April in Toronto: Tchaikovsky's Fifth, Whitacre's Sacred Veil and a Lepage double bill

April in Toronto ends on a striking note: the Canadian Opera Company pairs Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle with Schoenberg's Erwartung in a double bill directed by Robert Lepage, with Johannes Debus conducting. Two short, dark, psychologically claustrophobic works in one evening — not a gentle introduction to opera, but a memorable one.

Before that, the TSO closes out the month with Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony alongside Shostakovich's Second Violin Concerto at Roy Thomson Hall, and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir performs Eric Whitacre's The Sacred Veil at Metropolitan United — a song cycle for chorus and cello about love and loss that tends to leave rooms very quiet.

If you're looking for something lighter to start with, Toronto Operetta Theatre's A Night in Venice is Johann Strauss II at his most sparkling, and the Jane Mallett Theatre is small enough that nothing feels remote.

This is the same lineup that went out in this month's newsletter, adapted here in case you'd rather browse than scroll an inbox. If you're new here, Discover is the editorial side of Allegro — a little more opinionated than the full listings. Subscribe below and I'll send the next one straight to your inbox.