For the week of April 25 to May 1
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 our concert listings in the Musical Toronto Datebook.
Top on my list this week is the COC spring season of a rarity, Rossini’s Maometto II, which is likely a Canadian premiere. Then there’s the ever-popular Carmen. The TSO performs Mahler Symphony No. 1, and Tafelmusik is offering Zelenka and Bach, featuring winners of their recent vocal competition.
Monday 25
GALLERY 345 | Sujari Britt at Gallery 345. 8:00 p.m. $10-20
A year ago, I accidentally stumbled onto a Youtube video of 11-year old cellist Sujari Britt performing bits and pieces of the Elgar Cello Concerto, my desert island piece. Elgar composed this late in his life, a piece so autumnal and poignant that it’s a challenge to even the most technically accomplished and experienced artist in full maturity. And here’s young Sujari playing it with all the musicality and depth of feeling one would want! Well, she’s not playing Elgar in her recital at Gallery 345 on April 25th since there’s no orchestra. On the program are two Bach Cello Suites plus Brahms, Saint-Saens and Messiaen. She is now 14 and a student at Manhattan School of Music. I’m very curious about this concert and I do think she’s well worth hearing. Here’s a link to her short documentary. For concert details, see here.
Tuesday 26
COC | Vocal Series: Fruitful and Sacred Ground at The Four Seasons Centre, Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre. 12:00 p.m. Free!
Canadian soprano Simone Osborne, a former COC Ensemble Studio member and a Met Auditions Winner, takes time out from her Micaela duties to give a free noon hour recital at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre on April 26th. Her pianist is the excellent American Stephen Hargreaves, who offered impeccable support to Clémentine Margaine in her recital last Friday. The program includes Debussy’s Ariettes oubliées, Canadian composer Matthew Emery’s Three Songs, plus pieces by Mozart and Cole Porter. Be sure to show up an hour early to ensure a seat. Info found, here.
Wednesday 27
CMC | The Cecilia String Quartet at Canadian Music Centre. 7:30 p.m. $15-20
The Cecilia String Quartet is giving a recital of three Canadian commissions at the Canadian Music Centre on April 27th 7:30 p.m. The three composers are Katarina Curcin, Nicole Lizée, and Kati Agócs. I have not been able to find the names of the pieces on the CMC website. Other details, here.
TMC | Haydn’s The Creation at Koerner Hall. 7:30 p.m. $20-87
The premiere choral group in Canada, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, is presenting Haydn’s The Creation, on April 27th 7:30 p.m. at Koerner Hall. This is a real cornerstone in the oratorio repertoire, demanding on the chorus and the three soloists. On this occasion, it’s soprano Leslie Ann Bradley, tenor Zach Finkelstein and baritone Alexander Hajek, all well known to Toronto audiences. The TMC and Festival Orchestra is under the direction of Noel Edison. Info, here.
TORONTO OPERETTA THEATRE | Los Gavilanes (The Sparrow Hawks) at Jane Mallett Theatre. 7:30 p.m. $20-87 (Repeats April 29, 30 and May 1 [3:00 p.m.])
The Toronto Operetta Theatre is venturing into the unfamiliar with the Canadian premiere of Los Gavilanes (The Sparrow Hawks), a Zarzuela by composer Jacinto Guerrero. It stars Miriam Khalil and Ernest Ramirez. Larry Beckwith conducts. April 27th 8 p.m. at the Jane Mallett Theatre. Also on April 29, 30 and May 1. More details found, right here.
Thursday 28
COC | Vocal Series: Collaborations at The Four Seasons Centre, Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre. 12:00 p.m. Free!
Every year, the young artists of the COC Ensemble Studio and the Atelier lyrique of the Opera de Montreal get together for a joint concert, Collaborations. This free event takes place at noon April 28th in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre. No program announced yet but it’s always good, sung by beautiful, fresh, young, well-trained voices. Be sure to show up an hour early to ensure a spot. Info, here.
COC | Georges Bizet’s Carmen at The Four Seasons Centre. 7:30 p.m. $55-435 (Repeats through May 15. Start times vary)
Bizet’s Carmen at the COC continues this week on April 28 and 30 at the Four Seasons Centre. I’ve seen both casts and they are all terrific. There are two sets of principal singers – for April 28 it’s Clémentine Margaine, David Pomeroy, Karine Boucher and Zachary Nelson. April 30 is Anita Rachvelishvili, Russell Thomas, Simone Osborne and Christian Van Horn. Paolo Carignani conducts. Details, here.
TSO | Toronto Symphony Orchestra with Matthias Pintscher (conductor) at Roy Thomson Hall. 8:00 p.m. $33.75–148 (Repeats April 30)
German conductor and composer Matthias Pintscher makes his Toronto Symphony Orchestra debut on April 28 (repeated April 30) in Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, as well as his own composition, Towards Osiris. You can hear him talk about his composition here. Also on the program is Mozart Piano Concerto No. 24, K. 491, with Israeli pianist Inon Barnatan. Full details, here.
TAFELMUSIK | Zelenka & Bach at Trinity St. Paul’s Centre. 8:00 p.m. $15-81 (Repeats through May 1)
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir under the direction of Ivars Taurins is presenting Bach’s Cantata 202, the so-called Wedding Cantata, together with Missa Omnium Sanctorum, ZWV 21 by Czech composer Jan Dismas Zelenka. The soloists, in addition to the regularly scheduled German soprano Dorothee Mields, are winners of the recent Tafelmusik Vocal Competition – mezzo Kim Leeds, tenor Jacques-Olivier Chartier, and bass-baritone Jonathan Woody. The concert takes place at Trinity St. Paul’s Centre on April 28, 29, 30 and May 1. More info found, here.
Friday 29
COC | Rossini’s, Maometto secondo at The Four Seasons Centre. 2:00 p.m. $25-355. (Repeats through May 14. Start times vary)
The second opera of the COC Spring Season, Maometto secondo, opens on April 29. I saw this very production a few years ago at Santa Fe Opera with the same principals — soprano Leah Crocetto (Anna), tenor Bruce Sledge (Erisso), and bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni (Maometto). The only cast change is mezzo Elizabeth DeShong replacing the original Calbo, Patricia Bardon. As is typical of Rossini, the vocal writing is florid and demanding, but our cast is fully up to the task. Also on May 1. Details, here.
Saturday 30
SHOW ONE PRODUCTIONS | Lucas Debargue and Lukas Geniušas (piano) at Koerner Hall. 8:00 p.m. $35-90.
Two winners of the 5th International Tchaikovsky Competition are in town for a duo recital. They are the “Two Lucases” — French pianist Lucas Debargue and Lithuanian pianist Lukas Geniušas. They’ll play both solo pieces and selections for duo pianos at Koerner Hall on April 30. Full details, here.
Sunday 1
RCM | Mazzoleni Masters Songmasters Series: The Finnish-Hungarian Connection at Mazzoleni Concert Hall. 2:00 p.m. $25+
On Sunday, May 1st, the Mazzoleni Songmasters series is presenting The Hungarian-Finnish Connection, a recital featuring works by Liszt, Bartok, Sibelius and others, with soprano Leslie Ann Bradley, bass-baritone Stephen Hegedus, and pianists Rachel Andrist and Robert Kortgaard. Violinist Erika Raum will join Leslie Ann Bradley for Kaija Saariaho’s Changing Light. More info, here.
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