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Quebec City
Orchestre Symphonique de Québec
Conductor Clemens Schuldt leads the Orchestre symphonique de Québec in a program dedicated to repertoire from the 20th century. Joined by pianist Fazil Say, who will play Ravel’s Concerto in G, the orchestra will interpret works by Shostakovitch and Rachmaninoff (April 10, 11). The following month Jean-Philippe Sylvestre will take to the piano, to interpret Airat Ichmouratov’s Piano Concerto. Conducted by Ichmouratov himself, the program will be rounded out by Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 (May 1). The orchestra will conclude their 2023-24 season with a special evening of vocal repertoire. Soprano Hélène Guilmette, alongside the Chœur de l’Orchestre symphonique de Québec and conductor Clemens Schuldt, will bring works by Massenet, Saint-Saëns, and Boulanger to life. The concert will open with Mozart’s “Paris” Symphony (No. 31, K. 297), and close with Poulenc’s Gloria (May 22). www.osq.org
Jean Philippe Sylvestre
Opéra de Québec
The Opéra de Québec will round out their 2023-24 season with an exciting production of Johann Strauss II’s La Chauve-Souris. Conducted by Nicolas Ellis, and directed by Bertrand Alain, the production, at the Grand Théâtre de Québec, will star Dominique Côté as Gabriel von Eisenstein, Jessica Latouche as Roseline, Dominic Veilleux as Dr. Falke, Catherine St-Arnaud as Adèle, Marie-Andrée Mathieu as Prince Orlofsky, Eric Laporte as Alfred, Geoffroy Salvas as Frank, Hugues Saint-Gelais as Dr. Blind, Rose Lebeau-Sabourin as Ida, and Martin Perreault as Frosch (May 11-18). www.operadequebec.com
Montreal
Pro Musica
Pro Musica has a number of exciting concerts coming up in this second half of their 75th season. The Mirzoev, McConnell, Rivard-Landry Trio (violinist Julia Mirzoev, cellist Braden McConnell, and pianist Antoine Rivard-Landry) will perform at the Salle Claude-Léveillée (April 3), followed by piano duo Anderson & Roe (April 21). Pianist Maurizio Baglini will then take the stage at Salle Pierre-Mercure (May 12). Pro Musica then heads to Bromont, where pianist Serhiy Salov will perform alongside Louis Godbout’s film, Coda (May 18). Salov will then perform a recital of his own, the following day (May 19). www.promusica.qc.ca
Salle Bourgie
Musicians of the OSM will take to the stage at Montreal’s Bourgie Hall for An Evening with Fauré. Violinists Andrew Wan and Olivier Thouin, violist Victor Fournelle-Blain, cellist Anna Burden, and pianist François Zeitouni will perform Fauré’s Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 120, String Quartet in E minor, Op. 121 and Piano Quintet No. 1 in D minor, Op. 89 (April 5). Guitarist Ana Vidovic will make her Bourgie Hall debut, featuring works by Bach, Sor, Brouwer, Tárrega, Scarlatti, Albéniz, and more (April 9). Joining forces, pianists Charles Richard-Hamelin and David Jalbert will present a concert of four-hands repertoire (April 10). American pianist Michelle Cann will then perform a recital that highlights African-American female composers, including Margaret Bonds, Irene Britton Smith, Nora Holt, Betty Jackson King, Florence Price and Hazel Scott (April 16). Quebec’s own Karina Gauvin and Marie-Nicole Lemieux will be joined by their longtime collaborator and friend, Olivier Godin, for an evening of French mélodie and German lieder (April 19). Ensemble Constantinople will present Across the Andes, which will feature music from the Andes and South America (April 20). The Studio de Musique Ancienne de Montréal will honour Earth Day with a program of works by Di Lasso, Sweelinck, De Rore, Gombert, Du Berger, and Taverner (April 21). Chopin Piano Competition winner Bruce Liu will give his first performance at Bourgie Hall (May 14). The following day, soprano Myriam Leblanc and pianist Romain Pollet will offer audiences a recital featuring works by Saint-Saëns, Fauré and Dubois (May 15). www.mbam.qc.ca
La Nef
Memento Silva: Remember the Forest will conclude this year’s performance season for La Nef. Presented in collaboration with Maison de la culture Maisonneuve, the concert offers audiences a musical celebration of Earth Day, and an opportunity to reflect on our local environment. A program that combines new and old repertoire for violin, cello, and piano will be performed by Marie Nadeau-Tremblay (musical direction, baroque violin), Stéphane Tétreault (cello), and Chloé Dumoulin (piano). The event will include works composed for the occasion by William Kraushaar (April 22). www.la-nef.com
Musica Camerata
As they celebrate their 54th season, Musica Camerata continues to assert their place as one of Canada’s foremost chamber music ensembles. This April, they will present a concert that pairs works by Felix Mendelssohn with Arthur Foote. On the program are Mendelssohn’s Variations, Scherzo and Capriccio Op.81 for String Quartet, and Foote’s Piano Quintet in A minor, Op.38 (April 27). www.cameratamontreal.com
Stewart Goodyear
Ladies Morning Musical Club
The Ladies Morning Musical Club has two more events on its 2023-24 calendar. Pianist Stewart Goodyear will appear in recital April 7, performing works by himself, Bach, and Beethoven. The Doric String Quartet, consisting of violinists Alex Redington and Ying Xue, violist Hélène Clément and cellist John Myerscough, will close the LMMC’s season (April 28). www.lmmc.ca
Printemps Slaves
The 2024 edition of Les Printemps Slaves begins with a gala concert at the Maison de la culture Notre-Dame-de-Grâce featuring pianists Anna Khmara, Tristan Longval-Gagné and Irina Krasnyanskaya, violinist Pavlo Khmara, soprano Ella Wilhelm, and guitarist Christ Habib (May 7). A screening of Alexander Dovzhenko’s silent film, Earth, with live accompaniment by pianist Ilya Poletaev will follow (May 15). The New Generation Orchestra, accompanied by pianist Matt Herskowitz will then perform Around Chopin, pairing works by Chopin with Herskowitz’s own jazz improvisations, at the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal (May 25). The Montreal Piano Duo (Irina Krasnyanskaya and Jean-Fabien Schneider) will perform transcriptions of jazz-inspired works by Dmitri Shostakovich, Alexander Tsfasman and Igor Tsygankov (May 28). The festival will culminate in a concert by violinist Olivier Thouin, clarinetist André Moisan, and pianist Jean Saulnier, joining forces to perform Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du Soldat (June 1). www.printempsslaves.ca
Podium 2024
Choral Canada’s biannual choral festival and conference is back, this time in Montreal. Running from May 16 to 19, the event will include a wide range of concerts, virtual events, conference presentations, and opportunities for audience members and conference attendees to join their voices in song. Over the four days, audiences will have the opportunity to hear performances by choirs from Canada and around the world, including Babεl, Coroncoro Ensamble Vocal, and Concreamus (May 16); Chroma Vocal Ensemble, Proximus 5, and the Toronto Northern Lights (May 17); the Choeur des enfants de Montréal, and musica intima vocal ensemble (May 17); Chœur des Jeunes de Laval, Chœur Adleisia, and the Holy Heart Chamber Choir (May 18); Nathaniel Dett Chorale and Jireh Gospel Choir (May 18); and Canticorum, La chorale Singiza, La Muse, Haïti chante et danse, and André Pappathomas (May 19). The National Youth Choir of Canada, conducted by Roseline Blain, will perform on May 16. In-person conference sessions will take place at the Delta Hotel Montreal by Marriott, and will cover topics ranging from Composition, Improvisation and Songwriting; COVID-19, Technology and Wellness; Diversity and Inclusion; Advocacy, Climate and Leadership; Conducting, Education and Vocal Technique; and Repertoire. More information on the festival, conference, venues and ticket purchasing can be found on the Podium website. www.podium2024.ca
Rousso at Place des Arts
Winner of the Prix André-Gagnon for songwriter of the year, virtuosic pianist Rousso returns to Place des Arts. Accompanied by collaborating musicians, he will perform original compositions from his two albums, Iceberg and Rosemont. Rousso’s warm, spontaneous personality inevitably draws listeners into his colourful, vibrant, grandiose and joyful universe. He takes great pleasure in sharing his creative process with audiences, enabling a sense of communication between performers and listeners. May 18, 8 p.m., in Place des Arts’s Cinquième salle. www.placedesarts.com
Festival Classica
This year’s Festival Classica will run from May 23 to June 16, and feature a wide variety of musical samplings. First up, featuring the Orchestre symphonique du Grand Montréal and Chœur de l’Opéra bouffe du Québec, the festival will present a benefit concert. On the program are works by Queen, conducted by Simon Fournier, with singer Marc Martel (May 23). Mathieu Lussier will conduct the Studio de Musique Ancienne de Montréal and Arion Orchestre Baroque, alongside soloists Magali Simard-Galdès, Myriam Leblanc, Philippe Gagné, Geoffroy Salvas and Haitham Haidar in François-Joseph Gossec’s Grande messe des morts (May 28). The Classica Quartet and pianist Meagan Milatz will perform works by Fauré, Hahn, and Dubois (May 29). Mozart lovers will not want to miss Amoureuses de Mozart, a concert that combines audience favourites from the composer’s catalogue. Elisabeth St-Gelais, Sophie Naubert, Michelle Bawden, and Amelia Keenan will lend their voices to the evening (May 30). Pianist Louise Bessette will pay homage to pianist and composer François Dompierre, performing works off of her recent release with Atma Classique (May 31). The festival will continue into the month of June with a number of exciting events – not to be missed! www.festivalclassica.com
Louise Bessette
Toronto
Women’s Musical Club of Toronto
Pianist Jane Coop will kick off the month of April for the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto, performing works by Haydn, Beethoven, Ravel, Debussy, and Chopin (April 4). Her relationship with the WMCT is longstanding, having begun when she was an undergraduate student at the University of Toronto. Canadian soprano Joyce El-Khoury will then take to the Walter Hall stage alongside Canadian pianist and composer Serouj Kradjian for a program that explores her personal journey from Lebanon to Canada, and beyond. The pair will interpret works by Bizet, Fauré, and Delibes alongside Lebanese songs in Arabic, and a handful of tango numbers (May 2). www.wmct.on.ca
Koerner Hall
There will be something for everyone at Koerner Hall over the next couple of months. The Grammy Award-winning South African ensemble Ladysmith Black Mambazo will perform at Koerner Hall for the third time (April 6). Not even a week later, Toronto’s Opera Atelier will start their run of All is Love, which will feature music by Charpentier, Debussy, Handel, Purcell, Rameau and others. Members of Tafelmusik and the Atelier Ballet, conducted by David Fallis, will be joined by tenor Colin Ainsworth, soprano Measha Brueggergosman-Lee, baritone Jesse Blumberg, soprano Meghan Lindsay, mezzo-soprano Danielle MacMillan, soprano Cynthia Smithers, soprano Karine White and bass-baritone Douglas Williams (April 11-14). The Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Canada’s own Yannick Nézet-Séguin, will perform Florence Price’s Symphony No. 4 in D minor and Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27 (April 17). Later in the month, the Dover Quartet and pianist Leif Ove Andsnes will present works by Turina, Dohnányi and Brahms (April 28). www.rcmusic.ca
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra
Toronto’s Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra has a few tricks up its sleeve this season. First up is the Tafelmusik debut of Bulgarian violinist Zefira Valova, who will lead the orchestra in their interpretation of František Benda’s Violin Concerto in A major. Also on the program are works by Carl Stamitz, and Haydn (April 19-21). Harpsichordist Kristian Bezuidenhout will return to the stage to perform and direct works by Rameau, Handel, Purcell, and Bach alongside the orchestra (May 10-12). Finally, Tafelmusik’s 45th anniversary season will conclude with A Handel Celebration. Soprano Amanda Forsythe and tenor Thomas Hobbs will join conductor Ivars Taurins in a concert of arias, duets, and choruses from Handel’s oratorios (May 31-June 2). www.tafelmusik.org
Esprit Orchestra
Esprit Orchestra caps off its 2023-24 season with Sonic Universe, presented at the Royal Conservatory’s Koerner Hall. Founder and conductor Alex Pauk takes to the podium for R. Murray Schafer’s Adieu Robert Schumann, for mezzo-soprano and orchestra. The work combines selections from Clara Schumann’s diaries, fragments of Robert Schumann’s compositions, and Schafer’s own musical stylings, to reflect on the last days of Robert’s life. Mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabo will join the orchestra. Also on the program is John Adams’s Harmonielehre (April 25). www.espritorchestra.com
Canadian Opera Company
Conductor Jacques Lacombe will lead the Canadian Opera Company in their interpretation of the Scottish Opera’s Don Pasquale. Starring Misha Kiria in the titular role, Joshua Hopkins as Dr. Malatesta, Simone Osborne as Norina, and Santiago Ballerini as Ernesto, this production will be the COC’s first staging of Donizetti’s popular opera in 30 years (April 26, May 2-18). Sir David McVicar will then direct the COC’s production of Luigi Cherubini’s Medea. Conductor Lorenzo Passerini leads a star-studded cast, including Sondra Radvanovsky and Chiara Isotton singing the role of Medea, Matthew Polenzani as Giasone, Alfred Walker singing Creonte, Janai Brugger as Glauce, and Zoie Reams as Neris (May 3, 5, 9, 11, 15 and 17). www.coc.ca
Toronto Mendelssohn Choir
Giuseppe Verdi’s epic Messa da Requiem is up next for the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. Conducted by artistic director Jean-Sébastien Vallée, the at-once symphonic and choral masterwork will be brought to life by members of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, alongside soprano Teiya Kasahara 笠原 貞野, mezzo Rose Naggar-Tremblay, tenor Andrew Haji and bass Geoffrey Sirett (April 27, 30). www.tmchoir.org
Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto
The Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto continues to celebrate its 50th anniversary, this time with a performance of Haydn’s Creation. Joined by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and soloists Midori Marsh, Andrew Haji, and Tyler Duncan, the choir will perform the choral masterwork at the Meridian Arts Centre’s George Weston Recital Hall (May 15). This spring also marks the return of the choir’s Songwalks event. In collaboration with Deantha Edmunds, the outdoor experience combines early European classical music with Inuit throat-singing and contemporary Indigenous music (date to be announced). www.amadeuschoir.com
Opera 5
Independent opera company, Opera 5, is returning to live performances for the first time since 2018. Director Amanda Smith, Music Director Evan Mitchell, and Music Staff Trevor Chartrand will lead two casts in a production of Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw (June 12-13) at Toronto’s Theatre Passe Muraille. Countertenor Ryan McDonald will star as Miles, alongside tenor Asitha Tennekoon (Prologue/Peter Quint), Krisztina Szabó (Mrs. Grose), Thera Barclay (Flora), Elizabeth Polese (Governess), and Rachel Krehm (Miss Jessel). As part of an internship program in collaboration with Opera McGill, Opera 5 welcomes young singers Mala Weissberg, Patricia Yates, MacKenzie Sechi, Paige Robinson, Kate Fogg, and Bri Jones for a special performance on June 13. www.opera5.ca
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