Critic’s Picks (Dec. 24 – Jan. 6)

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CRITIC'S PICKS | 5 Concerts To See In Toronto Over The Holidays (Dec. 24 – Jan. 6)

Classical music and opera events happening in and around Toronto for the week of December 24 – January 6.

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.

This Critic’s Picks spans a two-week period, and we wish all our readers a Happy, Healthy and Musical Holiday Season and 2019.

National Ballet of Canada | The Nutcracker. 1 p.m. Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W. Sold Out. Runs to Dec. 30. Days and start times vary. Check website for details.

Your last chance to catch the National Ballet’s big hit, The Nutcracker. The website states that “all performances sold out; some singles available for select performances.” Good luck! Premiered in 1995, the James Kudelka’s version resituates the story to 19th century Russia. Beautiful sets by Santo Loquasto. | Details

Toronto Operetta Theatre | Die Fledermaus Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front St. E. $55-$95. Repeats Dec. 29, 30 (3 p.m.), 31, Jan. 2

A show from the Toronto Operetta Theatre is a Holiday Season tradition. This year it’s Johann Strauss’s comic masterpiece Die Fledermaus, sung in English. Cast includes Lara Ciekiewicz (Rosalinda), Adam Fisher (Eisenstein), Caitlin Wood (Adele), Cian Harobin (Alfred), and Elizabeth Beeler (Prince Orlofsky.) Derek Bate conducts and Guillermo Silva-Marin directs. | Details

Attila Glatz Concert Productions | Bravissimo! Opera’s Greatest Hits. 7 p.m., Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. $55-$145

Canadian-Hungarian impresario Attila Glatz presents his annual New Year’s Year opera gala. Michelangelo Mazza conducts the “pick up orchestra,” the Opera Canada Symphony and Chorus, drawn mostly from the COC, TSO, and elsewhere. The quartet of soloists is a mix of Canadians and imports, although this year there are no Canadians – sopranos Sera Gösch and Ekaterina Kudryavtseva, tenor Gergely Boncsér, and baritone Johannes Kammler. Selections from Turandot, La Traviata, Rigoletto, Magic Flute and the like. Rick Phillips is back as the MC. The 2+ hour show ends early enough to accommodate the new year revellers. | Details

Attila Glatz Concert Productions | Salute to Vienna: New Year’s Concert. 2:30 p.m., Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. $74.75-$209.75.

Now in its 24^th year, Salute to Vienna, an afternoon of waltzes, polkas, operetta arias, and dance is a terrific way to bring in the new year. Alastair Willis conducts the Strauss Symphony, joined by soprano Helga Gustava Tjonn, tenor Gergely Boncser, Europaballett St. Polten, and the International Champion Ballroom Dancers. | Details

Li Delun Music Foundation | New Year’s Concert 2019. 7:30 p.m. George Weston Recital Hall, 5040 Yonge St., North York. $33-$52

Chinese conductor Xincao Li leads the Toronto Festival Orchestra and the Toronto Festival Chinese Ensemble, in a program of works by Suppe, Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Liszt, Shostakovich, and Yanqiao Wang. Soloists includes Boson Mo, violin; Sijing Bella Ye, piano. | 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).

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