This is a list of concerts we are attending, wishing we could attend, or thinking about attending between May 4 and 10, 2026. For more of what’s happening around Toronto, visit our calendar here.
Canadian Opera Company: Werther
Thursday, May 7, 7:30 p.m., Saturday, May 8, 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, May 13, 7:30 p.m., Friday, May 15, 7:30 p.m., Sunday, May 17, 2 p.m., Tuesday, May 19, 7:30 p.m., Saturday, May 23, 4:30 p.m.
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, $45+
Massenet, the blockbuster French opera composer from the late 19th century into the early 20th, lived in a tumultuous time, and unfortunately was considered a fuddy-duddy by the end of his life. However, Werther, this gem of the Belle Époque, is full of beautiful melodies and full-romantic, rupturing hearts. Based on Goethe’s 1774 novel The Sorrows of Young Werther, sensational in its time (the story literally drove young people to commit suicide, a contagion often called the “Werther effect”) this brand new production from Alain Gauthier just might be the thing to channel the tragic beauty of youth — the hope, untameable love, and the greatest falls — as they put their hearts on the line of life and death. Would ‘Pourquoi me Réveiller’, one of the most beloved arias, a true denial of the arrival of spring and all things to bloom, prosper, and thrive, be enough to crush your heart? Come and find out. Check out our Interview with cast members Michael Colvin and Ben Wallace here. Info here.
Royal Conservatory of Music: Brad Mehldau with Kirill Gerstein
Saturday, May 8, 8 p.m.
Koerner Hall, $21+
Mehldau and Gerstein meet on this stage with zero labels. Mehldau, one of the best jazz pianists of our times, and Gerstein, winner of the Rubinstein Competition and a devotee of all musical genres — way back from the Baroque to music of Thomas Adès and Chick Corea — will fill this evening with conversations. With no specific program and a shared interest in improvisation and curation, the out-of-box concert promises much intrigue, and perhaps a sense of unease, especially for those who like to arm themselves with meticulous program notes and the subsequent expectations. Come and simply join in with open ears, and see what these two have to say, to one another, to themselves, and to you. The arts of spontaneity are becoming rare and rarer, with hyper monitoring and AI (and human) predictions on all things possible — and to come back to simple human interaction just might be the right antidote to realize what it means to be alive and present. Info here.
North Wind Concerts: Queens of Hearts
Saturday, May 9, 7:30 p.m.
Heliconian Hall, Pay-What-You-Wish, $30/35 suggested
An intimate chamber evening of lovely music from the 17th century, played among four musicians — a voice, viol, harpsichord, and a lute, is planned here. A few selections come from what may seem like a silly tradition in our eyes — the 17th century English domestic music scene where musical craft, along with beauty and wealth, ranked high in women’s marriage prospects, but the music, however, is real in its beauty and expressiveness. In contrast, the music from 17th century Italy where women were able to participate on the public scene more freely — not just as performers, but also as composers and as influencers, will fill out this interesting program. Come and see this kaleidoscopic survey of the lives of women and music, presented by genial musicians: Jane Fingler, Louise Hung, Jonathan Stuchbery, and Felix Deak. Just like the quiet domestic scenes of Vermeer’s paintings, these small scenes hold much magic and intimacy — how lovely. Info here.
Against the Grain Theatre: Stores Don’t Die: The Artists of Indians on Vacation
Saturday, May 9, 3 p.m.
Terminal Theatre, 207 Queens Quay W, 3rd floor, $46+
One of the lasting questions of our Canadian history: how do we truly integrate Indigenous culture into our post-colonial world? Perhaps many will argue that colonialism is still rampant, regardless of our heartfelt declaration of appreciation. Personally, the first time I ran into Necropolitics theory through the writings of Achille Mbembe, I was quite shocked. However, that initial surprise was quickly replaced with so many ah-ha moments. This is worth looking into, if you are interested in the general power struggle between parties — any parties — in any arena. In Canada, like many other nations built by Indigenous people before being taken over by colonialists, the idea of reconciliation looms on, and a good discussion among the community can be such a blessing, even if — or especially if — nothing changes quickly. By mixing selections from the new opera by Ian Cusson/Royce ‘Vavrek: Indians on Vacation’, and personal reflections and stories from the involved artists, AtG have created a hybrid event, Stories Don’t Die, where identities and their contexts, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, identities as strength and/or difficulties, intersect. Come and open your hearts to joy and difficulties as life and arts pass through this lovely group as they tell stories — one of the most unique of human behaviours. Info here.
Soundstreams: In Terra Pax
Saturday, May 9, 7:30 p.m.
Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, $40+
This season ender focuses on the difficult time — the time of our own. Curated by Anna Pidgorna, winner of SoundStream’s New Voices Curator Mentorship program, the program looks at the current tragedies that we have simply become accustomed to: war and loss. By the beginning of this concert, on the 1536th day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, so many have suffered, and many other violences, including other major wars, have quietly and disturbingly entered our lives. What are we to do with these ongoing challenges? What are artists to do? What are audiences to do? What does it all mean, and when we say we feel, empathise, share feelings, what is really happening? Come and listen (literally), from Ukrainians Anna Sagalova, Anna Pidgorna and Natalya Gennadi, as they weave the strands of stories through music, joined by the Ensemble Soundstreams and Steven Dann, viola, with Tania Miller at the podium. What would you feel, as the new commission: Black Crow (Pidgorna), and the haunting music of Britten, Tõnu Kõrvits, and others, overlap with scenes of soon-to-be crushed earth captured pre-invasion by Yevhen Samuchenko? After all, it’s not just people who are being lost in the tragedy of wars, but the vast landscapes and all lives in them, as the mass scaled ecocide marches on with deafening silence — oh, where would find peace? Info here.
Toronto Symphony Orchestra: Spring Journeys
Saturday, May 9, 7:30 p.m., Sunday, May 10, 3 p.m.
Meridian Arts Centre — George Weston Recital Hall, $57+
A welcome concert for the Northern residences of Toronto, this program explores all things spring. It’s been a hard winter and spring’s been rather reluctant. All efforts to bring some sunshine and warmth are welcomed, and this lovely program of Britten’s Simple Symphony, Vaughan Williams’ Songs of Travel, and Schumann’s Symphony No.1, is a great way to keep the spring optimism, and of the blooms and beauty to follow, with an exuberant march toward the summer solstice. Stephanie Childress conducts, with bass-baritone Daniel Okulitch. Info here.
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