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Cast of Koerner Hall's Into the Woods. Photo: RCM/Lisa Sakulensky

Review | Stellar cast enlivens flawed Into the Woods at Koerner Hall

By Gianmarco Segato on 31 December 2024 City, Concert Reviews, La Scena Online, Opera, Popular Music, Toronto, Vocal

The nearly 40-year-old musical Into the Woods, with music and lyrics by the legendary Stephen Sondheim and book by American playwright James Lapine, has become a staple on North American stages. Its appeal is clearly linked to an ingenious amalgamation of familiar characters from classic fairy tales like Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk. Their stories are utilised to deliver a universal message that boils down to “be careful what you wish for”. Koerner Hall has assembled a cast which includes the crème de la crème of Canadian musical theatre in a smartly-staged production by Richard…

Holly Chaplin in the title role of Toronto Operetta Theatre's Countess Maritza. Photo: Gary Beechey

Review | Toronto Operetta Theatre’s Marvellous Countess Maritza

By Gianmarco Segato on 30 December 2024 City, La Scena Online, Opera, Toronto, Vocal

As is their tradition, Toronto Operetta Theatre livens up the in-between-Christmas-to-New Year lull with an annual production of a classic, golden age operetta. This year, it’s Hungarian composer Imre Kálmán’s Countess Maritza with its non-stop succession of great tunes and authentic czardas-infused rhythms. TOT can always be relied on to present some of the best young Canadian talent and this was certainly no exception at Dec. 29th’s opening performance. A Maritza that moves TOT’s General Director, Guillermo Silva-Marin is also the show’s stage director and he does a lot with comparatively modest means. Maritza’s country mansion is appropriately decorated with…

Rose Naggar-Tremblay, contralto soloist in ArtChoral's Messiah. Photo: TamPhotography

Review | ArtChoral’s Messiah Preserves its Original Freshness

By Heather Weinreb on 24 December 2024 Baroque and Early, Choral, Concert Reviews, Montreal

Every holiday season, Handel’s Messiah comes to town. Not once, not twice, but many times. With all the options, how can an audience member decide which one to choose? On Dec. 22, ArtChoral and Ensemble Caprice delivered an inspiring performance of Handel’s Messiah. It seems that Juno award-winning conductor Matthias Maute takes avid delight in showcasing how old works can always sound new, so long as they are performed with technical precision, intentionality, and a lot of joyful energy. When Messiah season comes around next year, audiences would do well to consider ArtChoral’s version. What you missed? A Baroque oratorio,…

Magali Simard-Galdès & Olivier Bergeron with OSL. Photo: Gabriel Fournier

Review | Orchestre symphonique de Laval’s Holiday Program is in Tune with the Season

By Heather Weinreb on 23 December 2024 Concert Reviews, Montreal, Orchestral, Vocal

Putting on a Christmas concert is a challenge. The concert must feature enough time-worn classics to foster the holiday spirit; at the same time, every holiday concert strives to be fresh, even innovative. We don’t want to be fed the same “Jingle Bells” year after year, but we do want to hear music we recognize. On Dec. 18, Orchestre symphonique de Laval’s holiday concert offered many Christmas classics, from Leroy Andersen’s Christmas Festival to the beloved English carol, The Twelve Days of Christmas. But the concert also featured music by Georges Bizet and Gabriel Fauré that, while very melodious, is…

Anri Sala. Photo: MMFA, Sébastien Roy

To Ravel and Unravel Maurice Ravel at MMFA

By Viktor Lazarov on 23 December 2024 La Scena Online, La Scena Spotlight, Montreal, Piano, Visual Arts

What links French Impressionist composer Maurice Ravel with the Venice Biennale and American minimalist composer Steve Reich? Their association might seem tenuous, but they are intriguingly brought together in French-Albanian artist Anri Sala’s work Ravel Ravel Interval, currently exhibited at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA). La Scena Musicale interviewed Assistant Curator of International Modern and Contemporary Art, Alexandrine Théorêt, to help us untangle the knots in this singular work. Acquired by patron Pierre Bourgie and pledged to the MMFA, Ravel Ravel Interval commemorates the 150th anniversary of the birth of Maurice Ravel (1875–1937). The 2024–2025 season also marks the…

Job Posting – TSO Resident Conductor / TSYO Conductor

By Newswire on 21 December 2024 Arts Industry, Employment, Newswire, Orchestral, Toronto

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) announces the opening of two staff conductor positions—(1) TSO Resident Conductor, and (2) Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra (TSYO) Conductor—to begin during the 2025-26 concert season. Qualified candidates may submit an application for a full-time contract for both positions or a part-time contract for one of the positions. TSO Resident Conductor The TSO Resident Conductor will work closely with Music Director Gustavo Gimeno, TSO administrative staff, and the musicians of the TSO. This two-season position (2025-26 and 2026-27) includes significant repertoire building through a combination of covering assigned TSO concerts and rehearsals and conducting select concerts.…

Chor Leoni. Photo: Emily Cooper

Review | Christmas with Chor Leoni Brings Holiday Magic to the Heart of Vancouver

By Kaitlyn Chan on 20 December 2024 Choral, Classical Music, Concert Reviews, Piano, Strings, Vancouver, Violin, Vocal

Amidst the bustle of the holiday season, Chor Leoni ushered audience members into the serene atmosphere of St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church for their annual Christmas concert on Dec 19. The space was lit with reds, blues, and purples while golden lanterns hung from the ceiling. The beauty of the church was highlighted under this unique lighting, creating an almost fantasy effect within the large arches. Lighting designer Keagan Elrick had set the stage for the magical evening welcoming Chor Leoni’s largest-ever opening night audience. The first song of the evening was “The Long Night” arranged by founding member, Artistic Director,…

Pro Musica’s Saison Prodige 2025

By Newswire on 16 December 2024 Classical Music, Montreal, Newswire

Montreal, December 12th, 2024 – Pro Musica is proud to announce its new 2025 program, Saison Prodige, featuring three concert series: Cartes Blanches, devoted to internationally renowned musicians; Mélodînes, which showcases younger artists and introduces them to the public; and Pro Musica sur la route, which offers a valuable program outside Montreal. “The idea of a Prodige Season, aimed at discovering prodigious performers and composers, came to me from my experience as a teacher of child prodigies, with whom I have worked for a long time, and which has shaped and profoundly affected me,” explains Irina Krasnyanskaya, Pro Musica’s Artistic Director. Cartes Blanches, all…

Orchestre classique de Montréal presents Handel's Messiah in Saint Joseph’s Oratory. Photo: Tam Photography

Review | Orchestre classique de Montréal’s Warm & Welcoming Messiah

By Amanda Wong on 15 December 2024 Baroque and Early, Choral, Concert Reviews, La Scena Online, Montreal, Vocal

As the holidays approach, George Frideric Handel’s Messiah begins to line concert programs around the world—and so, Orchestre classique de Montréal presents its annual performance of the great oratorio in one of the city’s most fitting venues: Saint Joseph’s Oratory. There, OCM, Filles de L’île women’s choir, Chantres Musiciens men’s choir, and four Canadian soloists presented 44 movements from the original piece under the baton of Israeli-French conductor Roï Azoulay. Though originally written for Easter, the English oratorio has become synonymous with Christmas. It details the birth and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ despite the fact the majority of…

Kent Nagano conducting Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. Photo: Antoine Saito

Review | Experimental OSM Holiday Program Misses the Mark

By Amanda Wong on 12 December 2024 Classical Music, Concert Reviews, Montreal, Orchestral

The return of esteemed conductor Kent Nagano marked the first of Orchestre symphonique de Montréal’s festive December celebrations. Under the banner Le temps des fêtes avec Nagano (‘Tis the Season with Kent Nagano), the OSM presented a program ranging from cheerful Christmas ballets to dark and biblical storytelling including excerpts from The Nutcracker, a brand new oratorio, and an adaptation of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Though Nagano has not served as the OSM’s Music Director since 2020, he has continued to grace the Maison symphonique stage during past holiday seasons, and his presence is always welcome. The highlights of the evening…

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