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2025-26 Orchestra Roundup

By Justin Bernard on 3 September 2025 Classical Music, Montreal, Orchestral, Ottawa, Quebec City, Toronto

Montreal Orchestre symphonique de Montréal kicks off its season on Sept. 17 and 18 with Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust conducted by Music Director Rafael Payare. The masterful work, inspired by Goethe’s myth, features soloists mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill (Marguerite), tenor Andrew Staples (Faust), and British bass-baritone Sir Willard White (Méphistophélès) and baritone Ashley Riches (Brander). Maestro Payare thus reunites with the French composer following the success of Symphonie fantastique during the OSM’s most recent European tour. In October, the Venezuelan conductor returns to the podium to conduct music by another of his favorite composers, Mahler, to whom he has dedicated…

Dance: A Fall Season Preview

By Nathalie de Han on 3 September 2025 Dance, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto

Montreal Playing with male stereotypes, Frédérick Gravel revives the striking and very rock-inspired Tout se pète la gueule, chérie. Music by Stéfan Boucher. 4’Sous, Sept. 10-13 www.quatsous.com Combining rhythm and motion, with four performers and three percussionists, Sasha Kleinplatz presents Making Time, in which the body becomes a sounding board. La Chapelle, Sept. 10-13 www.lachapelle.org Between a sacrificial rite and a pop-rock show, Catherine Gaudet presents Ode. This must-see show for 11 performers is inspired by heathen processions. Wilder Building, Sept. 24-26 www.agoradanse.com Find yourself among dancers, on a stage. Experience virtual reality with the works of Margie Gillis, Hélène…

Francophone Theatre: The Fall Season Launch

By Nathalie de Han on 3 September 2025 Montreal, Ottawa, Theatre, Toronto

Montreal Lorraine Pintal directs Kim Thúy’s first stagescript, Âm. This Vietnamese term evokes the harmony between the physical and the spiritual. TNM, Sept. 9-Oct. 4 www.tnm.qc.ca Stéphanie Labbé sets her comedy about common cruelty, La faune locale, backstage at the theatre. Duceppe, Sept. 9-26 www.duceppe.com Playwright Lily Pinsonneault brings Les vacances, an incisive look at relationships that change over time. La Licorne, Sept. 15-Oct. 4 www.theatrelalicorne.com To commemorate the 25th year of its creation, Marie Brassard is restaging Jimmy, créature de rêve, a piece that blends theatre, technology, and butoh. Prospero, Sept. 16-27 www.theatreprospero.com The political and rap satire Mommy,…

2025 Fall Festivals Guide

By La Scena Musicale Team on 3 September 2025 Baroque and Early, Classical Music, Contemporary, Jazz, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City, West

Montreal Canadian International Organ Competition (CIOC) Montréal, September 6 to October 26 | www.ciocm.org The Canadian International Organ Competition (CIOC) presents the 2025 Grand Organ Festival, with over 15 events in Montréal and across Québec from September 6 to October 26. Music lovers are invited to explore the King of Instruments through a varied program including jazz, classical, experimental, and everything in between. The headline concert on October 4 features Peter Richard Conte, who was principal organist at the legendary Wanamaker Grand Court Organ (the world’s largest fully functioning instrument) in Philadelphia for more than 35 years. VIP tickets include…

Anglophone Theatre: The Season Begins

By Nathalie de Han on 3 September 2025 Montreal, Musical Theatre, Ottawa, Theatre, Toronto

Montreal The result of Centaur Theatre’s first Indigenous artist residency, Stone and Bone Spectacular is written by Ange Loft. The play brings a profound yet entertaining perspective to the history of Tioh’tià:ke, also known as Montreal, featuring long-lost lovers and dancing beavers. Rooted in the long years of colonialism and the heritage of the Kanien’kehá:ka people—also known as the Mohawk—the show invites the audience to discover many aspects of Montreal’s heritage. Centaur Theatre, Oct. 15-26 www.centaurtheatre.com Four very different women meet in a department store. They begin to joke about their hot flashes, memory lapses, mood swings, wrinkles and sugar…

La Nef: Eclecticism Refreshed

By Benjamin Goron on 3 September 2025 Classical Music, Montreal, Multimedia

Since its foundation in 1991, La Nef has been known for its innovative approach that combines ancient music, theatre and voice in productions that break disciplinary boundaries. Over the years, this vision has led to a unique artistic identity, melding tradition and modernity. The mission of La Nef is to explore different musical traditions, whether ancient, oral, contemporary or global, creating dialogue among them and combining them with other disciplines such as dance, the visual arts, video and digital arts. Its presentations appeal to varied audiences of all ages, and take the form of concerts, multimedia shows, albums and musical…

The Lion Heart: A New Opera Created to Connect

By Hal Kowalewski on 3 September 2025 Opera, Ottawa

With Mightier Productions’ upcoming The Lion Heart, composer and tenor Corey Arnold and librettist Kyle Derek McDonald hope to make a bid for a place within the operatic canon. Set to be performed with a 40-piece orchestra in Ottawa this November, The Lion Heart draws on the grand opera tradition, prioritizing accessibility for audiences who might be unfamiliar with the art form. In a retelling of medieval legend, Richard the Lionheart, sung by bass Matthew Li, attempts to escape Castle Dürnstein by completing numerous feats of strength, including a battle with a lion that Arnold is particularly excited for audiences…

Tafelmusik and Rachel Podger: Love at First Bow

By Viktor Lazarov on 3 September 2025 Baroque and Early, Canadian Music, Classical Music, Orchestral, Strings, Toronto

Flying across bridges of time spread over ornate baroque landscapes, bellicose classical terrains, early romantic gardens, and idiosyncratic 21st-century reliefs, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra travels at a speed precious few ensembles could match. Three years short of a 50th anniversary, the Toronto-based ensemble opens their 2025-26 season with a star-studded cast of guest directors and soloists. “We’re starting our second season with Rachel Podger as principal guest director,” says violist Brandon Chui, one of Tafelmusik’s three artistic directors. Building on a decade-long symbiotic relationship, Tafelmusik and Podger kick off with Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G minor, one of the most recognizable…

L’orchestre philharmonique du Québec: Between Proximity and Accessibility

By Benjamin Goron on 3 September 2025 Classical Music, Montreal

L’Orchestre philharmonique du Québec (OPQ), founded in 1986 on Montreal’s South Shore, now brings together more than 50 professional musicians dedicated to democratizing classical music in the Montérégie region and beyond. Led since 2019 by violinist Alexandre Da Costa, the ensemble has adopted an innovative approach by presenting a new face of classical music that combines accessibility and proximity. This year, OPQ is celebrating its 40th season with a bold program combining classical works and contemporary creations, performed across much of southern Quebec. Longueuil, Boucherville, Saint-Hyacinthe, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Montreal: the tone has been set for the new season. “We have reached…

Nuée de Ritournelle (GRILL, Rimouski & C-IME, Belgium). Photo: Laurent Orseau

Fall 2025: Focus on Rimouski and Guelph

By Félix-Antoine Hamel on 3 September 2025 Jazz, La Scena Online, Region, Scena Jazz

Now that summer is almost over, the loud festival sets digested, the family vacation ended, some of us (maybe still smelling of campfires and bug spray) might want a change of pace—maybe some thought-provoking music instead of the danceable kind found in big, crowded events. From Rimouski, Que., and Guelph, Ont., come some exciting events in the next few months. Fresh sounds from Bas-du Fleuve For two decades now, Rimouski has fostered a remarkable assemblage of forward-looking musicians, revolving around bass player/singer-songwriter/organizer Éric Normand. Not only have Normand and his associates developed a whole school of improvisers (most of them…

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