Culture, Performance, published by Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group).

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