May 2, 2024 | 1.30 pm | Walter Hall, University of Toronto
Tuning Your Mind | Artistic Director Simon Fryer revealed the 2024-2025 127th Season
Joyce El-Khoury performs with leading opera companies and symphony orchestras around the world. This program was inspired by her journey from her birthplace of Lebanon to her adopted homeland, Canada. In the first half she offered dramatic performances of Romantic songs by Bizet, Fauré, and Delibes, reflecting Lebanon’s European colonial past. After intermission, Lebanese songs in Arabic and Armenian demonstrated the rich contemporary culture of her birthplace. And who knew how popular tangos are in the Middle-East? She astonished the audience further by generously adding two spectacular arias: “Casta diva” from Bellini’s Norma, and “Vissi d’arte” from Tosca!
Grammy-nominated and Juno-winning Canadian pianist and composer, Serouj Kradjian has established himself as a versatile artist whose readiness to break boundaries and explore different and merge different musical styles has made him an exciting voice on the international music scene. His energetic collaboration in this recital included his arrangements and his own distinctive piano voice.