Critic’s Picks (Jan. 28 – Feb. 3)
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 28
University of Toronto Faculty of Music | Joseph Johnson, cello and Philip Chiu, piano. 7:30 p.m. Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University of Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. $40/$25(sr)/$10(st)
TSO Principal Cello Joseph Johnson and pianist Philip Chiu present a recital of works by Beethoven, Bridge, Britten and Rachmaninoff. | Details
Tuesday 29
Canadian Opera Company | Vocal Series: Homage to McCormack and Kreisler. 12 p.m., Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre, 145 Queen St. W. Free. Limited seating.
Canadian tenor Michael Schade, together with COC Concertmaster Marie Berard and pianist Sandra Horst, present a program of works in tribute to Irish tenor John McCormack and Austrian violinist Fritz Kreisler. | Details
Tapestry Opera | Hook Up. 7:30 (preview). Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace Theatre, 16 Ryerson Ave. 11 performances to Feb. 9. $25/$55(VIP) Start times vary.
A world premiere by Tapestry Opera in partnership with Theatre Passe Muraille, Hook Up is the story of the lives of three friends at university – “no parents, new friends, new rules, and a new normal. Hook Up raises questions of consent, shame, and power in the lives of young adults navigating uncharted waters on their own.” Emily Lukasik, Alicia Ault, Nathan Carroll, Alexis Gordon and Jeff Lillico. Music by Chris Thornborrow and libretto by Julie Tepperman. Adult content. | Details
Thursday 31
Canadian Opera Company | Elektra. 7:30 p.m. Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen St. W. $45-$350. Six performances to Feb. 22. Start times vary.
The revival of the COC’s powerful production of Elektra continues this week, with an exceptionally strong cast and fabulous orchestral playing. Christine Goerke, soprano (Elektra); Erin Wall, soprano (Chrysothemis); Susan Bullock, soprano (Klytämnestra); William Schwinghammer, baritone (Orest); Michael Schade, tenor (Aegisth); Johannes Debus, conductor; James Robinson, stage director. | Details
Toronto Symphony Orchestra | Sir Andrew Davis Conducts Wagner. 8 p.m. Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. $40.75-$128.50. Repeats Feb. 2.
A rare opportunity to hear Act 1 Die Walkure in concert, with the young and exceptional Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen as Sieglinde, joined by tenor Simon O’Neill (Siegmund) and bass Brindley Sherratt (Hunding). The program also includes “Ride of the Valkyries” from Act 3 Die Walkure, and Alban Berg’s Three Pieces for Orchestra. Sir Andrew Davis conducts. Not to be missed. | Details
Music Toronto | Van Kuijk Quartet. 8 p.m. Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front St. E. $53.50-$58.00.
Founded in 2012, Quatuor Van Kuijk has won prizes at the 2015 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition, the Trondheim International Chamber Music Competition, and the Aix-en-Provence Festival Academy. The Van Kuijk Quartet is in residence at ProQuartet, Paris, where they study with members of the Alban Berg, Artemis and Hagen Quartets. They play a program of Haydn, Schubert, and Ligeti. | Details
Saturday 2
Met Live in HD/Cineplex Cinemas | Carmen. 12:55 p.m. Select Cineplex Cinemas in GTA. $28.
French mezzo Clementine Margaine, who was a wonderful Carmen at the COC a few short seasons ago, sings it at the Met, opposite the Don Jose of Roberto Alagna, in the Richard Eyre production. Louis Langree conducts. | Details
Sunday 3
VOICEBOX: Opera in Concert | Fierabras. 2:30 p.m. Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre, 27 Front St. E. $29-$65.
Schubert’s only opera is given in concert. Kevin Mallon conducts the Aradia Ensemble, with Matthew Dalen, Alexander Dobson, Jocelyn Fralick, Evan Korbut, Amy Moodie, Justin Welsh and Lawrence Wiliford. Robert Cooper is the chorus director. Sung in German with English surtitles. | Details
University of Toronto Faculty of Music | Choirs in Concert. 2:30 p.m. MacMillan Theatre, Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queen’s Park. $30/$20(sr)/$10(st)
The MacMillan Singers, Women’s Chorus, the Women’s Chamber Choir and the Men’s Chorus featuring graduate conductors perform an afternoon of choral music by Schafer, Martin and Thompson. Elaine Choi, David Fallis, Lori-Anne Dolloff, Mark Ramsay, conductors. | Details
Royal Conservatory of Music | Charles Richard-Hamelin. 3 p.m. Koerner Hall, 273 Bloor St. W. $35-$85.
Quebec pianist Charles Richard-Hamelin, the 2015 International Chopin Piano Competition Silver Medalist, plays a program of Schumann and Chopin. | Details
Off Centre Music Salon | 24th Annual Schubertiad. 3 p.m. Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor St. W. $50/$40(sr)/$15/$5
Tenor Andrew Haji, soprano Maeve Palmer, cellist Igor Gefter, violinist Mark Skazinetsky, and pianist Inna Perkis, Boris Zarankin and Micah Yui joing foreces for Schubert’s Die Schöne Müllerin, Winterreise and Schwanengesang. | Details
Mooredale Concerts | Heath Quartet. 3:15 p.m. Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queen’s Park. $20-$30
The British chamber ensemble, the Heath Quartet (Oliver Heath, violin; Sara Wolstenholme, violin; Gary Pomeroy, viola; Chris Murray, cello), performs a program of Mozart, Beethoven, and Britten. | Details
