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By Colin Eatock on March 27, 2015
There are some singers who sound great in opera productions. And there are also singers who excel in Lieder. But, unfortunately, there aren’t very many who are masters of both genres. Is Elliot Madore one of these rare creatures?...
(Continue reading)By Lev Bratishenko on March 23, 2015
The Ladies' Morning Musical Club is the most civilized thing you can do in Montreal on a Sunday afternoon. They’ve been in continuous operation since 1892 and I have no doubt they’ll find a way to keep putting on concerts through the coming ecological apocalypse. Perhaps they will sell distilled water...
(Continue reading)By Joseph So on March 19, 2015
Since its premiere on December 17th 1864, Offenbach’s La belle Helene has remained one of the most popular of French operettas. It’s easy to see why – a piece that takes place in mythical Greece, with larger than life characters caught in improbable situations, set to an inspired score full of memorable tunes. For a work that celebrated its 150th anniversary last December, its hold on the public remains strong...
(Continue reading)By Paul E. Robinson on March 19, 2015
These performances were recorded live during the Pull Out All the Stops Festival launching the refurbished Royal Festival Hall organ, fully operational again for the first time since 2005. The organ sounds terrific and the performances are first-rate...
(Continue reading)By Robin Elliott on March 17, 2015
The Los-Angeles-based Canadian trumpet virtuoso Jens Lindemann gave a varied and highly entertaining recital for the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto on Thursday afternoon (March 12th). The ten selections on his program ranged widely across both classical and jazz idioms. And that’s where history was made – this was the first time in 117 years that jazz has been featured on a WMCT program...
(Continue reading)By Paul E. Robinson on March 14, 2015
Elgar is practically part of the DNA of a certain group of Canadian classical music lovers; it goes with their Anglo-Saxon heritage and recognition of the Queen of England as their sovereign. For many classical music lovers in the United States and beyond, it is a different matter. Elgar’s music, while regularly programmed by British orchestras, was never widely performed or appreciated in the USA or Europe in the past and that is still the case today...
(Continue reading)By Michael Vincent on March 12, 2015
There’s a funny thing that happens to us in Toronto. After a number of very long, dim winter months, there comes a threshold where we can hardly fathom a landscape not encased by snow and ice. It becomes the norm. But then it happens: a miraculous spring thaw that reminds us it is possible...
(Continue reading)By Robin Roger on March 9, 2015
The onset of daylight savings time is usually a bit disorienting but it has been particularly peculiar since 2007, when it was moved to the second Sunday in March . In Toronto this means a misfit between late afternoon and early evening light that evokes a sense of summer (or used to) occurring when the weather remains frigid. One might call this climactic dissonance...
(Continue reading)By Michael Vincent on March 8, 2015
It’s early March, which means it’s time to step out of the winter boots and into a season where the air no longer hurts your face. This time of year also marks the annual New Creations Festival, which included one of the most-talked-about and hippest operas going: Written on Skin by British composer George Benjamin...
(Continue reading)By Colin Eatock on March 7, 2015
On Friday evening in Walter Hall, the spotlight was on Peter Togni. The Elmer Iseler Singers, under Lydia Adams, presented an entire program of music by the Halifax-based composer and broadcaster...
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