Canadian Opera Company Announces Performances For October

The Canadian Opera Company officially starts it's performance season with the following operas and free concert series in October!

OPERAS:

NORMA by Vincenzo Bellini

Eight performances:
October 6, 15, 18, 21, 23 (2 p.m.), 26, 28,November 5 (4:30 p.m.), 2016

All performances begin at 7:30 p.m., unless otherwise indicated.

The Canadian Opera Company opens its 2016/2017 season with the searing drama and vocal fireworks of Bellini's Bel Canto masterpiece, Norma. Bellini's opera tells of all-consuming passion and devastating betrayal when the Druid high priestess Norma finds her life in turmoil after the discovery that she's been cast aside by her Roman lover for a fellow priestess.

This new production by American director Kevin Newbury sets the action in a mythic, Game of Thrones-inspired milieu and features the returns of two of the most sought-after sopranos today: Toronto-based Sondra Radvanovsky and South African Elza van den Heever sharing the title role.

ARIODANTE

By George Frideric Handel

Seven performances:

October 16 (2 p.m.), 19, 22

(4:30 p.m.), 25, 27, 29,

November 4, 2016

All performances begin at 7 p.m., unless otherwise indicated.

Handel's Ariodante, an example of Baroque opera at its best, makes its Canadian Opera Company premiere in a new production this fall. Celebrated director Richard Jones sets the dramatic tale of Ariodante and his love Ginevra, brutally separated by the lies of a jealous rival, against the backdrop of a remote fishing village.

The dream cast bringing this production to life includes star British mezzo-sopranoAlice Coote in the title role, Canadian soprano Jane Archibald in a role debut performance as Ginevra, Ariodante's wronged fiancé, and Armenian mezzo-sopranoVarduhi Abrahamyan in her Canadian debut as Polinesso, the jealous rival of Ariodante.

Ticket Information

All performances take place at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts (145 Queen St. W., at University Ave.). Regularly priced single tickets range from $35 - $235, and box seats, when available, are $350. Specially priced $22 tickets are available for people under the age of 30. To purchase tickets, go to coc.ca, call COC Ticket Services at 416-363-8231, or visit the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts Box Office (145 Queen St. W.).

FREE CONCERT SERIES IN THE Richard Bradshaw AMPHITHEATRE

October 4 - 27, 2016

Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts

145 Queen St. W. (at University Avenue)

The Free Concert Series in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre is a unique opportunity to experience diverse artistic programming in what has become one of Toronto's most exciting cultural hubs. Six inspiring series offer concerts, dance performances and engaging presentations that feature both up-and-coming young artists and established international stars. All performances are FREE to the public, with admission on a first-come, first-served basis. Concertgoers are encouraged to arrive early as late seating is not available.

October 4, 2016

12 - 1 p.m.

Chamber Music Series

Beethoven's String Quartet No. 12, Op. 127

Hailed as "Canada's top string quartet" (CBC Music), the award-winning New Orford String Quartet brings together four high-powered string players to perform Beethoven's String Quartet No. 12., Op. 127.

October 5, 2016

12 - 1 p.m.

Piano Virtuoso Series

Virtuoso Masterworks

Award-winning pianist Leon Bernsdorf has made concert appearances in Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan and the United States, and currently studies at The Glenn Gould School. He brings his extraordinary talent to a program of works by Liszt, Debussy, and Barber.

October 6, 2016

12 - 1 p.m.

World Music Series

Infinite Sea: Journeys from Persia

Born in Iran, Sina Bathaie began learning Santur from his father, Master Javad Bathaie, at seven years of age. Known for his unique style and approach toward Persian contemporary music, Bathaie's hypnotic performances have garnered him fans from across the globe.

October 11, 2016

12 - 1p.m.

Vocal Series

Darkness and Love

Russian bass Dimitry Ivashchenko (Oroveso in the COC's Norma) joins forces with pianist Rachel Andrist in a program celebrating Russian song that includes Mussorgsky's Songs and Dances of Deathand works by Rachmaninov, Borodin, and Tchaikovsky.

October 12, 2016

5:30 - 6:30 p.m.

World Music Series

Music of Ethiopia

Ethiopian-born, Toronto-based vocalist, composer and krar playerFantahun Shewankochew explores the rich musical textures of Ethiopia. Joined by the Jay Danley Quartet, this concert showcases the incredibly diverse worlds of both Ethiopian traditional music and Ethio-Jazz.

October 13, 2016

12 - 1 p.m.

Chamber Music Series

Quartet for the End of Time

Captured in 1940 by the German army, Olivier Messiaen composed his moving Quartet for the End of Time while imprisoned in a prisoner of war camp. Among his fellow prisoners were a violinist, cellist and clarinetist, and Messiaen's Quartet premiered in January 1941 at the camp, outdoors and in the rain. Seventy-five years after its premiere, three stellar musicians of the COC Orchestra, with guest cellist Tom Wiebe, join forces to perform this stirring work.

October 18, 2016

12 - 1 p.m.

Chamber Music Series

Marimba Plus

Montreal-based Architek Percussion presents a concert influenced by the rhythmic realities of our daily lives. The program, almost exclusively featuring Canadian composers, takes the audience down unexpected musical paths where jazz, world music and pop influences intersect in a unique concert that's all about mallets! From the sounds of Russia's traditional choirs to the Montreal metro, prepare to be transported by the rhythmic symbiosis of this exceptional ensemble.

October 19, 2016

12 - 1 p.m.

Chamber Music Series

Haydn, Father of the String Quartet

Artists of the COC Orchestra play quartets by Franz Josef Haydn, the composer who elevated the genre of the string quartet to monumental greatness. Haydn's genius is masterfully presented in a program performed by violinists Sheila Jaffé and Aaron Schwebel, violist Keith Hamm, and special guest from the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra cellist Leana Rutt.

October 20, 2016

12 - 1 p.m.

Piano Virtuoso Series

Passion and Impressions

Currently a candidate in the artist diploma program at The Glenn Gould School, Filipino-American pianist Tristan Savella exploresthe contrasting compositional styles of two of history's most brilliant composers: Schumann and Debussy.

October 25, 2016

12 - 1 p.m.

Vocal Series

Porgi, Amor: The Operatic Music of Mozart

Artists from UofT Opera present a compilation of scenes reflecting Mozartian rarities as well as beloved favourites, from operas such asThe Magic Flute, The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte and The Abduction from the Seraglio.

October 26, 2016

12 - 1 p.m.

Chamber Music Series

Chamber Connections

A Rebanks Family Fellow at The Glenn Gould School, the remarkable young violinist Jennifer Murphy is joined by pianistJeanie Chung in a performance of Schubert's Sonata in A-major and Sarasate's Zigeunerweisen.

October 27, 2016

12 - 1 p.m.

Jazz Series

Studies in Jazz

The University of Toronto Jazz Orchestra (UTJO) is the flagship ensemble of the Jazz Studies Program at the Faculty of Music. Directed by GorDon Foote, the UTJO performs a wide variety of music, from jazz standards of the 1930s and '40s, to works by internationally known composers and arrangers, to contemporary music written by UofT students and faculty.

TOUR THE FOUR SEASONS CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

October 2, 16 and 23, 2016

Start time: 10:30 a.m.

Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts

145 Queen St. W. (at University Avenue)

Cost: $20/adults; $15/seniors and students

The Canadian Opera Company opens the doors of the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts on October 2, 16 and 23, 2016 with 90-minute tours for the general public. These extensive tours include backstage access and are exciting opportunities to learn more about the first purpose-built opera house in Canada, its history, architecture and innovative acoustic design. Starting at 10:30 a.m., each tour is led by a trained docent and includes information and access to the magnificent Isadore and Rosalie Sharp City Room, the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre and R. Fraser Elliott Hall, as well as backstage areas like wig rooms and dressing rooms, the orchestra pit, and other spaces that only a stage door pass could unlock.

Tickets for public tours are $20/adults and $15/seniors and students, and can be purchased in advance at coc.ca or at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts Box Office, located at 145 Queen St. W., Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets will also be available on the morning of the tour starting at 10 a.m. at the welcome desk located in the main lobby.

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