{"id":116929,"date":"2025-08-21T14:12:32","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T18:12:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=116929"},"modified":"2025-08-21T14:12:32","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T18:12:32","slug":"preview-canadian-opera-companys-free-concert-series-returns-2025-26-september-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/08\/21\/preview-canadian-opera-companys-free-concert-series-returns-2025-26-september-17\/","title":{"rendered":"PREVIEW | The Canadian Opera Company\u2019s Free Concert Series Returns For 2025-26 On September 17"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_116934\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-116934\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-116934\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/08\/Copy-of-PREVIEW-2025-08-21T141012.262.jpg\" alt=\"L-R: Violinist Justin Saulnier; Innu soprano Elisabeth St-Gelais; cellist Peter Eom (Photos courtesy of the artists)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/08\/Copy-of-PREVIEW-2025-08-21T141012.262.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/08\/Copy-of-PREVIEW-2025-08-21T141012.262-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/08\/Copy-of-PREVIEW-2025-08-21T141012.262-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/08\/Copy-of-PREVIEW-2025-08-21T141012.262-768x402.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-116934\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">L-R: Violinist Justin Saulnier; Innu soprano Elisabeth St-Gelais; cellist Peter Eom (Photos courtesy of the artists)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Canadian Opera Company\u2019s popular Free Concert Series makes a returns for the 2025\/26 season on September 17, 2025. The series includes 70 performances, and includes a range of art forms from music performance to dance and more.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Free Concert Series is proud to present an exciting slate of programming for audiences season after season,\u201d says <strong>Meaghan Froh Metcalf<\/strong>, Manager, Free Concert Series, in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>The Series runs from September until May, 2026, and takes place in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre of the Four Seasons Centre for the Arts, and take place at noon.<\/p>\n<h3>Highlights of The Season<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re committed to offering an inviting and approachable avenue for audiences to access the transformative power of the arts, whether people are entering the opera house for the first time or their hundredth. Each season, we hear from our audiences that they value the Free Concert Series as a place to take a break, revive their spirits, or just pique their curiosity. We love it when people let us know that we helped get them outside their comfort zone and discover something that they hadn\u2019t experienced before,\u201d Metcalf continues.<\/p>\n<p>The season opens on September 17 with Meet the Ensemble Studio, part of their Vocal Series. Each of the members of the Canadian Opera Company\u2019s Ensemble Studio will perform their favourite arias.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_116936\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-116936\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-116936\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/08\/unnamed_23.jpg\" alt=\"A concert at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, part of the Canadian Opera Company's Free Concert Series (Photo courtesy of the COC)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/08\/unnamed_23.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/08\/unnamed_23-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/08\/unnamed_23-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/08\/unnamed_23-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-116936\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A concert at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, part of the Canadian Opera Company&#8217;s Free Concert Series (Photo courtesy of the COC)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Some of the other highlights include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Innu soprano <strong>Elisabeth St-Gelais<\/strong> and pianist <strong>Louise Pelletier<\/strong> perform to commemorate the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30;<\/li>\n<li><strong>Opera Atelier<\/strong> offers staged excerpts from their upcoming production of Mozart\u2019s Magic Flute on October 2;<\/li>\n<li>\u201cA thoughtfully curated hour of opera arias, duets, and irreverent genre-adjacent selections\u201d from innovative (and irreverent) <strong>Opera Revue<\/strong> on October 14;<\/li>\n<li>You can meet the artists of <strong>Fall for Dance North<\/strong> 2025 Festival Season on October 15;<\/li>\n<li>Experience the artistry of violinist <strong>Justin Saulnier<\/strong>, winner of the Schulich School of Music\u2019s Golden Violin Award, as well as this year\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/05\/09\/scoop-national-youth-orchestra-canada-announces-2025-michael-measures-prize-winners\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Michael Measures first prize winner<\/a>, in recital with pianist Gaspard Tanguay-Labrosse on November 5;<\/li>\n<li>Mozart and Ravel performed by <strong>Quator Agate<\/strong> as part of their North American tour on November 18;<\/li>\n<li>PRIMORDIAL, an exploration of darkness through music for solo cello and spoken word, including works by Ana Sokolovi\u0107, Gy\u00f6rgy Kurt\u00e1g, Kaija Saariaho, Pascal Dusapin, and others, by cellist <strong>Peter Eom<\/strong> on December 10;<\/li>\n<li>And much more, including two Adaptive Concerts as part of the COC\u2019s continued partnership with <strong>Xenia Concerts<\/strong>. They aim to present performances in a relaxed environment that support neurodivergent and disabled attendees of all ages.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>On March 18, the series celebrates the 25th anniversary of <strong>The Brothers Grimm by Dean Burry<\/strong>\u00a0a children\u2019s opera first commissioned by the COC in 2001. After more than 600 performances around the world, the one-act opera returns for a free lunch hour performance.<\/p>\n<p>Featured artists include baritone <strong>Luca Pisaroni<\/strong>, tenor <strong>Owen McCausland<\/strong>, and a special reunion performance by <strong>Alain Coulombe<\/strong> and <strong>Michael Colvin<\/strong> \u2014 both of whom graduated from the Ensemble Studio over 25 years ago.<\/p>\n<p>Both emerging and experienced talent are showcased in the series.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Find a full calendar of events [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.coc.ca\/community\/free-concert-series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>].<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em>Are you looking to promote an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/advertising\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #0e101a;\"><u>event<\/u><\/span><\/a>? Have a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/masthead\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>news tip<\/u><\/a>? Need to know the best\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/events\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>events<\/u><\/a>\u00a0happening this weekend? Send us a\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><a href=\"mailto:anya@ludwig-van.com?subject=Let's%20chat\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><em><u>note<\/u>.<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><em><b>#LUDWIGVAN<\/b><\/em><\/h3>\n<p class=\"western\"><em>Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><em>Sign up for the Ludwig Van Toronto e-Blast! \u2014 local classical music and opera news straight to your inbox <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/583e6ce0-dfd0-48be-8a33-61256b3c58e3.mlbtlr.com\/p2\/Fbd8jWoWQQ6CdBcLIvut3Q\/02E3cYaETqaj4Xm087cpSg?contactid=S3HHYfHY5rZv5f94S15MnA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/583e6ce0-dfd0-48be-8a33-61256b3c58e3.mlbtlr.com\/p2\/Fbd8jWoWQQ6CdBcLIvut3Q\/02E3cYaETqaj4Xm087cpSg?contactid%3DS3HHYfHY5rZv5f94S15MnA&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1695737525351000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0QTqKRwRJQFGK3KoJYigxX\">HERE<\/a>.<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Canadian Opera Company\u2019s popular Free Concert Series makes a returns for the 2025\/26 season on September 17, 2025 with the COC&#8217;s Ensemble Studio.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":116934,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[41660,74,76,19,20,32,38,43,4557,63,72],"tags":[5923,40843,10827,41944,2494,40043,40777],"yst_prominent_words":[8540,12835,7306,20994,6886,8854],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/08\/Copy-of-PREVIEW-2025-08-21T141012.262.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-upX","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116929"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116929"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116929\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116937,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116929\/revisions\/116937"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116929"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=116929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}