October 22-28, 2023

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WHEN: October 6-28, 2023

WHAT: The Canadian Opera Company presents Puccini’s La Bohème. 

From a cold but charming apartment in the Latin Quarter to the bustling street scenes at the Café Momus, we follow the poet Rodolfo and his seamstress neighbor Mimì, struggling artists searching for love and life in Bohemian Paris.

These spirited scenes unfold against a set designed out of perpetually shifting painted canvases, all under the direction of Tony Award-winner John Caird. The real-life married couple of tenor Pene Pati and soprano Amina Edris star as the show’s tragic young lovers.

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Featuring Amina Edris, Jonelle Sills (October 22) as Mimì; Pene Pati, Kang Wang (October 22 and 28) as Rodolfo; Joo Won Kang as Marcello; Charlotte Siegel as Musetta; Blaise Malaba as Colline; Justin Welsh as Schaunard; Wesley Harrison as Parpignol; Korin Thomas-Smith as Customs Officer. 

Conductor: Jordan de Souza

Original Director: John Caird; Revival Director: Katherine M. Carter

 

WHERE: Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen St W, Toronto, ON

HOW: Order online via the COC website. https://www.coc.ca/season-calendar 

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WHEN: October 20-22, 2023

WHAT: The Toronto Operetta Theater presents Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance. Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera is packed full of sentimental pirates, blundering policemen, absurd adventures and improbable paradoxes. 

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Featuring Alexander Cappellazzo as Frederic, Ana Isabella Castro as Mabel, Gregory Finney as Major-General Stanley, Karen Bojti as Ruth, and Sebastien Belcourt as The Pirate King. Jennifer Tung, conductor. 

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WHERE: The St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts. 27 Front Street East, Toronto, ON M5E 1B4

HOW: Order tickets via the box office (416) 366-7723 or 1-800-708-6754. Or on Ticketmaster https://www.ticketmaster.ca/artist/2443008

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WHEN: Sunday, October 22, 2023 5:00 PM

WHAT: Vocális Chamber Choir presents ‘Phenomenal Women.’

In the opening concert of its 22nd season, Vocális highlights the extraordinary contributions of female composers to the choral art. For centuries, women have created deeply moving and exciting choral works. Join us as we shine a light on these often neglected works, both past and present.

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WHERE: Burchfield Penney Art Center, 1300 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, NY

HOW: Individual Concert Tickets: $20 Adult | $10 Student

Individual tickets are sold at the door one hour before the concert begins, or in advance at www.vocalischamberchoir.org 

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WHEN: Thursday, October 26, 2023, 7:30 PM; Saturday, October 28, 2023, 8:00 PM

WHAT: Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra presents ‘Andreas conducts Mahler,’ featuring Andreas Delfs, conductor, and Eric Owens, bass-baritone. 

Music Director Andreas Delfs conducts Gustav Mahler’s savage and sublime Fifth Symphony, famed for its heart-wrenching “Adagietto”. And The New York Times reports that Eric Owens, “speaks to you even in his silences… and shakes you when he sings.” Hear him perform Mahler’s folk-poetry influenced “Songs of a Wayfarer.”

WHERE: Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre, 60 Gibbs St Rochester NY 14604.

HOW: Visit https://rpo.org/event/andreas-conducts-mahler/2023-10-26/ for more information

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WHEN: October 26-November 1, 2023

WHAT: Opera Atelier presents Gluck’s Orpheus and Eurydice. Created for Marie Antoinette and the most discriminating audience in Europe, Orpheus et Eurydice remains the greatest love story in the operatic canon. Gluck’s reform opera/ballet will star Canadian tenor Colin Ainsworth as Orpheus - a role he first sang for Opera Atelier in 2007. The stunning production will also include company favorite, soprano Mireille Asselin as Eurydice and soprano Anna-Julia David, who makes her company debut as Amour.

WHERE: Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre Centre, 189 Yonge St, Toronto, ON

HOW: Tickets available online via Ticketmaster 

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WHEN: Friday, October 27, 2023, 7:30 PM

WHAT: The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra presents ‘A Gospel Symphony.’ Featuring the  Buffalo United Community Choir, and Henry Panion III, conductor.

 

Donald Lawrence wears many musical hats, including songwriter, producer, and recording artist. Over a 30-year career, the multiple Grammy and Stellar Award winner has collaborated with marquee names in the Gospel, R&B, Hip Hop, Pops, and Broadway worlds. Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind performance with the BPO and the voices of the Buffalo United Community Choir under the baton of the equally accomplished composer, orchestrator, and educator, Dr. Henry Panion III.

 

WHERE: Kleinhans Music Hall, 3 Symphony Circle, Buffalo, NY

HOW: Call the Box Office at (716) 885-5000, or Click Here to order online! 

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WHEN: Friday, October 27, 2023, 7:30 PM

WHAT: The Rochester Oratorio Society presents ‘Hallelujah on High.’

Hailstork’s cantata,  “I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes,” for tenor, chorus and orchestra, comprises three beautifully compelling settings of Psalms 121, 13 and 23. Adolphus Hailstork, a world-renowned composer and educator, was born in Rochester in 1941. Ziwen Xiang reprises his Carnegie Hall performances in the brilliant tenor solo role. 

Hailstork: world-famous, living, Black composer, born in Rochester. First performance by ROS, first local performance with instruments Hailstork blends traditional European musical language with Spirituals, other Black musical heritage, perfect for a program that features both. 

 

Tenor Ziwen Xiang has sung this piece several times in Carnegie Hall; he is a pianist and choral director; community connections with Chinese community and choral organizations (Chinese and Taiwanese Choral Societies in town) he can work with them, do school visits, etc. Mozart and Beethoven: two best-loved pieces from these composers. 

 

Adolphus Hailstork: I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes

Mozart: Mass in C Major, K. 317, “Coronation”

Beethoven: “Hallelujah,” from Christ on the Mount of Olives

 

WHERE: Hochstein Performance Hall, 50 N Plymouth Ave, Rochester, NY 14614

HOW:  Visit ROS’s website for more information.  https://rossings.org/events-concerts/ 

Click Here to Order Tickets online 

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WHEN: Saturday, October 28, 3:00 PM 

WHAT: The Erwin H. Johnson Memorial Fund for Opera is excited to announce our Fall Celebrate Opera Day 2023 Concert, featuring the awesome duo of Dr. Holly Bewlay, soprano and the fabulous pianist, Michael Serio. Their musicality, passion, and masterful technique will this concert one not to miss!

 

Please join us and bring a friend to enjoy- “A Celebration of Operatic Storytelling,” with arias by Handel, Mozart, Bellini, Puccini and more. 

WHERE: Christ United Methodist Church, 350 Saratoga Road, Amherst, NY 14226

HOW:  Admission by donation gratefully accepted at the door. For more information, call (716) 992-9264, or visit www.ehjfund.org

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WHEN: Saturday, October 28, 2023, 7:30 PM; Sunday, October 29, 2023, 4:00 PM

WHAT: Harmonia Chamber Singers presents ‘Lost in the Stars.’ Music that transcends time and space. Experience sublime choral works from the Renaissance to contemporary jazz. Featuring Victoria, Sibelius, McDowall, Gjeilo, Ešenvalds, Mallonee, and Puerling.

 

WHERE: 

October 28 Venue- Ss. Peter & Paul Church, 5480 Main Street, Williamsville, NY 14221

October 29 Venue- Westminster Presbyterian Church, 724 Delaware Ave, Buffalo, NY 14209

 

HOW: $20 general admission, $10 student, FREE for 12 and under; visit https://www.harmoniacs.org/home/concerts/ for more information