Volume 29 Issue 6 | June, July & August 2024

Opening Gala Concert:

Opening Gala Concert: Autorickshaw & the PSQ Jun 22, 7:30pm. Leith Summer Festival. Pop, western and Indian, funk and jazz. Autorickhaw – Suba Sankaran, voice; Ed Hanley, tabla; Dylan Bell, beatbox; Penderecki String Quartet. (Leith) “Walking Through The Fire”: Indigenous Collaborations With Sultans of String in Honour of National Indigenous History Month. Jun 22, 8pm Hugh’s Room Live. Alyssa Delbaere-Sawchuk; Dr. Duke Redbird; Marc Meriläinen; Shannon Thunderbird; The North Sound. Virtual guests include the Northern Cree Pow Wow Group, Inuit Throat Singers Kendra Tagoona & Tracy Sarazin, and others. Summer Music in the Garden: Crossroads Jul 11, 7pm Harbourfront Centre. Iranian classical. Tarolinbak Persian Trio. Toronto Music Garden. Natural Balance Jul 11, 7pm Westben. Music, art and storytelling with members of Alderville First Nation, Dave Mowat, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Cale Crowe, Jordan Mowat. The Barn (Campbellford) Welcome to Char Bagh Jun 14 6-11pm Luminato in the Square. Kathak dance performances, Hindustani ghazals, classical ragas, Bangladeshi pop. David Pecaut Square. Free. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy: Kal Ho Na Ho Jul 20, 7pm. TO Live/ Small World Music Series. Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani, and Loy Mendonsa. Meridian Hall Breathings Jul 22, 7:30pm. Toronto Summer Music. Breath at the centre of the musical act. Constantinople’s musicians and guests from indigenous communities are guided by the pulsing of a heartbeat and the human voice in all its forms. Edward Johnson Building - Walter Hall Schmaltz & Pepper Jul 23, 7:30pm: Toronto Summer Music. Yiddish music ensemble plays klezmer inspired by jazz, Roma, classical, and European folk music. Edward Johnson Building - Walter Hall. Summer Music in the Garden: Scenic Sojourn Jul 25, 7pm Harbourfront Centre. Traditional & contemporary Chinese music. Toronto Chinese Orchestra Chamber Players. Toronto Music Garden Summer Music in the Garden: From Tehran to Casablanca Aug 1 7pm. Harbourfront Centre. Middle Eastern, Balkan, and North African music. Toronto Music Garden, Colours of Carnival Aug 2, 7pm Brampton On Stage. Soca, dancehall, and calypso – a radiant mix of soulful perfection. The Rose Patio Summer Music in the Garden: From Baghdad to Toronto Aug 8 7pm Harbourfront Centre.. Moneka Arabic Jazz. Toronto Music Garden. Summer Music in the Garden: The Art of Expression Aug 11, 4pm Harbourfront Centre. Pan-African drumming and dancing. Ngoma Ensemble. Toronto Music Garden. Music Mondays Aug 12, 12:15pm. Syrian and Arabic traditional songs infused with Flamenco music. Church of the Holy Trinity. Summer Music in the Garden: The Family That Sings Together Aug 22 7:00: Harbourfront Centre.. Georgian polyphony. Ori Shalva. Toronto Music Garden Compiled by Wholenote staff Toronto Music Garden OPERA & CHORAL MUSIC ROUNDUP Tagged - you’re it! When we went to press with this edition we already had dozens of listings tagged as opera, and choral. “Tagged” in this case means that when someone searches our listings database using either of those terms, what they will get is all the detailed listings that are likely to be of interest. What struck us immediately was how literally all-overthe-Ontario-map the opportunities are this summer. Depending on where you live and work, and your summer plans, and where you’re planning to be, you can hear some magnificent singing – getting an opera or choral fix in all sorts of places, including many that are other than ‘the usual.” Below, in brief below is just a taste of what we knew when we went to press, and could get into our daily listings, which is where you’ll find all of the details! But as the summer continues, remember that The WholeNote’s online listings are updated weekly, and are searchable by “opera,” “choral” and other genres. Visit thewholenote.com/index.php/listings/just-ask OPERA This year, Summer Opera Lyric Theatre will present their minifestival of three operas at The Alumnae Theatre. Originally Toronto’s Firehall No.4, and built in 1900, this handsome building – 70 Berkeley Street at Adelaide – was renovated and restored by the Alumnae Theatre Company in 1972. Puccini’s La Boheme, Mozart’s Idomeneo, and Handel’s Xerxes (July 26-August 4). The Turn of the Screw Jun12-15 Opera 5. Britten’s creepy psychological thriller with a signature Opera 5 twist – a fresh take on this spooky opera classic. (Theatre Passe Muraille, Toronto) A New Musical: The Selfish Giant’s Garden Jun 14-16; Jun 21-23 Westben. Can one child make a difference? This original, fully staged musical, based on a short story by Oscar Wilde, explores the precarious beauty and power of nature ( Westben’s The Barn, in Campbellford). Shoestring Opera: The Magic Flute. Jul 06 Elora Festival. A fantastic way to introduce younger people to the magic of opera.In this whimsical adaptation, Allegra finds a golden flute 32 | June, July & August, 2024 thewholenote.com

on her way home from school. Blowing on it, her street turns into a dark forest. She blows again and out pops Papageno, a strange bird-catcher – with a padlock on his mouth! Can Allegra help her new friend and get home in time for her music lesson? (Melville United Church, Fergus) Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) Jul 11 Brott Music Festival. Figaro’s madcap schemes and Rossini’s luscious melodies …how could anyone resist!? With the Brott Opera cast and the National Academy Orchestra (Theatre Aquarius, Hamilton). Opera Plus Jul 19 Festival of the Sound. An evening of opera and musical theatre from Puccini to Porter (Charles W. Stockey Centre, Parry Sound). Mishaabooz’s Realm Aug 15 & 17. Commissioned by Highlands Opera Studio (HOS) in 2017 and written in Haliburton County! Combining opera with First Nation singers and instrumentalists, created for HOS by Cree First Nation composer, Andrew Balfour (Northern Lights Performing Arts Pavilion,Haliburton). CHORAL Classically Composed! Jun 15 Brampton Festival Singers. Mozart: Requiem and other works. Brampton Festival Singers; Great Lakes Philharmonic; Robert Hennig and Anton Yeretsky, directors (North Bramalea United Church, Brampton). Opening Night Gala: The Creation Jul 05 Elora Festival. Haydn: The Creation. Elora Singers; Claire de Sévigné, soprano; Isaiah Bell, tenor; Tyler Duncan, baritone; Musicians of the Kitchener- Waterloo Symphony. (Gambrel Barn Elora). Britten: Canticles, Hymns & Folk Songs Jul 06 Elora Festival. Elora Singers, with Isaiah Bell, tenor; Erika Switzer, piano; Christopher Dawes, organ; Mark Vuorinen, conductor (St. John’s Anglican Church, Elora). Carmina Burana Jul 20, Elora Festival, and July 21 Festival of the Sound. For 45 years, the Elmer Iseler Singers, Elora Festival and Festival of the Sound have championed great music. This once-a-generation performance of Carl Orff’s iconic Carmina Burana is not to be missed. Also Brahms: Variations on a Theme by Haydn. Elmer Iseler Singers (Lydia Adams, conductor); Elora Singers (Mark Vuorinen, conductor); Anagnason and Kinton, piano duo; Beverly Johnston and the Festival Percussion Ensemble. (July 20, Gambrel Barn in Elora; July 21, Charles W. Stockey Centre in Parry Sound). Toronto Mass Choir Aug 1 Festival of the Sound. Sing, clap, and celebrate Emancipation Day as the sound of this Juno winning gospel choir resonates through the incredible acoustics of the Stockey Centre. (Charles W. Stockey Centre, Parry Sound) An Epic 80s Sing-Along! Aug 3 Choir! Choir! Choir! “Don’t stop believin’”, and prepare to sing your heart out! (Regent Theatre (Picton) Compiled by Wholenote staff Satisfied by Toronto Mass Choir, features Nicole Sinclair Anderson, from their recent Hymns Alive album. Missa Afro Brasiliera Jun 11 Luminato Festival. 25th Anniversary of Nathaniel Dett Chorale. Sid Robinovitch: Canciones por las Americas; Xavier Montsalvatge: Cinco Canciones Negras; Carlos Alberto Pinto Fonseca: Missa Afro Brasiliera. With Measha Bruggergosman-Lee, soprano; BaKari I. Lindsay, dancer & choreographer; Nathaniel Dett Chorale. (Koerner Hall, Toronto) The Schobertiade Jun 14 Apocryphonia. In collaboration with the Rezonance Baroque Ensemble. Johann Schobert: Sonatas for Keyboard & Strings; and works for strings and voice by Vaughan Williams, Giuseppe Agus, & Paul Constantinescu. Andrea Botticelli, fortepiano; Rezan Onen-Lapointe, violin; Laura Jones, cello; Michelle Odorico, violin; Alexander Cappellazzo, tenor. (Church of the Redeemer, Toronto) PRESENTS Levels the Play by Abby Grass and Clarence (CJ) Jura A developmental workshop reading, July 19, 2024 The Magic Flute by W A Mozart and opera excerpts in collaboration with Opera by Request, August 8-18, 2024 WWW.NOSTRINGSTHEATRE.COM Opera BrewHaHa Opera pub night at the Granite Brewery in collaboration with Opera by Request, August 13, 2024 thewholenote.com June, July & August, 2024 | 33