Today in Toronto: Playing Cards 1, Loreena McKennitt and more

Today in Toronto: Playing Cards 1, Loreena McKennitt and more

Chroma, Song of a Wayfarer, Elite Syncopations This triple bill seems designed to show off the National Ballet’s various strengths. Chroma offers a modernist, dizzyingly athletic aesthetic; Song of the Wayfarer a tender pas de deux for male dancers; and Elite Syncopations a jaunty, colourful and endearingly silly ragtime world. Think of it as the dance equivalent of tapas. Find out more »

Loreena McKennitt Before there was Enya, there was Loreena McKennitt, the original Celtic crossover singer. But beyond her New Age associations, McKennitt is a gifted songwriter and beautiful singer, known for her silvery soprano and revisionist balladry. At this free show, she draws from her extensive catalogue (Tennyson included), as well as her recent albums. June 13. Free. David Pecaut Square, 55 John St., luminato.com.

Mahler: Symphony of a Thousand There may not literally be a thousand people onstage for this performance of the composer’s eighth symphony (last played here in 1997), but it’ll sure look like there are. The TSO at its fullest is joined by a double choir, a children’s choir and eight vocal soloists for this paean to soul-swelling optimism and the possibilities of redemption. Find out more »

Playing Cards 1: Spades Multimedia mastermind Robert Lepage goes all in for the first of four productions built around the different card suits. Spades examines conflict through the lenses of two very different desert cities around the time of the second Iraq War: Las Vegas and Baghdad. $45–$90. Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Opera Centre, 227 Front St. E., luminato.com.

Click here to see our Luminato 2012 guide »