For the week of Jan 30–Feb 5
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. 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 curated concert listings here: Musical Toronto Datebook.
For me, the best part of a Toronto winter is the music, which happens to be particularly resplendent this year. The opera and the symphony are in full swing right now, not to mention vocal and instrumental recitals, chamber music, pop, ballet — what’s your pleasure? The final installment of the COC revival of Wagner’s Ring Cycle begins this week with the opening of Götterdammerung (Feb. 2, 5). I went to one of the working rehearsals — you won’t find better singing anywhere. Meanwhile, The Magic Flute continues to delight with your choice of the two alternate casts (Feb.1, 3, 4). Two great Canadian singers (Karina Gauvin and Russell Braun) are in town for Faure and Brahms with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (Feb. 1, 2). For contemporary music fans, the University of Toronto Faculty of Music is hosting a week-long New Music Festival, focusing on the work of visiting Italian composer Salvatore Sciarrino plus others (Jan. 29 – Feb. 5). Never mind Lunar New Year was last Saturday (Jan. 28) — the Chinese celebrates at least half a month! So the TSO isn’t too late by joining in the fun (Feb. 4). The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir makes a rare appearance (Feb. 2) to celebrate the upcoming 100th year of independence. Gidon Kremer and the Kremerata Baltica presents a chamber concert at Koerner Hall (Feb. 4). Lots more — be sure to consult the full listings.
Tuesday 31
Canadian Opera Company | Vocal Series Poetry in Song. Phillip Addis, baritone and Emily Hamper, piano. Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre. 12 p.m. Free
Canadian baritone Phillip Addis, currently in town as Papageno in The Magic Flute, gives a recital of Ravel, Erik Ross, and Paul Williams/Kenneth Ascher, with the last work arranged by collaborative pianist Emily Hamper, who happens to be the wife of the baritone. Full details here.
Wednesday 1
Canadian Opera Company | The Magic Flute. Four Seasons Centre. 7:30 p.m. $35 – $235.
The COC presents a revival of the sparkling production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, conducted by Bernard Labadie, starring Andrew Haji/Owen McCausland* (Tamino), Elena Tsallagova/Kirsten MacKinnon* (Pamina), Joshua Hopkins/Phillip Addis* (Papageno), Goran Juric/Matt Boehler* (Sarastro) and Ambur Braid (Queen of the Night). (*) denotes Feb. 3 principals. (Repeats Feb.3 7:30 pm and Feb. 4 4:30 p.m.) Listing info here.
University of Toronto Faculty of Music | Opera in Concert – The Killing Flower. Walter Hall. 7:30 p.m. Pre-concert chat 6:30 p.m. $30
The 2017 New Music Festival focuses on the works of Italian composer Salvatore Sciarrino. Here’s his opera, The Killing Flower, presented in concert form, featuring singers Geoffrey Sirett, Shannon Mercer, and Scott Belluz. Info, here.
Toronto Symphony Orchestra | Fauré Requiem. Roy Thomson Hall 8 p.m. $33.75 – $148 (Repeats Feb. 2)
The TSO presents the beautiful Fauré Requiem, with soprano Karina Gauvin and baritone Russell Braun, under the baton of French conductor Stéphane Denève. Also on the program is Brahms’s Four Serious Songs for baritone and orchestra. (Repeats Feb. 2) Full details found here.
Thursday 2
Steinway Piano Gallery | Adam Sherkin in Recital. Bluma Appel Theatre Lobby, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts. Noon and 5:30 p.m. Free
Canadian pianist Adam Sherkin plays Liszt: Pilgrimage and his own composition. Details here.
Canadian Opera Company | Götterdammerung. Four Seasons Centre. 6 p.m. $35 – $235. (Repeats Feb. 5, 2 p.m.)
The final installment of Wagner’s Ring Cycle opens with a stellar cast – soprano Christine Goerke (Brunnhilde), tenor Andreas Schager (Siegfried), bass Ain Anger (Hagen), conducted by Johannes Debus and directed by Tim Albery. Full listing and ticket info here.
Soundstreams | Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. St. Paul’s Basilica, 83 Power St. 8 p.m. $47.50 – $67.50
To celebrate Estonia’s upcoming 100th year of independence, the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir is giving a concert of works by Rachmaninoff, Arvo Pärt, Omar Daniel and Riho Esko Maimets, under the auspices of Soundstreams. Kaspars Putninš conducts. Info, here.
Friday 3
Tafelmusik | Close Encounters of the Cross-Channel Kind. Heliconian Hall, 35 Hazelton Ave. 11 a.m. $35. (Repeats Feb. 4 2 p.m. Temerty Theatre at Telus Centre – SOLD OUT)
Tafelmusik presents a chamber concert with violinist Julia Wedman and Cristina Zacharias, cellist Christina Mahler, and Harpsichordist Charlotte Nediger, on works by French and English composers — Purcell, Leclair, and Couperin. Listing here.
Flato Markham Theatre | Some Enchanted Evening 8 p.m. $64 – $69. 171 Town Centre Boulevard, Markham, Ontario.
Currently on a 7-city Southern Ontario Tour, four well-known veteran singers (tenor Ben Heppner, soprano Rebecca Caine, mezzo Jean Stilwell, bass Gary Relyea) join pianist David Warrack in an evening of operetta and musical theatre. Markham is as close as they are going to get to the city of Toronto, so make the trek out there! Full details here.
Toronto Consort | Kanatha/Canada: First Encounters. Trinity St. Paul’s Centre. 8 p.m. $24 – $60 (Repeats Feb. 4)
To mark 150th anniversary of Confederation, Toronto Consort presents John Beckwith’s Wendake/Huronia, and music from the early colonists. Wendat Traditional Knowledge Keeper, Georges Sioui; Jeremy Dutcher, Wostaloq Song Carrier; Marilyn George and Shirley Hay, First Nation Singers; Toronto Chamber Choir. More concert info here.
Saturday 4
Royal Conservatory | String Concert: Russia – Masks and Faces Koerner Hall. 8 p.m. From $45
The great violinist Gidon Kremer and his chamber group Kremerata Baltica comes to Koerner for an evening of Part, Weinberg, Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Silvestrov. Details here.
Toronto Symphony Orchestra | The Year of the Rooster: A Chinese New Year Celebration. Roy Thomson Hall. 7:30 p.m. $33.75 – $148
The TSO has a large audience base in the Chinese community, and the Symphony has been nurturing this connection for many seasons now. To celebrate The Year of the Rooster, it’s offering an interesting program of pieces by Huan Zhi Li, Vivian Fung, Chen Qigang, Vincent Ho, Shande Ding. Soloists are Allison Balsom, trumpet and Wu Man, pipa. Long Yu conducts. Full listing found here.
Sunday 5
Royal Conservatory | Sunday Interludes: Andres Diaz. Mazzoleni Concert Hall. 2 p.m. Free (tickets required)
Cellist Andrés Diaz performs works by Martinu, Richard Strauss, and Kevin Puts, with Barry Shiffman and other guests. More info here.
For more events, visit our DATEBOOK CALENDAR.
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