Classical music and opera events happening in and around Toronto for the week of October 15 – 21.

Ludwig van Toronto’s weekly Critic’s Picks are a curated list of some of the best concerts happening now through the end of the week. 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 (Oct. 15 – 21)

Wednesday 17

Canadian Opera Company | Piano Virtuoso Series: Kaleidoscope – from Bach to Ravel. 12 p.m. Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre, 145 Queen St. W. Free. Be sure to show up early for a seat.

Russian pianist Sofya Gulyak, was the first female winner of the prestigious Leeds International Piano Competition in 2009. Here she plays works by Bach, Clementi, Clara Schumann and Ravel. | Details (PDF)

Canadian Opera Company | Hadrian. 7:30 p.m. Four Seasons Centre, 145 Queen St. W. $45-$350. Five remaining performances to Oct. 27. Start times vary.

The first full-length COC commission of a Canadian Opera since The Golden Ass in 1999, Hadrian, by Rufus Wainwright, received a glittery opening last Saturday. It stars American baritone Thomas Hampson (Hadrian), Canadian tenor Isaiah Bell (Antinous), Finnish soprano Karita Mattila (Plotina), and Canadian soprano Ambur Braid (Sabina). Canadian heldentenor Ben Heppner comes out of retirement to sing the cameo role of Dinarchus. Johannes Debus conducts, and Peter Hinton directs. | Listing

Thursday 18

Canadian Opera Company | Eugene Onegin. 7:30 p.m. Four Seasons Centre, 145 Queen St. W. $45-$350. Four more performances to Nov. 3. Start times vary.

This celebrated Met production of Eugene Onegin by the Canadian duo of Robert Carsen (director) and Michael Levine (designer) finds new life at the COC. It opened on Sept. 30 to uniform praise for its terrific singing and evocative production. Gordon Bintner (Onegin), Joyce El-Khoury (Tatiana), and Joseph Kaiser (Lensky) lead a superlative cast. Johannes Debus conducts. A must-see. | Listing

Toronto Symphony Orchestra | Debussy La Mer. 8 p.m. Roy Thomson Hall. $35.50-$131.75. Repeats Oct. 20

Danish conductor Thomas Sǿndergǻrd returns to the TSO to conduct a program of Ades, Britten, Poulenc and Debussy. The violinist in the Britten Violin concerto is Baiba Skride. | Listing

Music Toronto | St. Lawrence Quartet with baritone Tyler Duncan. 8 p.m. Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front St. E. $53.50-$58

The St. Lawrence Quartet, a frequent guest of MT, is making a welcome return for a program of Haydn and Beethoven. Canadian baritone Tyler Duncan sings Dover Beach by Barber. | Listing

Friday 19

Toronto Consort | Frescobaldi and the Glories of Rome. 8 p.m. Trinity St. Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor St. W. $15-$69.

The Toronto Consort under the artistic direction of Alison Melville presents works by Frescobaldi, Palestrina, Landi and Caroso. For a chance to win tickets to the Saturday show, enter here (context closes Monday, Oct 15, 5 p.m.) | Listing

Saturday 20

Sinfonia Toronto | Beethoven’s Kreutzer. 8 p.m. George Weston Recital Hall, Toronto Centre for the Arts, 5040 Yonge St. $42/$35(sr)/$15(st)

Nurhan Arman conducts the Sinfonia Toronto in a program of Mozart, Shostakovich and Beethoven, with trumpeter Sergei Nakariakov and pianist Maria Meerovich. | Listing

Met Opera Live in HD Cineplex | Samson et Dalila. 12:55 p.m. Select Cineplex cinemas. $28/$27(sr)

Saint-Saens’ perennial favourite Samson et Dalila is back at the Met, starring the wonderful Latvian mezzo Elina Garanca, with French tenor Roberto Alagna. Sir Mark Elder conducts.

Sunday 21

Royal Conservatory of Music | Susan Hoeppner and Friends. 2 p.m. Mazzoleni Concert Hall, Royal Conservatory of Music, 273 Bloor St. W. $30

Susan Hoeppner is joined by Judy Loman (harp), Erika Raum (violin), Brad Cherwin (clarinet), Jennifer Murphy (violin), Steven Dann (viola), and Winona Zelenka (cello) in a program of Ravel, Foote, Jolivet, Hatzis, and Debussy. | Listing

Orchestra Toronto | Autumn Celebration. 3 p.m. George Weston Recital Hall, Toronto Centre for the Arts, 5040 Yonge St. $20-$51.

Michael Newman conducts the Orchestra Toronto in a program of Rachmaninov and Dvorak, with pianist Anastasia Rizikov. | Listing

Off Centre Music Salon | The Mystery of History: 1889 in Paris and Vienna. 3 p.m. Trinity St. Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor St. W. $50/$40(sr)/$15/$5(ch)

Off Centre is known for innovative programming. This afternoon, they present music that defines the period of late 19^th century Paris and Vienna — works of Debussy and others. Helen Becque (piano), Shannon Mercer (soprano), Inna Perkis (piano), Boris Zarankin (piano), Krisztina Szabo (mezzo), Mark Skazinetsky (violin) and others. | Listing

Windermere String Quartet | Sacred Spaces. St. Olave’s Anglican Church, 360 Windermere Av. $25/$20(sr)/$10(st).

Two works with a religious theme – Carl Loewe’s Quatuor Spirituel, and Julia Mermelstein’s Echoes of Illumina, commissioned by Windermere in 2015, which draws on a motel by Gesualdo. Also Beethoven’s Quartet in F Op. 18, No. 1. | Listing

Small World Music & Link Music Lab | Shahram Nazeri and Hafez Nazeri. 7 p.m. Sony Centre. 1 Front St. E.

Now for something a little different – two of Iran’s most celebrated musical artists, Shahram Nazeri and his son, composer Hafez Nazeri, will perform classics and new compositions at the Sony Centre. Here is an interview with them on Ludwig van Toronto. | Listing

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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).

CRITIC'S PICKS | 12 Concerts You Need To See In Toronto This Week (Oct. 15 – 21)