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Youth 2025-2026: A Season of Programs for the Younger Set

By Heather Weinreb on 4 September 2025 Dance, Montreal, Musical Theatre, Orchestral, Ottawa, Quebec City, Theatre, Toronto, Vocal

Montreal Jeunesses Musicales Jeunesses Musicales’ 2025-26 season is full of original children’s programming. Opéra Bon-Bon, an operatic retelling of the story of Hansel and Gretel, will be performed on Oct. 26. On Nov. 16, Rythmo-Rigolo, an interactive percussion concert, will get children drumming in a variety of ways. Penguin musicians set the stage for this year’s Christmas concert, Le grand bal de Noël, on Dec. 7. On Feb. 8, La forêt des mélomanes takes children on a musical walk through an enchanted forest. On March 22, three musicians and their puppets help children navigate the complex world of friendships—and the…

Opera Across Canada: A Mostly Safe 2025-26

By Gianmarco Segato on 4 September 2025 Montreal, Opera, Ottawa, Quebec City, Toronto, Vancouver, Vocal, West

As opera companies continue to navigate the challenges of skyrocketing costs and audience retention, most Canadian organizations are opting to program well-known titles in 2025-26. Here’s a season rundown from west to east. Pacific Opera Victoria Artistic Director Brenna Corner presents a season in keeping with POV’s always-careful mix of repertoire stalwarts and less-usual fare. October brings a new production of Britten’s The Turn of the Screw staged by Canadian theatre director Michael Shamata, with a stellar Canadian cast including Kirsten MacKinnon, Isaiah Bell, Jonelle Sills and Catherine Daniel. In February, Corner herself stages Puccini’s Tosca with a role-debuting Meghan…

Baroque: The New Season in Montreal and Toronto

By Philippe Gervais on 3 September 2025 Baroque and Early, Classical Music, Montreal, Toronto

Montreal Bourgie Hall Bourgie Hall seems to have reduced its early-music programming compared to recent years, but there are still excellent concerts presented by the Arion Baroque Orchestra and Les Idées Heureuses. It should be noted that most of these concerts are special events and are not listed in the hall’s annual season brochure. On Nov. 15 and 16, Arion features Armenian violinist Chouchane Siranossian in her Montreal debut. The program will include an early symphony by Mozart, Haydn’s famous Farewell symphony, and a tantalizing rarity, Andreas Romberg’s Violin Concerto No. 7 in E minor. Siranossian will be the best…

Chamber Music & Solo Performances 2025-26: Canadian and International Stars

By Emma Yee on 3 September 2025 Chamber Music, Classical Music, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City, Toronto

MONTREAL Bourgie Hall Bourgie Hall’s 2025–26 season offers concerts across various musical genres. The second year of their complete Franz Schubert lieder series includes concerts by mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter and fortepianist Kristian Bezuidenhout (Oct.16); baritone Wolfgang Holzmair and Bourgie Hall’s co-artistic director, pianist Olivier Godin (Oct. 30); soprano Aline Kutan, clarinetist André Moisan, and pianist Michael McMahon (March 15); and baritone Olivier Bergeron, pianist Chloé Dumoulin, and dancers Diana León and Paco Ziel (March 28 & 29). Musicians of the OSM will also feature Schubert’s string music (Oct. 24). Piano will be central this season, with headliners Leif…

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,…

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…

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…

Wisdom Meets Curiosity: Arts Learning Opportunities for Older Adults

By Kaitlyn Chan on 3 September 2025 Classical Music, Dance, Education, Interviews, Literature, Montreal, Theatre, Toronto

After young adulthood, structured forms of education might no longer be a regular part of your routine. But there are many benefits to lifelong learning, including improved cognitive health, increased personal fulfillment, and a sense of community and connection with others. For those seeking learning opportunities in music and the arts as older adults, here are some options to consider. University Courses If you have an interest in academic study, many Canadian universities offer courses for those continuing their education. Often, these programs will have smaller class sizes, which allow students to form deeper connections with their peers and professors…

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