The Canadian Opera Company opens its spring season with Gaetano Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, last performed by the COC 30 years ago. This new production is reimagined by acclaimed director-designer duo Barbe & Doucet, and is set in 1960s Rome with the colourful backdrop of Il Pensione Pasquale. Laundry sheets cleverly serve as scene dividers, and the off-kilter building allude to the haphazardness of... Source ..read more

Days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a composer in his 80s was smuggled out of the country under conditions of secrecy and considerable danger. Silvestrov arrived eventually in Berlin with just one suitcase, filled with music manuscripts. He lives now in Berlin exile, as a guest of a local musical functionary. The two works on this album portray a composer struggling with... Source ..read more

On May 30, audiences at Bourgie Hall will hear new works by three female composers, created in partnership with three female librettists. Each opera, from a different backgrounds and in a different styles, was made possible thanks to Montreal granting organisation Musique 3 femmes. Originally from Mexico, Alejandra Odgers’ fondness Abenaki myths and legends began the day she first heard Nicole... Source ..read more

One of the pinnacles of the standard choral repertoire, Verdi’s Messa da requiem hasn’t been performed by the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir (TMC) since 2015. It made a triumphant return to the 130 year-old ensemble’s repertoire at the George Weston Recital Hall this past Saturday with a stellar group of Canadian vocal soloists. Set to Latin texts from the Catholic mass for the dead... Source ..read more

It was not the weather that brought thousands to Boston Symphony Hall for an open rehearsal, a pre-concert chat, a matinee, and multiple evening performances. Rather, it may well have been the premiere of the opening work on the program, ANCHORA, by contemporary classical composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir, or possibly, the upbeat elegance of Mozart’s Symphony No. 33 in B-flat, K. 319... Source ..read more

Last Mélodînes Concert, Mini-Piano Gala | May 1st, 12 p.m. at Place des arts: Pro Musica is delighted to announce that the last concert in the Mélodînes series will be a unique and unprecedented event. To crown this season of Mélodînes, artistic director Irina Krasnyanskaya has taken the initiative of bringing together piano prodigies aged 7 to 15, all of whom have made a name for themselves for... Source ..read more

TORONTO, ONTARIO – APRIL 24, 2024: The National Youth Orchestra of Canada (NYO Canada) is thrilled to announce the winners of the prestigious 2024 Michael Measures Prizes, awarded in partnership with the Canada Council for the Arts. Awarded to only two recipients, these prizes recognize and support the top talent nationwide of young classical musicians aged 16 to 24. 2024 Michael Measures Prizes... Source ..read more

La Scena Musicale asked some of our regular contributors to share their memories of Sir Andrew Davis, former conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Gianmarco Segato, Denise Lai and Joseph So had this to say: GIANMARCO SEGATO: Sir Andrew Davis left a huge recording legacy, which is perhaps where I learned to love and appreciate his art the most. That his musical tastes dovetailed with my own... Source ..read more

Sir Andrew Davis, former conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, died of Leukemia on Saturday, at the age of 80. Davis led the TSO for thirteen years, from 1975-1988, making his tenure the third-longest in the orchestra’s history. In 2018, he returned to the orchestra for two years, acting as interim director between Peter Oundjian and Gustavo Gimeno. Sir Andrew Davis In 2012... Source ..read more

The Philadelphia Orchestra tours all over the world, but this past Wednesday marked their first performance in Toronto under musical director Yannick Nézet-Séguin. The eagerly-awaited concert was sold out months in advance. Their interpretation of Rachmaninov’s second symphony was a near-definitive performance, surely leaving most attendees more than pleased with what they heard. Source ..read more