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The actors for Bluma Appel Theatre's The Lehman Trilogy

Fall Highlights: English Theatre

By Jim Burke on 1 September 2023 Montreal, Theatre, Toronto

Montreal September Montreal’s Anglo theatre scene is still struggling to return to its pre-pandemic bustle, but hopefully quality will triumph over quantity. First up is Kate Lavut’s big-hearted Fringe hit A Little Bit Pregnant, a comedy-drama about a group of young people “trying to adult.” Mainline Theatre, Sept. 8, 10. www.mainlinetheatre.ca A favourite out-of-town venue for Montrealers is the delightful Hudson Village Theatre, which promises The Greatest Play in the History of the World. Written by Brit playwright Ian Kershaw, it’s a space/time bending love story narrated by a woman in the wee small hours. Hudson Village Theatre, Sept. 13-24.…

Alain Trudel

Os de Trois-Rivières: Cœur by Gilles Bellemare

By Alexandre Amat on 1 September 2023 Classical Music, Montreal

The inaugural concert of the Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières’s 2023-24 season, conducted by Alain Trudel, will take place Oct. 21, 2023 and will feature two works of exceptional breadth: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, Op. 55,“Eroica” and Gilles Bellemare’s Cœur—five symphonic poems for choir and orchestra. The idea for Cœur was born out of a collaboration between the composer, chief conductor, and first artistic director of OSTR, Gilles Bellemare, and cardiologist François Reeves. The symphonic poems written for choir and orchestra were inspired by the audible and visual rhythms of heartbeats. Each of the five movements is based on an arrythmia…

Fall Festival Picks

By La Scena Musicale Team on 1 September 2023 Arts Industry, Montreal

Festival de chant choral de Montréal Oct. 20-22 Now in its second year, Montreal’s Festival de chant choral brings back many of last year’s participants while encouraging all interested choristers and lovers of French choral singing to partake in its activities. The invited choirmaster for this upcoming edition, held under the auspices of the Alliance chorale du Québec, will be Monique Richard, an active promoter of choral music in New Brunswick’s Acadia region. While its programming is primarily geared toward music from living composers, the festival offers more than just performances; workshops and panel discussions revolving around a new yearly…

Something for Everyone: Choral Music in Toronto

By Eva Stone-Barney on 1 September 2023 Choral, Classical Music, Toronto

Author : (Eva Stone-Barney)

Canada boasts a vast, vibrant choral community—with countless professional and amateur choral organizations of all sizes scattered across the country. Among the most exciting places to be a choral singer, conductor, or lover of the choral arts is Toronto, Ont. It comes as no surprise that the country’s largest city would be ripe with choral activity. Jamie Hillman, U of T head of choral studies, describes it as “an international hub for artistic and cultural work.” Toronto is home to some of the country’s oldest choral organizations, such as the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. Founded in 1894 by Augustus Vogt, the…

Andrea Núñez

Fall Highlights: Opera & Vocal

By Justin Bernard on 1 September 2023 Montreal, Opera, Toronto, Vocal

Opéra de Montréal presents Mozart’s La nozze de Figaro Opera de Montréal begins its new season at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier on Sept. 23 with an eight-day run of Mozart’s masterpiece La nozze de Figaro. Drawing on the writings of Pierre Beaumarchais and composed a decade before the French Revolution, the opera was censored at first due to the scandalous depictions of the aristocracy. A cornerstone of the Mozartian canon, it exhibits both dramatic intensity and comical relief in certain scenes. Figaro, incidentally, marked the first collaboration between the composer and the talented librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte who, soon after this joint…

Sacré-Cœur de Gilgamesh

Fall Highlights: World music

By Hassan Laghcha on 1 September 2023 Folk, Montreal, Popular Music, Vocal, World Music

Place des Arts This season’s Place des Arts program includes a concert by Italian singer Gigi D’Alessio on Oct. 6 at Théâtre Maisonneuve. On Oct. 8, Iranian pop singer/songwriter Shahram Shabpareh presents The Last Tango at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier. On Nov. 12, the same venue welcomes Iranian artist Alireza Ghorbani, successor to Mohammad Reza Shajarian, the great master of classical Persian singing. Don’t miss the TEMPÉO Danse et Musique festival, on the Esplanade, from Sept. 14-16 and 21-23. Hosted by Philippe Fehmiu, it will consist of six festive evenings of dance, offering an introduction to different dance styles. The Bollywood music…

Pentaèdre (Photo by Martin Girard)

Pentaèdre back for its 38th season

By Justin Bernard on 1 September 2023 Montreal, Opera, Orchestral, Strings

No one – on the home front or Beyond – questions the excellence of Montreal’s stellar wind quintet, Pentaèdre, recognized for their extensive repertoire of works specifically written for its instrumentation, and other pieces arranged by its members. Two years shy of its 40th anniversary, the group has unveiled the program of its new concert season of five events, beginning late this month and running through next spring. The musicians include: Ariane Brisson, flute; Martin Carpentier, clarinet; Louis-Philippe Marsolais, French horn; Mathieu Lussier, bassoon and the group’s newest member, oboist Élise Poulin. The season opener, Tous à l’opéra on Sept.…

Bach Before Bedtime singers

Allegra Foundation: The Power of Chamber Music

By Kristen Whittle on 1 September 2023 Chamber Music, Montreal

“The power of chamber music really lies in its ability to connect with everyone in an intimate, warm setting,” says Dorothy Fieldman-Fraiberg, founder of the Allegra Foundation, about the reach and power of the foundation’s two programs: Allegra Chamber Music and Bach Before Bedtime. Allegra Chamber Music has planned another magnificent season of free concerts at various venues throughout Montreal. On Dec. 13 at Redpath Hall, for instance, renowned conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin will join the Allegra chamber musicians in performing works by Ravel, (specifically Ma mère l’Oye for four-hands piano), Mozart, and Elgar. In a message about Allegra, Nézet-Séguin says…

Bourgie Hall: New Season, Great Ambitions

By Justin Bernard on 1 September 2023 Classical Music, Montreal

Now sharing duties as programmers for Salle Bourgie, Olivier Godin and Caroline Louis are going about it in something of a four-handed way, their predecessor Isolde Lagacé having assumed this task on her own until her retirement last year. A new feature for the upcoming season is the Outstanding Pianists series that will spotlight both established names and rising stars. “Our program is equally divided between Canadian and Québécois artists,” Godin notes. Scheduled in the months to come are: Isata Kanneh-Mason (Oct. 10); Christian Blackshaw (Nov. 2)—fresh from recording the complete cycle of Mozart sonatas; Vikingur Ólafsson (Jan. 24); Igor…

Jocelyn Gould

Fall 2023 Previews: Toronto Calling

By Marc Chénard on 1 September 2023 Scena Jazz, Toronto

With its July Downtown Jazz Fest and its August Markham counterpart now in the rearview mirror, the Toronto jazz scene motors along throughout the year thanks to a number of venues with regular programming. Toronto Live: Where to Go Two of the best know hang outs are the Jazz Bistro (251 Victoria St.) and the Tranzac (292 Brunswick Ave.), the latter presenting a wide-array of musics from the more mainstream to the more experimental. Several hotels also have jazz on. a regular basis, starting with The Rex Jazz & Blues Bar at 194 Queen Street W., the One King West Hotel (1 King St. W.)…

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