This is a list of concerts we are attending, wishing we could attend, or thinking about attending between January 27 and February 2, 2024. For more of what’s happening around Toronto, visit our calendar here.
COC Vocal Series: Identität / 個性
Wednesday, January 29, Noon
Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, free.
With Madama Butterfly running in the house, COC presents two noon concerts this week, featuring Samuel Chan on Wednesday, and Teiya Kasahara and Chihiro Yasufuku on Thursday. Chan, who sings Prince Yamadori in the current production, sees the world through many different lenses, as a Chinese-Canadian artist based in Germany. Come and see what thoughts have popped into Chan’s mind: the life through migration where so many things become open — and closed — is a rich and expensive one: what has he seen, what has he let go, and what does it mean to be on such a trajectory? What would you see from Chan’s program, based on one of Mahler’s best works: Das Lied von der Erde? Info here.
Music Toronto: JACK Quartet: The Sound of Modern Art
Thursday, January 30, 7:30 p.m.
Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, $55, student tickets and arts workers discount available.
Music Toronto in collaboration with the University of Toronto New Music Festival presents JACK quartet with a beautiful program. Juxtaposing music from the far past by Vicentino (1511-1575/6), Taylor Brook (b. 1985), Amy Williams (b. 1969), Christopher Otto (b. 1983), Ruth Crawford (Seeger) (1901-53), and Philip Glass (b. 1937), it’s a lovely journey to see how we view the world now, as we carry legacies from the past that may be visible, or invisible. Everyone came from something, and we, transient in time, move forward — and through this gesture, we run into so many past lives and thoughts that are impossible to see consciously in their entirety. In parallel, it also is impossible to see all things that happen within our time consciously — when you are driving, you won’t be able to see the scenery in its entirety. Contemporary music, though it may look weird and scary, isn’t too different from trying out a new restaurant — you simply need to go, once. If you feel uneasy about venturing into the unknown, the less familiar, remind yourself that you’ve done this all your life, and that people who brought you these ‘new’ things, are presenting it with deep love for these texts; let JACK quartet’s superb mastery of instruments and styles take you away into a strange place: our own time. Info here.
Flamencolia Dance Company: FLAMENCO at the Monarch
Thursday, January 30, 8 p.m.
The Monarch Tavern, 12 Clinton St., $20
Four of Canada’s most celebrated flamenco artists bring tablaos to the Monarch Tavern: Lia Grainger (dance), Ana Lia (voice), Nicolás Hernández (guitar), and Chendy León (percussion). We just went through the darkest weeks of the Northern Hemisphere, but the days are getting longer, and we are almost out of January — only 49 days till the Spring equinox! Hang onto your sunny hopes and come out and enjoy this brilliant artform; let your mind be dazzled with intensity, brilliance, and true rhythmic pulsation — we simply aren’t built to dance without a pulse. Perhaps our own toes, frozen through the polar spells of this January, will thaw a bit, and re-learn to wriggle and tap, totally appropriate for this causal, intimate setting. Info here.
Canadian Opera Company: La Reine-garçon
Friday, January 31, 7:30 p.m., Sunday, February 2, 2 p.m., Wednesday, February 5, 7:30 p.m., Friday, February 7, 7:30 p.m., Sunday February 9, 2 p.m., Thursday, February 13, 7:30 pm.m, Saturday, February 15, 4:30 p.m.
Four Seasons Centre, $45+
With the current government changeover down the border, we are forced to re-examine the meaning of Canada, and being Canadian. Interestingly, this question of self-identity, an integral part of Toronto’s own identity, often gets muddled under ‘oh we are all in this together as a nation.’ So, from the surface, looking at the story of Queen Christine of Sweden, from faraway Scandinavia in the faraway time of the 17th century, you might wonder: what does it have to do with me? A lot! Raised as a boy, this queen had many ‘normalities’ set against her — most of the things that she could not change: her gender, her bisexuality, her god-given leadership position among men (back then)… Setting this story in the world where not so much has changed for some, Canadians Julien Ilodeau (composer) and Michel Marc Bouchard’s (librettist) hard work won many accolades when it premiered in Montreal. Come and celebrate a new work that is truly of our own; with its sharp juxtaposition to the good old canon favourite, Madama Butterfly, this could be the show that speaks to your heart. Info here.
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra: Brilliant Baroque
Friday, January 31, 8 p.m., Saturday, February 01, 8 p.m., Sunday, February 02, 3 p.m.
Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, $20+
The amazing Rachel Podger returns to join Tafelmusik for ‘take two’ of their sold-out South Korean tour program. The program consists of canonic Baroque samplers, from concerto grossi to the orchestral works of Handel, Purcell, Avison, Reichenauer and good ol’ J.S.Bach. It would be silly to restate the love for the brilliance of Tafelmusik with Podger. And it would be very silly to miss out on this rich promise. Gather your courage and head out into the January night; or act quickly, and you may get one of the very few Sunday afternoon tickets, if there are still any left (99% sold!). Check out our Preview here. Info here.
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Cecilia tumbled into ‘serious’ music study when she decided to avoid attending medical school. Currently working in the field of classical music, recording, and Korean-English interpretation, she tends to get her nose dirty in many different things in the city. Cecilia holds a DMA in Piano Performance from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
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