February in Victoria: Tosca, a Fauré Requiem and an organ that fills the cathedral

February is a strong month for Christ Church Cathedral, which gets three of the concerts on this list — and for good reason. The Helmuth Wolff organ there is one of the finest instruments in the city, and the room is built to let it do its work.

The Victoria Symphony opens the month with Fauré's Requiem and the Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony, which is roughly the loudest and the quietest that repertoire gets in a single evening. Later, the Pacific Baroque Festival's Iberian Splendour brings organist Abraham Ross through two centuries of Spanish and Portuguese music — an unfamiliar corner of the baroque that rewards the trip.

The month's headline event is Pacific Opera Victoria's fully staged Tosca at the Royal Theatre. Puccini's melodrama is a reliable first opera: the plot is easy to follow, the music does the emotional work for you, and it's over in three acts.

For Valentine's Day there's Candlelight: Classical Romance at the cathedral, and if you'd rather be out in Sooke, the Philharmonic's Tea & Symphony pairs Mozart with an English high tea.

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.