Critic’s Picks (April 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.
Monday 15
Living Arts Centre | Gordon Lightfoot in Concert. 8:00 p.m. Hammerson Hall, Living Arts Centre, Mississauga. $46.75-$136. Repeats Apr. 16 8 p.m.
No, he’s not a classical music artist, but this legendary Canadian is “classical” in every other way. A good change of pace on this Easter Week. | Details
Tuesday 16
Canadian Opera Company | Chamber Music Series: Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky. 12:00 p.m. Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre. Free! Limited Seating.
Artists of the COC Orchestra perform Prokofiev’s Sonata for Two Violins, Op. 56 and Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence, Op. 70. | Details
Wednesday 17
Canadian Opera Company | La bohème. 7:30 p.m. Four Seasons Centre, 145 Queen St. W. Nine additional performances to May 22. $45-$350. Check listings for dates, times, and casting.
The COC’s spring season opens with a perennial favourite, Puccini’s La bohème. Opening night features a great cast – soprano Angel Blue (Mimi), Andriana Chuchman (Musetta), Atalla Ayan (Rodolfo), Lucas Meachem (Marcello), Brandon Cedel (Colline), Phillip Addis (Schaunard), and Donato Di Stefano (Benoit/Alcindoro). The principals are double cast so be sure to check the COC website for details. John Caird directs and Paolo Carignani conducts. | Details
Toronto Mendelssohn Choir | Sacred Music for a Sacred Space. 7:30 p.m. St. Anne’s Anglican Church, 270 Gladstone Ave. $35-$60. Repeats Apr. 19.
A concert of contemplative a cappella music from the 20th century in the beautiful St. Anne’s Anglican Church, featuring works by Messiaen, Poulenc, Martin, Kodaly, Rachmaninov, Penderecki and Schnittke. David Fallis, conductor. | Details
Toronto Symphony Orchestra | Mahler Resurrection Symphony. 8 p.m. Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. $40.75-$154. Repeats Apr. 18 & 20.
Spanish maestro Juanjo Mena returns to lead the TSO forces in Mahler Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection.” Soprano Joelle Harvey and contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux are the soloists, joining the Amadeus Choir and Elmer Iseler Singers. | Details
Thursday 18
Canadian Opera Company | Vocal Series: Collaborations. 12:00 p.m. Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre. Free! Limited Seating.
The annual joint concert given by members of the two young artists programs at the COC and Montreal Opera. COC Ensemble soprano Anna Sophie Neher and mezzo Simona Genga join Atelier lyrique of Montreal singers (Rose Naggar Tremblay, Rocco Rupolo, Sebastian Haboczki, and Scott Brooks) in arias by Mozart, Gounod, Tchaikovsky, Strauss and Puccini. | Details
Music Toronto | Ariel Quartet. 8:00 p.m. Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre, 27 Front St. E. $47.50-$52.
The Ariel Quartet performs a program of chamber pieces by Schumann, Beethoven, Webern, and Brahms. | Details
Friday 19
Piano Moderna | The Piano Lunaire: Pink Moon. 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. Brockton Nanostage, 710 Brock Ave. $5-$10 Suggested Donation.
The seventh instalment of the new Piano Lunaire, a performance event that takes place on the full moon of every month. This month, we celebrate the Pink Moon, with Tristan Durie (flute) in a revival premiere of The Pink Sketches by Toronto composer Njo Kong Kie. Pianist Adam Sherkin performs Phrygian Gates by John Adams. | Details
LUDWIG VAN TORONTO
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