We have detected that you are using an adblocking plugin in your browser.
The revenue we earn by the advertisements is used to manage this website. Please whitelist our website in your adblocking plugin.
Get the weekly email about classical music and opera that is actually enjoyable.
Join our growing community of 150,000 readers, for free.
By Michael Vincent on April 1, 2015
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra are currently in negotiations with the popular Loblaws supermarket chain to rename themselves, “President’s Choice Symphony Orchestra”, effective 2016.
(Continue reading)By Neil Crory on April 1, 2015
It seems hardly possible that Opera In Concert (now rebranded as Voice Box/Opera in Concert) marks its 41st anniversary this past season. The organization - founded by the irrepressible vocal coach and pianist, Stuart Hamilton, C.M., – made its debut on October 21, 1974 with Ambroise Thomas' Hamlet. Since then they have presented over 150 different operas - most of them true rarities...
(Continue reading)By Michael Vincent on March 31, 2015
Concert start times can be divided into two primary groups: The 7:30 and the 8:00 p.m. Besides the supreme importance of curating world-class artists and engaging programs, arts presenters must also invariably decide upon the start time of each show...
(Continue reading)By Michael Vincent on March 30, 2015
Musical Toronto’s weekly Critic’s Picks are a fully curated list of some of the best concerts happening now through the end of the week. Of course this is not to say we are the provocateurs of taste, but simply seek to provide a good weekly summary. For a look at the full breadth of what’s available in and around Toronto, check out the comprehensive concert listings from our friends at Wholenote Magazine...
(Continue reading)By Robin Roger on March 28, 2015
I’m sure that most people who purchased tickets to last night’s concert at Koerner Hall, did so in order to see violinist Lisa Batiashvili and pianist Paul Lewis perform together, rather than to observe the 500th concert at Koerner Hall. This milestone certainly added to the sense of occasion, and the presence of these two luminaries befit the celebration of a venue that has proven to be such a transformative addition to the musical life of this city...
(Continue reading)By Michael Vincent on March 28, 2015
Driven under the dancing baton of visiting conductor Krzysztof Urbański, it’s not hard to see how the Rite provided a way out of the “theatre of the mind.”...
(Continue reading)By Paul E. Robinson on March 28, 2015
Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt has played so much Bach and played it so well she has become known as one of the great Bach players of her time. In fact, her Bach reputation is so great that it is often assumed that she plays little else. Nothing could be further from the truth and this new CD provides conclusive evidence...
(Continue reading)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 Michael Vincent on March 27, 2015
Starting this Sunday, March 29, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra will be live-on-air, at The New Classical FM, for a weekly radio show and podcast titled Sunday Night with the TSO...
(Continue reading)By Jenna Douglas on March 25, 2015
The opera scene in Canada can be divided into two broad groups: those with real estate, and those without. Companies like the Canadian Opera Company own the Four Seasons Centre, which they use for their whole season. Other companies, like Opera 5, move between various venues for their shows. There is indeed a blurry line between a company owning its primary performance space, and a company's having a history of regular use in a specific venue, the way l'Opéra de Montréal uses space at Place des Arts. Generally speaking, though, larger opera companies have a fixed performance venue, and smaller, independent companies are more nomadic...
(Continue reading)
