Classical Music - my/maSCENA

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Bronwyn Thies-Thompson, Tim Brady, Sarah Albu, and Marie-Annick Béliveau. MARS: Sign of Life premieres December 3–5, 2026 at Centaur Theatre, Photo courtesy of Bradyworks.

Newswire | Bradyworks announces MARS: Sign of Life

By Newswire on 10 June 2026 Classical, Montreal, Newswire, Opera

Montreal, June 9, 2026 – Bradyworks is pleased to announce the premiere of the chamber opera MARS: Signs of Life. Featuring music by composer Tim Brady and a libretto by Alexis Diamond, this new production will bring together soloists Bronwyn Thies-Thompson, Sarah Albu, and Marie-Annick Béliveau on stage. Performances will take place on December 3, 4, and 5, 2026 at the Centaur Theatre. MARS: Signs of Life is the 3rd opera in the ambitious tetralogy of chamber operas by composer Tim Brady, entitled “HOPE (and the dark matter of history)”. Following on the success of Backstage at Carnegie Hall (2022) and INFORMATION (2024), MARS continues to explore fundamental issues…

Cellist Stéphane Tétreault, Photo: Frédérik Robitaille, and the Centre musical CAMMAC, host of the 2026 Sunday Music Series in Harrington

Newswire | CAMMAC announces Sunday Music Series

By Newswire on 10 June 2026 Classical Music, Newswire, Orchestral

Harrington, May 26, 2026 – From 28 June to 16 August, the CAMMAC Music Centre will host a new edition of the Musical Sundays Concert Series. Every Sunday throughout the summer, world-class artists will take the stage in an intimate, welcoming hall that boasts stunning views of Lake MacDonald. The season’s eight concerts will showcase a wide range of musical styles, from Argentine tango and early music to string quartets, world music, jazz, Latin American guitar, and vocal repertoire. Situated in the heart of the Laurentians, CAMMAC invites visitors to slow down and make a day of it. After the…

Maria Dueñas with the TSO, 2023. Photo: Allan Cabral/Courtesy of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra

Review | Maria Dueñas & the Movies at the TSO

By Andrea Rush on 9 June 2026 Classical Music, Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Toronto

This week the TSO musicians played two evening concerts and one relaxed morning performance in their downtown home, Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall followed by a matinee uptown in North York’s George Weston Recital Hall. The program—steeped in the crossover between classical music and film scoring—was perfectly curated to reach multi-generational audiences in multiple settings. Music Director Gustavo Gimeno’s commitment to making classical music accessible serves Toronto well. The June 4 concert began with Bernard Hermann’s Psycho, a Narrative for String Orchestra in 5 movements. It was an ideal choice for an impactful opening. Spooky and yet tonal, truly a soundscape…

Mark Fewer with Ensemble Caprice conducted by Matthias Maute. Photo: Tam Photography

Review | Ensemble Caprice Performs a Magnificent Magnificat

By Heather Weinreb on 8 June 2026 Choral, Classical Music, Concert Reviews, Montreal, Orchestral, Vocal

On June 5, Matthias Maute led ArtChoral and Ensemble Caprice in a performance of Bach’s Magnificat at Montreal’s Maison symphonique. Lasting about 30 minutes, Magnificat is relatively short for a choral work. The evening was filled out by violinist Mark Fewer’s performance of Bellatrix, a contemporary work by Jeffrey Ryan, and one of the great concertos of violin repertoire—Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto no. 2 in E minor. What you missed Maute conducted the orchestra with clear and crisp momentum, giving special attention to the rhetorical phrasing of the musical lines. From the audience, it seemed that the orchestra was thoroughly enjoying…

Scene from Theater Lübeck's Les contes d’Hoffmann. Photo: Olaf Malzahn

Review | Sophie Naubert Sparkles in Theater Lübeck Les contes d’Hoffmann

By Ossama el Naggar on 8 June 2026 Concert Reviews, Opera, Vocal

The idea of an abridged Les contes d’Hoffmann troubles many opera lovers, yet Theater Lübeck’s compact two-hour version without intermission proved remarkably effective (seen June 5). The cuts were largely intelligent ones, mostly affecting secondary characters and comic diversions, though the omission of the Venetian septet, “Hélas! mon cœur s’égare encore!” remains regrettable both musically and dramatically. In Philipp Himmelmann’s imaginative staging, Les contes d’Hoffmann becomes less a succession of supernatural tales and more an exploration of the poet’s creative mind. The three women emerge as projections of Hoffmann’s imagination. This idea is reinforced by the recurring visual device of…

Scene from Deutsche Oper Berlin’s Die Walküre. Photo: Bernd Uhlig

Review | Herheim’s Inconsistent Ring at Deutsche Oper Berlin

By Ossama el Naggar on 5 June 2026 Concert Reviews, Opera, Vocal

Few works in the operatic repertory present greater challenges to contemporary stage directors than Der Ring des Nibelungen. Wagner’s tetralogy exists simultaneously as myth, philosophy, political allegory, psychological drama, and monumental musical architecture. Modern productions frequently approach the cycle either with excessive reverence toward its canonical status or with aggressive deconstruction designed to dismantle inherited Wagnerian traditions. The revival of Stefan Herheim’s new production (seen May 26–31) for Deutsche Oper Berlin attempted a more elusive path between these extremes. Neither conventionally faithful nor deliberately iconoclastic, Herheim’s staging sought to reinterpret the Ring through an intricate network of recurring visual symbols…

Laurel Gagnon, Koshiro Takeuchi and Sara Watanabe. Photo: Tam Photography

Newswire | Koshiro Takeuchi is the Grand Laureate of the Concours 2026

By Newswire on 5 June 2026 Classical Music, Montreal, Music Competition, Newswire, Strings, Violin

Montréal, Friday, June 5, 2026 – Japanese violinist Koshiro Takeuchi has been crowned the much-coveted Grand Laureate of the Concours musical international de Montréal 2026. Following a Grand Final filled with high emotions, Koshiro was awarded the top prize thanks to his refined musicality, his assured technique and his captivating stage presence. This thrilling Grand Final took place at the Maison symphonique, where the three Grand Finalists each performed a major concerto from the repertoire, accompanied by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal – the Concours’ official orchestra – led by Guest Conductor Sascha Goetzel. The decision was made by the…

A scene from Gianni Schicchi at Opera 5's Toronto Opera Festival. Photo: Emily Ding Photography

Review | Expertly-Staged Puccini at Toronto Opera Festival

By Gianmarco Segato on 4 June 2026 Concert Reviews, Opera, Toronto, Vocal

Opera 5 opened their Toronto Opera Festival on June 3 with Puccini’s Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi. Two parts of the opera master’s Il trittico (with poor, neglected Il tabarro left out as is too often the case), these heavily contrasting one-acters run the gamut from gut-wrenching tragedy to laugh-out-loud farce. That they came off so successfully at Toronto’s small Theatre Passe Muraille can be chalked up to savvy casting and masterful stage direction by Jessica Derventzis. Suor Angelica isn’t staged all that much in Canada. I can’t think of a fully-professional production I’ve seen in this country except at…

Joe Hisaishi conducting Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Photo: Allan Cabral/Courtesy of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra

Review | Hisaishi Returns to Toronto Symphony Orchestra

By Andrea Rush on 2 June 2026 Classical Music, Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Strings, Toronto, Violin

French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal famously apologized for writing a long letter, explaining that he did not have enough time to write a short one. The multi-talented composer and maestro Joe Hisaishi would not need to make such an apology. The May 28 TSO program that he curated, and the scores he composes, exude beauty through simplicity. The evening featured three composers, three works, one governing idea: to demonstrate the beauty of simplicity. It is an attractive force that cuts across cultures and centuries. Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall was well sold out in advance. From the main floor to…

Sara Watanabe, Bade Dastan, Koshiro Takeuchi, Laurel Gagnon, Aozhe Zhang, Photo: Tam Photography

Newswire | CMIM announces five finalists for Violin 2026

By Newswire on 1 June 2026 Arts Industry, Montreal, Newswire, Violin

Montréal, Sunday May 31, 2026 – Following a Semifinal that captivated the audience, the International Jury presided by Lucie Robert selected the five Finalists of the Concours 2026. The announcement was made following the jury’s deliberations after the last session of the Semifinal, during which the competitors dazzled the audience with a program comprising at least one full sonata, a Canadian work and another piece of their choice. HERE ARE THE FIVE FINALISTS WHO ARE ADVANCING TO THE FINAL – MOZART ROUND (by order of performance) Koshiro Takeuchi, Japan Laurel Gagnon, United States Sara Watanabe, Japan Aozhe Zhang, China Bade…

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