This Week in Toronto (June 15 - 21)

The centerpiece of this week's vocal scene is the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio's production of Cosi fan tutte. This must be one of the most popular operas for opera schools and young artist programs, and for good reason. First of all, Mozart is good for young voices still in development - it is said that the ability to sing Mozart well is a sign of vocal health and good technique. Cosi is particularly popular because it allows six soloists to show off their voices in many delightful arias and ensembles. The Royal Conservatory of Music's Cosi last April was a smashing success, so it will be interesting to compare it to the COC Ensemble's production. Current and former COC Ensemble Studio members who will be singing in the production are: Sopranos Betty Allison, Ileana Montalbetti and Laura Albino (Fiordiligi), Erin Fisher and Lauren Segal (Dorabella), Alexander Hajek and Justin Welsh (Guglielmo), tenors Michael Barrett and Adam Luther (Ferrando), sopranos Lisa DiMaria and Teiya Kasahara (Despina), and Michael Uloth and Jean-Paul Decosse (Don Alfonso). Conductors are Martin Isepp and Steven Philcox. There will be four performances starting this evening (June 15) at the Imperial Oil Theatre at the COC headquarters on 227 Front Street East. Three more performances take place on June 17, 19, and 21. All performances at 7:30 pm except June 21 at 2 pm. Tickets were all gone a long time ago, which led the COC to add extra seats. Do call the company to ask about availability.

For those who missed the Met in HD documentary The Audition, this evening is your last chance, at selected Cineplex theatres at 7:00 pm. There are quite a few theatres in the GTA carrying these Met shows - the ones I am familiar with are Sheppard Grande at Yonge and Sheppard, Scotiabank Theatres at Queen and John, and Silver City at Yonge and Eglinton. I enjoyed this show enormously the first time around and will see again tonight. In this feature-length documentary you will see American soprano Angela Meade, who won the Montreal competition back in late May. If you like the tenor voice, this documentary of the 2007 auditions is a real treat, with four tenors in the finals. Unfortunately this was one year without a Canadian finalist - soprano Miriam Khalil, seen in the beginning of the documentary, did not make the cut. 2006 had Canadian tenor Joseph Kaiser, and in 2008 we had Vancouver soprano Simon Osborne. Of the eleven finalists, six were declared "winners", although anyone who reached the finals against such fierce competition should be considered winners. There are also offstage, real life drama in the documentary as well, but I don't want to give it away by mentioning the details here.

While on the subject of Met in HD, it has just been announced that there will be a series of six Met Summer presentations - I Puritani (June 27), Magic Flute (July 11), Eugene Onegin (July 25), Barber of Seville (Aug. 8), La fille du Regiment (Aug. 22). All on Saturdays at 12 noon. These shows are repeats of previous seasons. Tickets are at a bargain price of $9.95, and children age 3 -13 can get in free! These will be at the usual Cineplex locations. Do check your favourite locations for availability.

The mini Bartok-Strauss Festival of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra continues with pianist Emanuel Ax playing Strauss's Burleske, as well as Bartok's Concerto for Two Pianos and Percussion. Although I do find the combination of Strauss and Bartok to be a little eclectic, any chance to hear Ax is not to be missed. Also on the program is Strauss's delicious Suite from Der Rosenkavalier. Performances are June 17 and 18 at 8 pm at Roy Thomson Hall.