This is a list of concerts we are attending, wishing we could attend, or thinking about attending between July 28 and August 3, 2025. For more of what’s happening around Toronto, visit our calendar here.
Toronto Summer Music: Franco Fagioli: The Last Castrato
Tuesday, July 29, 7:30 p.m.
Walter Hall, 80 Queen’s Park, $20+
Franco Fagioli, one of the finest countertenors of our time, joins l’Opéra Royal de Versailles under the baton of Stefan Plewniak this Tuesday evening with a program featuring the best works inspired and written for the last great castrato, Giovanni Battista Velluti. Fagioli, who’s been featured in major opera houses in the world, including Salzburg and Covent Garden, is a real treat in a live performance, especially in the lovely acoustic of Koerner Hall. Come by and take refuge from the hot, noisy city summer, and sink into the beauty of this particular repertoire, and be mesmerized by the variety and beauty of the human voice. Read our Interview with Franco Fagioli here. Info here.
Toronto Concert Orchestra: Romeo & Juliet and Tales of Other Star-Crossed Lovers
Tuesday, July 29, 8 p.m.
Palais Royale Ballroom, 1601 Lakeshore Blvd., $30+
After a sold-out season opener last week, TCO presents a program weaving all-time vocal favourites from Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, Puccini’s La bohème, Massenet’s Werther, to Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody and Bernstein’s West Side Story, featuring soloists Lynn Anoush Isnar and Colin Ainsworth. TCO’s summer concerts at Palais Royale are a great blend of low-key summer fun with time-tested musical favourites by the beautiful lakeside. TCO’s focus on making classical music accessible and enjoyable to all persons is an important one — as sacred as the arts may be, we must remember that the arts exist simply to bring beauty into everyone’s life, without the rigid wall that often exists, especially in the classical music scene. If the idea of summer breeze over an easy glass of a favourite drink, with passionate live classical music tickles your fancy, get your tickets soon and head to the lakeside for this summer weeknight gem. Info here.
International Congress of Voice Teachers: Lauren Margison in Concert
Saturday, August 2, 7:30 p.m.
Koerner Hall, $48+
The International Congress of Voice Teachers conference, July 31 – August 3, invites all singers, voice teachers, artists, and schools to share and build further knowledge and strategies for the future of voice education, and it happens every four years. For this year, it is hosted in Toronto by three institutions: the National Association of Teachers of Singing, the Royal Conservatory, and the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto. This concert highlights the aim of the conference: to showcase the artistry that the ICVT aims to create and support. Margison, a familiar face in Toronto — she is an alumna of the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio, as well as numerous performances during the TD Toronto Jazz Festival, and the Beaches Jazz Festival — is a great choice to bring a mixed program of classical, jazz, and pop favs. And a great choice to grace a Saturday evening. Info here.
Caledon Music Festival: Song and Dance
Saturday, August 2, 7:15 p.m.
Davis Family Farm, 15770 Mountainview Rd, Caledon East, ON L7C 2V2, $45, discount tickets available
Davis Family Farm, one of the largest sunflower fields and a favourite place for visual social media fans, hosts the Caledon Music Festival this Saturday evening. A mix of instrumental and vocal numbers including works of Piaf, Jacques Brel, Antonio Carlos Jobim, to Piazzolla and Arvo Pärt, this 90-minute program is a great way to celebrate the riches of Ontario summer. Get out to the country and take a breather and recharge with the glorious sunflowers — it is a truly stunning place. Read our Interview with Caldeon Music Festival Artistic Director Terry Lim here. Info here.
Toronto Summer Music: TSM Finale
Saturday, August 2, 7:30 p.m.
Walter Hall, 80 Queen’s Park, $20+
After so many great programs involving visiting guest artists, mentors, festival fellows, and the Community Program, since July 10th, Toronto Summer Music presents its final concert of the festival on this Saturday evening. Come out and support this amazing group of people who have so generously shared their passion and musical thoughts, and bid them a farewell — till next year! Info here.
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