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Volume 11 Issue 7 - April 2006

  • Text
  • April
  • Toronto
  • Theatre
  • Jazz
  • Musical
  • Arts
  • Orchestra
  • Symphony
  • Concerto
  • Choir

May 17 & 18,

May 17 & 18, 2006 F EATU R I NG: Colin Ainsworth Michele DeBoer Teri Dunn Jennifer Enns Modolo Peter Mahon Eve-Rachel Mcleod Doug McNaughton Jason Nedecky And an orchestra on period instruments led by artistic director Larry Beckwith Marie-Nathalie Lacoursiere dancer G[ choreographer Derek Boyes, associate director PURC ELL'S DIOCLESIAN The artistic team that envisioned last year' s triumphant Fairy Queen presents another gem by H enry Purcell: the little-known "semi-opera" Dioclesian, about a Roman emperor who abdicates his throne for love. 8 p.m. (J:15 pre-show chat) Glenn Gould Studio 250 Front Street West, Toronto Regular Students/Seniors Tickets: 416-205-5555 torontomasquetheatre@sympatico.ca to ront dart s bo u n c i I A. " a,m·s lengt h bod~ ol u,e Cil y or To ronto in June to Covent Garden "is the beginning of our short and long range plans" and its "launch on the international stage." She continues, "In five years' time, we intend to have gained a foothold for our all-Canadian opera productions in international festivals and recognition as a company that is pioneering a new intercultural opera form . In ten years' time, we want to be the company of choice when international presenters program contemporary chamber opera and to have established ourselves as the world leader in intercultural opera" . Coming soon is an opera built around Suba Sankaran, the Toronto-based South Indian classical singer, to be composed by Michael Oesterle as kind of inversion of "Hansel and Gretel" . Next will be a Portuguese facto opera on the subject of Ines de Castro built around the Toronto facto singer Catarina Cardeal to be composed by James Rolfe of "Beatrice Chancey" fame to a libretto by Paul Bentley, the librettist for "The Handmaid's Tale" and "The Midnight Court" . A telephone conversation with Wayne Strongman, Artistic Director of Tapestry New Opera Works, came just before company members were to embark on a group session to clarify their vision of the company. Claire Hopkinson had helped form the company so much in her own image, that with her departure the company now wants to determine how best to prioritize its commitments and focus its energies. Tapestry will seek to increase its national presence. The recent success of its third "Opera to Go" series ofminioperas is just one aspect of this since several composer-librettist pairs who have met under its auspices continue to collaborate. Yet, Tapestry is also on the verge of establishing an international presence. " Elijah's Kite" by James Rolfe to a libretto by Camyar Chai is due to premiere at the Manhattan School of Music on April 9. " Antigone" by Christos Hatzis to a libretto by Jocelyn Clarke and directed by Anne Bogart of New York's famed SITI Company is coming up. Both will later travel to Toronto. And in spring 2007 Tapestry is taking Hatzis's acclaimed multimedia work "Constantinople" to Covent Garden. Guillermo Silva- Marin, Artistic Director of Toronto Operetta Theatre and of Opera in Concert, has revealed that both companies are on the verge of a new era. This reassessment of position has less to do with the new opera house than with the ,000,000 renovation and upgrade of facilities the St. Lawrence Centre will soon undergo. In the immediate future (April 21-30) the TOT will present "Kismet" , the 1953 musical by Robert Wright and George Forrest based on the music of Alexander Borodin, that includes such hits as "Stranger in Paradise" and "This is My Beloved". The recent success of the TOT's Canadian premiere of Weill's "Lady in the Dark" has proven to Silva­ Marin that Toronto audiences have a taste for seldom-seen repertoire. Next year TOT will make the move from three mainstage offerings to four, all fully staged with orchestra. As for Opera in Concert, it will continue to explore risky repertory and serve, as does the TOT, as a forum fo r young Canadian Elizabeth Beeler as Liza Elliott and Stuart Graham as Kendall Nesbitt in TOT's February 2006 production of Kurt Weill's Lady in the Dark singers. What will enhance the experience at Opera in Concert next season will be OiC's first-ever use of surtitles. Silva-Marin also hopes that funding will be in place to permit more rehearsal time and thus allow the OiC singers to be less tied to their scores in order to present the works more dramatically. The result of all these new developments in companies large and small is that Toronto and environs, already known as a hive of operatic activity in North America, will soon offer audiences a greater range of choice than ever before. Please see also Opera, Music Theatre, Dance Listings page 58 How I Met My Teacher goes to the Opera page 63 Opera at Home page 65 BookShelf page 66 WholeNote MarketPlace A NEW way to advertise your services in WholeNote! For advertisers • A smaller ad size to give you continuous presence at an affordable price • Choice of three, five or ten issues continuous presence • Category grouping for maximum impact • Opportunity to suggest categories For readers • A one-stop shop for professional services you can use Call 416-323-2232 now to advertise in WholeNote MarketPlace! 36 WWW. TH EWHOLENOTE.COM .. . pa.b you:rs~lf a. l~sson Find your teacher in WholeNote MarketPlace A PR I L 1 - MAY 7 2006

WE ARE All Music's CHILDREN by mJ Buell March's Child .... was David Fallis "Based on the way the boy cocks his head to sing, I'm guessing that this month's musical child is DAVID FALLIS. " (Geoffrey Allen, Toronto) Conductor DAVID FALLIS is one of Canada's leading interpreters of operatic and choral/orchestral repertoire, especially from the Baroque and Classical periods. As Music Director for Opera Atelier he has helped bring that company onto stages all around the world. David is Artistic Director of the Toronto Consort. This chamber ensemble specializing in the music of the Middle Ages and Renaissance has more than a thirty year history with the Toronto concert season. They have toured extensively across Canada and in Europe, and David has led the ensemble in recordings for Marquis Classics, Dorian Records and SRI. abc Toronto International Choral Festival 44 Academy Concert Series 49 Acrobat Music 64 Aldeburgh Connection 16, 50 Alexander Singers and Players 34 All the King's Voices 49 American Harp Society, Toronto Chapter 49 Amici 44 Analekta 75 ATMA Classique 7 ATMA/Musica lntima 26 Audiolin Music 13 Augustine Simoni 53 Bach Children's Chorus 24, 25 Bach Consort 47 Bay Bloor Radio 80 Camerata Tibia 48 Canadian Children's Opera Chorus 24 Canadian Sinfonietta 49 Canadian Singers 45 CanClone Services 64 APRIL 1 - M AY 7 2006 Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra 45 Centenary Concert Series 57 Children of Chomobyl 8 Christ Church Deer Park Jazz Vespers 31 Cosmo Music 33 Dancemakers 9 Dave Snider Music Centre 36 David Varjabed 60 Eglinton St. Georges United Church 42 Elmer lseler Singers 25, 51 Etobicoke Youth Choir 52 Fanshawe Chorus London 55 George Heinl 22 Harknett Musical Services 33 Heliconian Hall 62 High Park Choirs ofToronto 23 Humbercrest Un~ed Church 43, 46 Hymn Society, Southern Ontario Chapter 53 International Touring Productions 40 Islington United Church 32 index of advertisers Kammermusik Toronto 24 Kerr Frames 56 Koffler Salon Series 47 Lockridge HiFi 13 Long & McQuade 31 Maestro Enterprises 60 Michael lerullo 62 Mikrokosmos 66 Mississauga Symphony 52 Mister's Mastering House 62 Music at Metropolitan 43 Music at St. Mark's 49 Music for Young Children 61 Music Gallery 30 Music Toronto 11, 27, 42 Music a Fran ca 71 Musicians in Ordinary 41 Naxos of Canada 69 New Adventures in Sound 29 New Music Concerts 29, 50 Newman Concert Series 41 No Strings Theatre Productions 60 Oakville's Age of Enlightenment Orchestra 51 Opera Atelier 35 WWW. THEWHOLENOTE. COM The Toronto Consort also performed the theme music for Atom Egoyan's award-winning film The Sweet Hereafter. David also conducts the Toronto Chamber Choir, a 40- voice chamber choir, and teaches in the Graduate Department of the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto . I always feel I had two musical mentor/influences as a child ... One was Lloyd Bradshaw, the choirmaster at St. George 's United Church in whose "Boy Choristers" !first sang. Through him I became a founding member of the Canadian Children's Opera Chorus, and had such fun in the O'Keefe Centre in La Boheme, Carmen, Turandot etc. A very outgoing charismatic musician, great with kids and youth, he was the first to suggest I should consider conducting. The other was my piano teacher, Court Stone. He was a private man, probably shy, but a great teacher, encouraging his students to improvise and compose. He himself wrote piano music which we played. I've dared to write a couple of pieces in the last year, oneforthe Toronto Consort and one for my choir, and felt free enough to do it thanks to the memory of Mr. Stone's belief that every musician should be something of a creator. Upcoming: David Fallis conducts Opera Atelier's Orfeo (Monteverdi) at the Elgin (opens Apr.15). Final concert of the Toronto Consort season (April 28/ 29) sees funk/folk fiddler Oliver Schroer joining the Consort for The Journey to Santiago. New recordings: Praetorius Christmas Vespers for Marquis Classics and an upcoming '07 CD release based on the Consort program "The Da Vinci Codex" . CONGRATULATIONS! TICKETS WINNER! Geoffrey Allen and a guest will attend the "The Journey to Santiago"(Apr. 28/29). RECORDINGS! Kate Hays receivesToronto Consort ' s "The Way of the Pilgrim" and Louie Calleja receives "Mariners and Milkmaids" (ballads, madrigals and dances from 16th and 17th-century England). Thank you to all our readers who guessed. Opera Ontario 34 Opera-lS35 Orchestra Toronto 42 Organix 06 5 Pasquale Bros. 62 Pax Christi Chorale 53 Penthelia Singers 22 Peter Mahon 26 Phillip L. Davis, Luthier 21 Piano for Hire 62 Random Acts of Music 22 RCM Community School 61 RCM Glenn Gould School 17 Remenyi House of Music 73 Sine Nomine 45 Sinfonia Toronto 15, 39 Sound Post 21 SoundaXis 30 Soundstreams 44 SRI Canada6 St. James' Cathedral 25, 47 St. Rose of Lima Church 61 Studio 92 59 Sunny View Public School 53 Syrinx 40 Tafelmusik 2, 51 APRIL'S Child IS .... ? photo taken circa 1946 "Don't worry ... I can find the light!" This member of our music community, now more involved with getting others onto music theatre stages than occupying the stage himself, has in his time sung , danced and pattered with the best of them - operatic and operettic! Identify him for a chance to win tickets or a recording. Think you know April's Child? Send your best guess to Musicschildren@thewholenote.com. (Winners will be selected by random draw among correct entries received by April 15th, 2006 .) Know someone whose photograph should appear on this page? Your suggestions, sent to musicschildren@thewholenote.com are most welcome! Temple Sinai 50 Theatre Direct of Canada 46 Toronto All-Star Big Band 32 Toronto Children's Chorus 25, 52 Toronto Choral Society 23 Toronto Consort 48 Toronto Masque Theatre 36 Toronto Mendelssohn Choir 43 Toronto Operetta Theatre 45 Toronto Organ Club 49 Toronto Philharmonia 21 Toronto Symphony Orchestra 2, 3, 4 Toronto Welsh Male Voice Choir 51 Toronto Wind Orchestra 43 True North Brass 39 U of T F acuity of Music 19, 38 Universal Music 79 Viva! Youth Singers 23 VocalPoint Chamber Choir 43 Windermere String Quartet 47 Women's Musical Club 20, 44 37

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