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CRITIC'S PICKS | 11 Concerts You Should Absolutely See This Week (June 18 – July 1)

By Joseph So on June 18, 2018

Classical music and opera events happening in and around Toronto for the week of June 18 – July 1.
Classical music and opera events happening in and around Toronto for the week of June 18 – July 1.

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.

Critic’s Picks (June 18 – July 1)

Note: This week’s Critic’s Picks is the last of the 2017-18 concert season, before the summer hiatus. It will return in the third week of September to coincide with the new season. There will be the occasional reports of musical events in both the GTA and elsewhere, including the opera festivals in Munich, Germany and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Stay tuned!

Monday 18

Tapestry Opera | Tables Turned. 7 p.m. Ernest Balmer Studio, 9 Trinity St., Distillery District. $35. Repeats June 19 at 7 p.m.

As part of the Luminato Festival, Tapestry’s Tables Turned opened last Saturday and continues for two more performances this week.  It’s an experimental multi-media show featuring soprano Carla Huhtanen, composer Nicole Lizée, and percussionist Ben Reimer. | Listing

Tuesday 19

Luminato Festival | Solo for Duet: Works for augmented piano and images. 7 p.m. Isabel Bader Theatre, 93 Charles St. W. Repeats June 20. $39

“Working with a tour-de-force of Canadian musicians, Solo for Duet draws inspiration from the films of David Lynch, Shakespearean sonnets, technical glitches and more.” | Listing

Toronto Concert Orchestra | Symphony in the Gardens: Tenorissimo! 7:30 p.m. Casa Loma, 1 Austin Terrace. $30/$25(yo/sr)/$20(c)

Tenor Romulo Delgado sings songs and arias by Bizet, Verdi, Puccini, Tosti, Lara, Lehar, and Rodgers. Toronto Concert Orchestra conducted by Kerry Stratton. | Listing

Wednesday 20

National Ballet of Canada | Paz de la Jolla/The Man in Black/Cacti. 7:30 p.m. Repeats June 21 and 22 7:30 p.m. $39-$265.

The triple-bill opened last Saturday. You can read the LvT review here. Three 20-minute pieces combined for an eclectic experience: choreographer Justin Peck’s Paz de la Jolla, set to Bohuslav Martinů’s Sinfonietta la Jolla; James Kudelka’s The Man in Black, set to six songs by John Cash; and Swedish choreographer Alexander Ekman’s Cacti. | Listing

Toronto Symphony Orchestra | Ax Plays Mozart. 8 p.m. Roy Thomson Hall. $43.90-$161.25. Repeats June 23 8 p.m.

Peter Oundjian conducts Mahler Symphony No. 9, paired with Emanuel Ax playing Mozart Piano Concerto No. 17, K. 453. | Listing

Friday 22

Toronto Symphony Orchestra | Thank You, Toronto Free Concert. 12:30 p.m. Roy Thomson Hall. Arrive early as it is bound to be full!

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra thanks the people of Toronto for their support with this free one-hour concert of audience favourites plus a few surprises. | Listing

Saturday 23

Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Festival | The Grand Finale. 7:30 p.m. Grace Church on-the-Hill, 300 Lonsdale Road, Toronto. Free ticketed event, available at the box office on Tuesday, June 19, 10 a.m. First come, first served.

The Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Festival concludes with this free event, directed by Jeanne Lamon and Ivars Taurins. On the program are works by Handel, Rameau, Charpentier, and Zelenka. | Listing

Tuesday 26

Toronto Symphony Orchestra | Christopher Plummer’s Symphonic Shakespeare. 8 p.m. Roy Thomson Hall. $105-$205.

Renowned Canadian actor Christopher Plummer narrates a stirring blend of Shakespeare’s immortal words with music by great composers who have been inspired by their magic — Wagner, Mendelssohn, Berlioz, and Walton. Peter Oundjian conducts his penultimate program as TSO Music Director. | Listing

Bicycle Opera Project | The Llandovery Castle. 8 p.m. (Pre-concert chat at 7 p.m.) Calvin Presbyterian Church, 26 Delisle Ave. $45/$40/$20 Repeats June 27.

A new Canadian opera, The Llandovery Castle, with music by Stephanie Martin and libretto by Paul Ciufo. It tells the forgotten story of the fourteen nursing sisters who drowned when their hospital ship, the Llandovery Castle, was torpedoed while crossing the Atlantic in WWI. Larissa Koniuk, Allison Angelo, Owen McCausland, Keith Lam, Michael Nyby. Tom Diamond directs. | Listing

Thursday 28

Kindred Spirits Orchestra | Love and Faith. 8 p.m. Flato Markham Theatre for the Performing Arts, 171 Town Centre Blvd, Markham. $40/$25(sr)/$15(yo).

Kindred Spirits Orchestra under Kristian Alexander ends its 2017-18 season with a program of Ravel’s Bolero, Prokofiev Symphony No. 3, and Elgar’s Violin Concerto with soloist Andrew Sords. | Listing

Toronto Symphony Orchestra | Beethoven Symphony No. 9. 8 p.m. Roy Thomson Hall. $108-$238. Repeats June 29 8 p.m. and June 30 7 p.m.

Peter Oundjian says farewell after his 14-year tenure as TSO Music Director with this run of Beethoven Ninth, featuring an all-Canadian ensemble of soprano Kirsten MacKinnon, mezzo Lauren Segal, tenor Andrew Haji, baritone Tyler Duncan, and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. | Listing

Joseph So
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