This is a list of concerts we are attending, wishing we could attend, or thinking about attending between May 12 and 18, 2025. For more of what’s happening around Toronto, visit our calendar here.
Tapestry Opera: Sanctuary Song
Wednesday, May 14, 6 p.m., Thursday, May 15, 8 p.m., Friday, May 16, 4 p.m., Saturday, May 17, 2 p.m., and continues to May 25
Nancy & Ed Jackman Performance Centre, 877 Yonge St., $60 general admission; PWYC and free youth tickets (under 18) available
Just about 45 minutes long, this little opera about Sydney the elephant who journeys from the wild to a circus and a zoo, then to a Tennessee sanctuary, is a lovely way to bridge live performance and theatre for all ages. Elephants, highly intelligent and social, have been a perennial favourite for many humans for decades, which unfortunately led to the once-common yet slowly dying practice of performing elephants. What would it be like, to be led into the world where topsy turvy turns take you by surprise — some with joy, some with sadness, across the globe half-way? With four singers and four musicians, the musical setting by Abigail Richardson-Schulte and Marjorie Chan is intimate yet colourful (thanks to the amazing world of percussion especially). Come and witness this lovely production, which opened just last weekend, and experience the magic of small theatres. Unlike the gigantic, cavernous opera houses and endless rows of seats in major symphony halls, there’s a peculiar magic in these small productions — an immediacy that is not available anywhere else. The production pictures look fantastic, and we can trust the magic of intimate storytelling; after all, Richardson-Schulte’s work has won many theatre-related awards including a Dora for the Best New Opera, and her 2012 now-classic The Hockey Sweater, based on book by Roch Carrier, is nearly at 200 performances — clearly, she is a capable storymaker. Bring all people of all ages, for a brief trip out of our daily lives. Info here.
Royal Conservatory of Music: Rhiannon Giddens & The Old-Tim Revue
Thursday, May 15, and Friday, May 16, at 8 p.m.
Koerner Hall, $80+
Rhiannon Giddens, a true warden of American people’s music, finally returns to Toronto — this is the reschedule of her 2023 September concert due to illness — and her ardent fans are excited to see the second date added; the initial single date sold out in days. Giddens, after finishing Oberlin’s opera program, went back to North Carolina, sunk into folk music — and has not stopped since. Winning two Grammys, MacArthur Fellowship, Pulitzer for Music (2023), and so many more, her wide collaborations and stylistic experiments make it hard to pin her down into a genre — perhaps best described as root music: multifaceted Americana, built and evolving from early blues, country, folk, R&B, and many others, it is simply stunningly beautiful. A few of her collaborations include critically acclaimed projects with Christian McBride and Francesco Turrisi, the Silkroad Ensemble, and Beyonce — it is fascinating to see her play, curate, and evolve constantly. Root/folk music is quite difficult to define: we feel it when we hear it, but that leaves us with a limited exposure to what ‘becomes’ available — a random streaming track, a song in a movie, an occasional interest in Chris Thiel perhaps, whose mandolin genius may be familiar to Bach and Vivaldi fans. So come out this week, and hear this amazing woman and her crew: Justin Robinson, Dirk Powell, Amelia Powell, Jason Sypher, and Demeanor, and be immersed in the complex tradition of Americana, at its best. 20 months was a long time to wait. Info here.
TSO: Beethoven’s Fifth with the National Arts Centre Orchestra
Friday, May 16, 7:30 p.m., Roy Thomson Hall, $30+
Ah, it’s nice to have an orchestra visit Toronto. Toronto is vibrant. There is so much diversity and so many things to do — but perhaps not so much in the arts. With a population of just about 3 million (as of 2022, excluding the GTA), we simply lack the size and depth of audiences to have true diversity for arts in comparison to the mega cities of the world. The wide, beautiful Canadian landscape really does not help this cause: the closest full-season orchestras are at least a couple hours away. Hence, it is imperative that we also keep an ear out for non-local ensembles. NACO is bringing a few perennial bangers: Beethoven’s Fifth, and Mozart Piano Concerto No. 22 with Yeol Eum Son; and the NACO commission by Keiko Devaux: ‘Listening Underwater’ (2023), is an interesting treat to spice this traditional programming. Son was silver medal winner of the Tchaikovsky Competition (2011), and Van Cliburn (2009), known for her Mozart playing (her live Tchaikovsky Competition Mozart recording has hit over 25 million views) — promise an enjoyable, sweet program with zero extra travel. Info here.
Vesuvius Ensemble: Le Tarantelle: Spiders’ Night!
Friday, May 16, 8 p.m.
Heliconian Hall, 35 Hazelton Ave., $40+
The Vesuvius Ensemble, our own local group focusing on Italian heritage, sells out every concert. The authenticity and joy they bring is vivid and warm. This time, focusing on the perennial favourite style, Le Tarantelle, the evening promises an immersion in la dolce vita, with the extra zing of… poisonous bites. ‘… to access the tarantella’s healing power, we’ll need to find the music that pleases the “spider” whose “bite” caused your ailment,’ says VE — will they deliver the goods? Come and find out, at the intimate Heliconian Hall, and sink into beauty. Info here.
Canzona Chamber Players: Chamber Café
Sunday, May 18, 10:30 a.m., Canzona Music Studio, 27 Sherbourne St. N., $40
Instead of the glam of the performance houses, come as you are, (or in your Sunday morning best), grab a cup of coffee and local bakery goods (this time, delivered from the Jule’s patisserie) and let Bohemian Spring flow gently through the weekend glory. Playing chamber music is synonymous with listening to chamber music, for many musicians. In fact, we all agree that chamber music with friends, and friends-to-be, is one of the best riches we have in life. People build life-long friendships, fall into deepest love, and get to know others in ways that are so much more intimate than words, when they truly play together. We pick up on little unique mannerisms, and offer a depth of emotion that goes far beyond the everyday language. A sound can say so much. The gestures and mutual communication that enable such sound creation, can say even more. It must not be a total fluke that the verb ‘to play,’ is applied to music; coming from Proto-West Germanic ‘plegōjanan,’ meaning to ‘occupy oneself about,’ when we play together, we occupy oneself with the others. So come to this lovely, open, informal setting and let the familiar faces fill out this Sunday morning with human beauty. Read our Preview here. Info here.
Arkel Chamber Concerts: Under a Veil of Stars
Sunday, May 18, 3 p.m.
Trinity St. Paul’s United Church, $40
If you are not a morning person, here’s a Sunday afternoon chamber concert for you! Featuring two piano trios: Schubert, and Kevin Lau, Arkel is joined by guest pianist Philip Chiu. Schubert’s piano trio, his 100th work, is one of his last works, and it was the only large-scale instrumental work that was published in his lifetime, likely premiered in one of the ‘Schubertiad’, informal celebrations where Schubert and friends gathered to share life and music. Lau’s music, new yet alway accessible, makes a good pair for this gentle afternoon program — a great long weekend outing choice. Info here.
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