Classical music and opera events happening in and around Toronto for the week of February 24 – March 1.

Critic’s Picks (February 24 – March 1)

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.

Tuesday 25

Canadian Opera Company | Vocal Series: The Truth About Love 12 p.m. Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre, 145 Queen St. W. Free. Limited Seating.

Soprano Alexandra Smither and pianist Rachael Kerr join forces to give an intensely personal program about love, featuring the music of Weill, Walton, Richardson-Schulte, Schubert, Britten, Tailleferre, and Albouker. The title of the recital comes from “Tell Me the Truth About Love,” in Britten’s Cabaret Songs. | Details

Wednesday 26

Esprit Orchestra | Electric & Eclectic 8 p.m. Koerner Hall, 273 Bloor St. W. $20-$65. 7:15 p.m. pre-concert talk.

Alex Pauk conducts the Esprit Orchestra in a concert featuring an electronic treatment of orchestral sound, with a “multi-speaker, surround-sound blending of transformed orchestral sound with computer sound files.” Works by Adams, O’Callaghan, and Schnittke. Marie Berard and Stephen Sitarski, violins; Stephen Clarke, harpsichord/prepared piano; James O’Callaghan, electronics. | Details

Thursday 27

Women’s Musical Club of Toronto | Diotima Quartet. 1:30 p.m. Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building, University of Toronto, 80 Queen’s Park. $45

WMCT presents the Diotima Quartet (Yun-Peng Zhao, violin; Constance Ronzatti, violin; Franck Chevalier, viola; Pierre Morlet, cello), in a program of Alban Berg String Quartet, op. 3; Misato Mochizuki Brains (a Canadian premiere); and Beethoven String Quartet no. 15, op. 132, A minor. At 12:15 p.m., WMCT Artistic Director Simon Fryer will be on hand to announce the program for the 2020-21season, WMCT’s 123rd! | Details

Music Toronto | Schumann Quartett 8 p.m. Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre, 27 Front St. E. $47.50-$52/$10(st)

The Schumann Quartett (Mark Schumann and Erik Schumann, violins; Liisa Randalu, viola; Ken Schumann, cello) returns to Toronto for a recital of works by Haydn, Shostakovich and Smetana. | Details

Tafelmusik | The Indigo Project. 8 p.m. Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor St. W. Repeats Feb. 28, 29, Mar 1, 3. Remaining tickets $20-$109. Check website for start times.

Got to hand it to Tafelmusik and Alison Mackay for their interesting thematic programming: “A musical journey exploring the vast social, cultural, and political implications of a powerful blue dye, indigofera tinctorial.” A total of 20 pieces by composers from Handel and Lully to Stradella and the famous “Anonymous.” Elisa Citterio director; Cynthia Smithers, narrator; Ivars Taurins, conductor; and choirs from Earl Haig & Unionville Secondary Schools. | Details

Friday 28

University of Toronto Faculty of Music | The Rachmaninoff Vespers. 7:30 p.m. St. Anne’s Anglican Church, 270 Gladstone Ave. $30/$20(sr)/$10(st)

Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Vespers is considered his greatest choral masterpiece, performed here by the Clarion Choir of New York and the Schola Cantorum, under the direction of guest conductor Steven Fox. | Details

Opera York | The Merry Widow 7:30 p.m. Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts, 10268 Yonge St., Richmond Hill. $40-$50. Repeats March 1 2 p.m.

The opera company north of the 401 presents a perennial favourite, Franz Lehar’s operetta The Merry Widow. Incomplete casting information on the website, but we do know Sara Papini is Hanna, and baritone Douglas Tranquada is Danilo. Geoffrey Butler conducts. | Details

Saturday 29

Met Opera Live in HD/ Cineplex Canada | Agrippina 12:55 p.m. Selected Cineplex Cinema locations. $28. Encore performances on April 18, 20, 22, 26.

Hard to believe, but this is the first-ever staging of Handel’s Agrippina at the Met, in a Sir David McVicar production originally from La Monnaie. An opera about power, gender and politics, this production in modern dress is sure to resonate! A smashing cast with Joyce DiDonato in the title role, Brenda Rae (Poppea), Kate Lindsey (Nerone), Iestyn Davies (Ottone), Duncan Rock (Pallante), and Matthew Rose (Claudio). Harry Bicket conducts. It promises to be a great show. | Details

National Ballet of Canada | Angels’ Atlas 7:30 p.m. Four Seasons Centre, 145 Queen St. W. $41-$133. Eight performances to March 7.

A mixed program at the National, beginning with Angels’ Atlas, a world premiere by Crystal Pite, followed by Chroma, choreographed by Wayne McGregor. Rounding out the offering is Sir Frederick Ashton’s Marguerite and Armand, originally created for Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev. | Details

Sunday 1

Toronto Classical Singers | Schubert Lieder and Mass in C Major 4 p.m. Christs Church Deer Park, 1570 Yonge St. $30.

The Toronto Classical Singers present an all-Schubert program, with Jurgen Petrenko conducting the Talisker Players Orchestra in Mass in C Major, and Schubert Lieder (details unavailable) with piano. Kendra Dyck, soprano; Danielle MacMillan, mezzo; Chris Fischer, tenor; Bruce Kelly, baritone; and Qiao Yi Miao Mu, 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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