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Volume 29 Issue 2 | October & November 2023

  • Text
  • Thewholenotecom
  • Musical
  • Violin
  • Performing
  • Symphony
  • October
  • November
  • Theatre
  • Orchestra
  • Arts
  • Toronto
With this issue we start a new rhythm of publication -- bimonthly, October, December, February April, June, and August. October/November is a chock-a-block two months for live music, new recordings, and news (not all of it bad). Inside: Christina Petrowska Quilico, collaborative artist honoured; Kate Hennig as Mama Rose; Global Toronto 2023 reviewed; Musical weavings from TaPIR to Xenakis at Esprit; Fidelio headlines an operatic fall; and our 24th annual Blue Pages directory of presenters. This and more.

BRENT CALIS the Opera on

BRENT CALIS the Opera on CBC, introducing it to listeners across the country, many of whom will undoubtedly be excited to see it in living, breathing form during it’s eight-show run in Toronto at Crow's Theatre (Nov 1-2). For those unable to make the trip (or unable to get tickets), you can now access the recording on Tapestry’s Bandcamp. Ariella: If the return to more normal programming felt miraculous last season, there is a promising new trend, birthed by the lockdowns, to begin watching out for. The lockdowns were traumatic, professionally and creatively for the music community, but for many artists and creators, it brought a period of intense creativity, with time to focus on process without worrying about impending presentation deadlines. Now, as many presenters are entering their second “normal” season, we are beginning to see some of these process-driven new works coming to fruition and taking their first public steps in novel ways. Composed in 2021, Ariella, a new opera by Jaap Nico Hamburger, is based on the novels of Dutch author Ariella Kornmehl, with a libretto by Thomas Beijer. Toronto audiences (along with audiences in Montreal, Quebec City and then in Israel) will have opportunities to see this work in concert or semi-staged contexts before Jaap Nico Hamburger it makes its official premiere at Lincoln Centre in November 2024. The Toronto stop at Koerner Hall features excerpts from the opera paired, following the intermission, with Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2. It’s an intriguing pairing and a wonderful public opportunity to see what an opera looks like as it enters a critical stage on its journey to a more finished form. Opera by Request: For as long as I can remember, College Street United Church has been a home for music, theatre and opera at every level. It’s a perfect space for Opera by Request’s enduring model: two or more singers identify a role or opera they want to have the opportunity to learn and perform. After identifying a director, they form a collaboration to present the opera with support for casting other roles, rehearsing, coaching and performing the piece in concert with a supportive audience. Mozart’s Idomeneo takes the stage on October 28, and Verdi’s Rigoletto on November 10. Sophia Perlman grew up bouncing around the music, opera, theatre and community arts scene in Toronto. She awaits the arrival of her copy of The WholeNote to Hornepayne, Ontario, where she uses it to armchair travel and inform her Internet video consumption. BRIEFS Early Music Upcoming Plan to “Go Early and go often!” There’s so much to choose from - here are just a few that we noticed. The details are in our listings. OCT 6 | Enchanted Steps Kingston Baroque Consort. Dance music by Charpentier, Telemann, and Purcell. Their special guest is Tafelmusik’s Christina Zacharias, violin. Then on NOV 10 Baroque Passions: Heartbreak and Tenderness. Works by Telemann, Steffani, Locatelli, and Hasse. (Kingston) OCT 13-15 | Vive la différence Tafelmusik. Guest violinist Emmanuel Resche-Caserta, the French-Italian concertmaster of Les Arts Florissants, leads a programme exploring the the rivalry between the distinct French and Italian baroque styles. (Toronto) OCT 22 | Encounter in Constantinople Rezonance Baroque Ensemble. “Music from the complex estuary between European and Ottoman cultures in the Baroque period” with special guests Nicolas Royer-Artuso (oud) and James Freeman (percussion) (Toronto). And then on NOV 19 Vivaldi:But Not “The Seasons” with soprano Vania Chan. A Vivaldi concert that includes arias by Vivaldi and concerti for strings.. Some hidden gems you may never have heard! (Richmond Hill) OCT 31 | Music for a Young King Alliance Francaise Toronto presents the French ensemble Le Poeme Harmonique, with mezzo-soprano Eva Zaïcik. The music of Versailles, when “life, song, and dance were prominent in the palace; every day was punctuated by the most refined and exquisite music.” (Toronto) NOV 3 | Sinbach. Aga Khan Museum, Festival of Arabic Music & Arts. Sinbad takes Bach on a thrilling journey through the modern Arab world. Arab-Canadian composer, Suad Bushnaq’s “Sinbach”, merges the worlds of Arabic and Baroque music like never before, with the Canadian Arabic Orchestra and Choir. (North York) NOV 3 & 4 | Time Stands Still Toronto Consort. “Travel back to the vibrant English Renaissance and delight in the shimmering and silvery sounds of plucked strings, bowed strings and transverse flute, as heard at private entertainments of the late sixteenth century.” The Consort’s guest is is bass and spoken-word artist Martin Gomes, whose poetry will reflect upon the era’s themes beyond the music.(Toronto) NOV 7 | Haus Musik: Mods and Rockers Tafelmusik The Beatles, David Bowie, Dusty Springfield, Queen, and Petula Clark meets an earlier wave of British music from the 1600s: John Dowland, Thomas Simpson, William Brade, William Young, and Henry Purcell (Toronto, at the El Mocambo!) MUSIC FOR A YOUNG KING WITH POÈME HARMONIQUE OCTOBER 31 AT 8PM 24 Spadina Road Tickets available online www.alliance-francaise.ca 26 | October & November 2023 thewholenote.com

An agency of the Government of Ontario Un organisme du gouvernement de l’Ontario NOV 12 | Bach Solo Bass Cantatas Music at Metropolitan. Performed by Canadian bassbaritone Daniel Lichti, Tafelmusik principal oboist John Abberger, and a period instruments ensemble led by Jonathan Oldengarm. Lichti celebrates his 50th anniversary season as a professional singer –his debut was at Met United (Toronto) LIVE & STREAMED. NOV 12 | Rossi of Mantua: The Songs of Salamone Apocryphonia and diapente Renaissance Vocal Quintet. Sacred and secular music - Madrigals, motets & monodies - by the Italian-Jewish composer Salamone Rossi, also Monteverdi, Gastoldi, and Cenci. (Toronto) DEC 1 Fridays at 12:30 Concert Series: Tafelmusik Returns Don Wright Faculty of Music. Tafelmusik musicians join faculty from the DWFM Early Music Studio for this popular annual performance featuring Baroque chamber music by lesser-known composers as well as beloved masters. (London) LIVE & LIVESTREAM. DEC 8 & 9 | Medieval Christmas Toronto Consort. A serene and heartfelt Yuletide program combining music with projected images taken from the treasure trove of medieval paintings, book illuminations, and stained glass. Medieval Christmas is presented in a darkened, candle-lit hall designed to transport you, unplug you from the world outside, and send you home feeling some joy. (Toronto) Compiled by WholeNote staff Created for Marie Antoinette and the most discriminating audience in Europe. GLUCK’S ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE Oct 26 to Nov 1 ELGIN THEATRE Colin Ainsworth / Orpheus Mireille Asselin / Eurydice Artists of Atelier Ballet Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra SEASON PRESENTING SPONSOR OPERAATELIER.COM Photo: Colin Ainsworth and Jennifer Such by Bruce Zinger thewholenote.com October & November 2023 | 27

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