Critic’s Picks (Oct. 23–29)
Ludwig van 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.
Tuesday 24
Canadian Opera Company | Vocal Series: The World of Yesterday. Noon. Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre. Free.
Canadian soprano Erin Wall, currently singing the title role of Arabella, gives a recital of songs by Korngold, Duparc and Debussy. COC Chorusmaster Sandra Horst is at the piano. Be sure to show up an hour early for a seat. | Listing
Wednesday 25
Canadian Opera Company | Piano Virtuoso Series: Sonatas and Mazurkas. Noon. Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre. Free.
Fast-rising 24-year-old Hungarian pianist Daniel Lebhardt received raves in his New York recital debut from NYT senior critic Anthony Tommasini. He was also praised for his Wigmore Hall recital. Now we get to hear him in Toronto – for free! He plays Mozart, Chopin, and Prokofiev. Be sure to line up an hour early. | Listing
Toronto Symphony Orchestra | Schubert Symphony 9. 8 p.m. Roy Thomson Hall. Repeats Oct. 26. $50.75-$154.
Spanish conductor Juanjo Mena returns to the TSO to conduct Schubert’s Ninth Symphony. Also appearing is the great Quebec pianist Marc-André Hamelin in Ravel’s Concerto for the Left Hand. Pre-concert chat with Tom Allen at 7:15 p.m. on Oct. 25. | Listing
Thursday 26
Canadian Children’s Opera Company | 50th Anniversary Celebration: Ruby’s Gold. 7:30 p.m. Four Seasons Centre. $50/$250(VIP)
The CCOC was founded by the late Ruby Mercer, Met soprano, broadcaster, writer, and founder of Opera Canada. This concert celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Canadian Children’s Opera Company. Ben Heppner hosts the event. Appearing will be current CCOC Music Director Teri Dunn, and former Music and Artistic Directors John Tuttle and Ann Cooper Gay. Artists performing include Karina Gauvin, Measha Brueggergosman, and Ted Baerg. | Listing
Opera Atelier | The Marriage of Figaro. 7:30 p.m. Elgin Theatre. Repeats Oct. 28, 29, 31, Nov. 3, 4. Check website for start time. $15–72
OA’s 2017-18 season opens with The Marriage of Figaro, sung in English. I remember vividly seeing this production during the horrifying SARS epidemic in Toronto in 2003. People were scared to go out, and the theatre was half empty. But what a great show that was, with Nathalie Paulin and Daniel Belcher. Now it’s GQ-worthy Douglas Williams as Figaro and the equally photogenic Mireille Asselin as Susanna, and yes, they can sing too, divinely! Stephen Hegedus and Peggy Kriha Dye are Count and Countess. David Fallis conducts. This is a must-see. | Listing
Friday 27
Exsultate Chamber Singers | We Sing and Remember 8 p.m. St. Thomas Anglican Church, 383 Huron St. $25/$20(sr)/$10(st)
A program of works celebrating Canada 150, featuring folk song arrangements by Ewer, Henderson, Sirett, Somers, and Patriquin, as well as original music by Holman, Glick, Chatman and Raminsh. Hilary Apfelstadt conducts. | Info
Saturday 28
Toronto Symphony Orchestra | Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. 8 p.m. Roy Thomson Hall. $184-$296(remaining tickets)
The Israel Philharmonic is in town, as guest orchestra of the TSO, playing Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2 and Richard Strauss Ein Heldenleben. Zubin Mehta conducts. | Listing
Sunday 29
Mooredale Concerts | Jasper String Quartet. Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building. 1:15 p.m. Music and Truffles/3:15 p.m. Main Performance. $30/$20
Philadelphia-based Jasper String Quartet (J Freivogel, violin; Sae Chonabayashi, violin; Sam Quintal, viola; Rachel Henderson Freivogel, cello) will perform a program of chamber works by Mozart, Prokofiev, and Beethoven. | Listing
Voicebox/Opera in Concert | Chorus Fire. 2:30 p.m. St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts. $22-$52
Soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian and baritone Russell Braun are the featured guests of the 40th-anniversary concert of the OIC Chorus under chorusmaster Robert Cooper. Program details not available on its website. | Listing
Pax Christi Chorale | Romantic Masters. 3:00 p.m. Grace Church on-the-Hill, 300 Lonsdale Road. $45/$40(sr)/$25(st)
Pax Christi Chorale opens its 2017-18 season with Anton Bruckner’s Te Deum, Brahms’ Schicksalslied, and Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy. Soloists are soprano Monica Whicher, mezzo Krisztina Szabo, tenor Isaiah Bell, baritone Brett Polegato, pianist Asher Ian Armstrong, joined by the Toronto Mozart Players with conductor David Bowser. | Listing
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