Classical music and opera events happening in and around Toronto for the week of October 29 – November 4.

Critic’s Picks (Oct. 29 – Nov. 4)

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.

Monday 29

University of Toronto Faculty of Music | What Makes It Great? 7:30 p.m. Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University of Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. $40/$25(sr)/$10(st)

Conductor/speaker Rob Kapilow, who usually gives analyses of musical works at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, is the Wilma and Clifford Smith Visitor in Music at the U of T. He speaks on Schumann’s Piano Quintet, played by the Gryphon Trio. | Listing

Thursday 1

Canadian Opera Company | Centre Stage. 5:30 p.m. (reception); 6:30 p.m. (performance). Four Seasons Centre, 145 Queen St. W. $80

In this annual event, young Canadian singers compete for a place on the COC Ensemble Studio. Candidates this year are tenor Matthew Cairns, soprano Vanessa Croome, bass-baritone Aaron Dimoff, bass-baritone Vartan Gabrielian, tenor Rucco Rupolo, mezzo Jamie Groote, soprano Andrea Lett, and soprano Noelle Slaney. The COC Orchestra conducted by Johannes Debus. | Listing

Friday 2

Toronto Heliconian Club | Women Composers from the 17th Century to the Present. 7:30 p.m. Heliconian Hall, 35 Hazelton Ave. $25. Children under 12 Free when accompanied by an adult.

Songs penned by Alma Mahler and Clara Schumann, instrumental compositions by Fanny Mendelssohn, and piano works by Vitezslava Kapralova and Ann Southam. Allison Arends, soprano; Maria Soulis, mezzo; Kye Marshall, cello; Ruth Kazdan, piano; Rita Greer, clarinet; and others. | Listing

Opera York | La boheme. 7:30 p.m. Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts, 10268 Yonge St. $50. Repeats Nov. 4, 2 p.m.

Opera York’s fall production is Puccini’s La boheme. Sara Papini (Mimi); Kijong Wi (Rodolfo); Anthony Cleverton (Schaunard); and Diego Catala (Marcello). Denis Mastromonaco conducts and Penny Cookson directs. | Listing

Opera Atelier | Actéon and Pygmalion. 7:30 p.m. Elgin Theatre, 189 Yonge St. $46-$192. Repeats Nov. 3 (last).

OA’s fall season of Charpentier’s Actéon and Rameau’s Pygmalion concludes this week. It stars tenor Colin Ainsworth, soprano Mireille Asselin, mezzo Allyson McHardy, baritone Jesse Blumberg, tenor Christopher Enns, and soprano Meghan Lindsay. David Fallis conducts the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chorus. | Listing

Saturday 3

Royal Conservatory of Music/ Glenn Gould School | Martinu’s The Tears of the Knife and Hindemith’s Back and Forth. 7:30 p.m., Mazzoleni Hall, Royal Conservatory, 273 Bloor St. W. $20. Repeats Nov. 3.

The students from the Glenn Gould School, the professional arm of the RCM, perform in two rarities – Paul Hindemith’s Back and Forth and Bohuslav Martinů’s Tears of the Knife. Peter Tiefenbach conducts and Anna Theodosakis directs. | Listing

Royal Conservatory of Music | Daniel Hope and Friends: AIR — A Baroque Journey. 8 p.m. Koerner Hall, 273 Bloor St. W. $45-$90.

British violinist Daniel Hope returns to Koerner Hall, joined by “friends” – Simos Papanas, violin; Nicola Mosca, cello; Emanuele Forni, luthe; Naoki Kitaya, cembalo; and Michael Metzler, percussion – in an eclectic program of works from Handel and Vivaldi to Ortiz and Falconieri. | Listing

Sunday 4

Toronto Mozart Players | Mozart and Pergolesi. 2 p.m. Church of the Redeemer, 162 Bloor St. W. $15-$35.

The Toronto Mozart Players perform Five Church Sonatas for strings and organ K244, K245, K274, K328, K336; Two Milanese String Quartets K157 & K160; and Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, with soprano Megan Miceli, soprano and mezzo Lyndsay Promane. Daniel Norman, organ; David Bowser, conductor. | Listing

Royal Conservatory of Music | Danish String Quartet. 3 p.m. Koerner Hall, Telus Centre, 273 Bloor St. W. $35-$85.

The Danish String Quartet (Frederik Oland, violin; Rune Tonsgaard Sorensen, violin; Asbjorn Norgaard, viola; Fredrik Schoyen Sjolin, cello) performs a program of Haydn, Abrahamsen, and Beethoven. | Listing

Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto | The Great War – A Commemoration. 4 p.m. Eglinton St. George’s United Church, 35 Lytton Blvd. $45/$35(sr)/$25(under 30).

The 45th season of the Amadeus Choir under Artistic Director Lydia Adams presents a program marking the 100^th anniversary of the end of the WW1 – Faure and Vaughan Williams, featuring the Amadeus Choir and pianist/organist Shawn Grenke. | Details

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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 | 10 Concerts You Need To See In Toronto This Week (Oct. 29 – Nov. 4)