Toronto Live performance Orchestra: Romeo & Juliet. Charles Gounod: Romeo and Juliet, Je veux vivre and Ah! Lève-toi soleil!; Giacomo Puccini: La Boheme, Je veux vivre; Freddie Mercury: Bohemian Rhapsody; Jules Massenet: Werther, Pourquoi me réveiller; Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet; Taylor Swift and Submit Malone: Fortnight; Leonard Bernstein: West Facet Story, Maria and Tonight; Lyn: My Future, from My Love from the Star; Giuseppe Verdi: La Traviata, Parigi o cara; Des’ree: I’m Kissing You, from Romeo + Juliet; Gaetano Donizetti: Don Pasquale, Tornami a dir che m’ami; The Cardigans: Lovefool, from Romeo + Juliet. Toronto Live performance Orchestra, Inventive Administrators Sharon Lee and Marcus Scholtes. July 29, 2025, Palais Royale.
What’s the easiest way to spend a Tuesday night in Toronto this summer season? For me, it was experiencing certainly one of six themed concert events offered by the Toronto Live performance Orchestra on the intimate setting of Palais Royale, in opposition to the gorgeous backdrop of an orange solar dipping into Lake Ontario.
The timeless story of Romeo and Juliet has impressed music throughout genres from classical to trendy. Inventive Administrators Sharon Lee and Marcus Scholtes took turns main the 20-something robust ensemble by an eclectic assortment of opera, symphonic masterpieces and modern hits that celebrated what Sharon known as, “the proper of affection on the flawed time.”
The Program
The live performance’s namesake work, Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet, was essentially the most substantial piece of the night. Initially orchestrated for a full orchestra, it posed some problem for the small ensemble to play cohesively and to steadiness the sounds from the varied sections. Nonetheless, the prestos felt climatic and the love theme reprisal was fantastically performed by the strings.
The orchestra was utterly in its parts with lighter works that included The Cardigans’ “Lovefool” and “I’m kissing you” by Des’ree, each numbers from the 1996 Hollywood film “Romeo + Juliet.”
The Taylor Swift and Submit Malone hit “Fortnight” was given a refreshing association by Sharon. As a nod to her heritage, Sharon included Lyn’s “My Future” from the Ok-drama My Love from the Star, through which her violin virtuosity additionally dazzled within the solo.
Vocalists: Soprano Lynn Anoush Isnar and Tenor Colin Ainsworth
Soprano Lynn Anoush Isnar and Tenor Colin Ainsworth added star energy to the live performance. Lynn made a grand entrance in a fiery crimson robe with “Musetta’s Waltz” from Puccini’s La Boheme.
Her silvery tone was properly suited to Irving Berlin’s love tune “Reaching to the Moon.” However, it was “Je veux vivre” from Charles Gounod’s opera Romeo and Juliet that showcased her unbelievable vary and colors. This piece demanded precision, and her excessive notes — a fleeting excessive D and a sustained excessive C — had been effortlessly safe.
Additionally from the identical opera was the tenor aria “Ah! lêve-toi soleil,” which Colin delivered with equal measures of tenderness and energy, with a ringing excessive Bb.
His “Pourquoi me réveiller” from Jules Massenet’s opera Werther was full of lyricism and introspection. However, I loved him most in his Broadway persona. As Tony singing “Maria” in Leonard Bernstein’s West Facet Story, his creamy voice and charming stage presence channelled Mario Lanza.
Lyn and Colin made a formidable duo with matching vocal prowess, and their duets had been a few of the night’s highlights. Collectively, they introduced alive the tender chemistry between Norina and Ernesto in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale. The melodic traces of their “Tornami a dir che m’ami” had been fantastically phrased with elegant harmonies. They made one other good-looking pair as Violetta and Alfredo in Verdi’s La Traviata. Their duet “Parigi, o cara” was full of bittersweet ardour and craving.
The night culminated in a heart-pounding orchestral association of Freddy Mercury’s well-known Bohemian Rhapsody that had everybody grooving and tapping of their seats.
The vocalists returning as star-crossed lovers Maria and Tony in West Facet Story’s “Tonight” ended the live performance on a excessive notice.
It was an exhilarating night to have fun love, in all its types.
- Discover the remainder of Toronto Live performance Orchestra Presents Symphony within the Metropolis Summer season 2025 [HERE].
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Denise Lai is a Physiotherapist and Faculty Professor. She is an alumnus of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and a rusty piano participant.
