Dance, music, and Dickens will all feature prominently in Toronto this holiday season.

 

The holiday season official kicks off with the Cavalcade of Lights First Lighting Celebration at City Hall November 29th. The city, in partnership with Scotiabank, with also be presenting Saturday Night Fireworks on December 6th, 13th, and 20th. There’s plenty more to keep young and old alike entertained and inspired through the holiday season too, starting with the Canadian Children’s Opera Company production of A Dickens of a Christmas on November 28th. The work, based on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, will feature all two hundred choristers from the CCOC as well as a host of professional opera singers, including baritone Mark Pedrotti as Ebenezer Scrooge and tenor Ryan Harper singing the roles of both Marley and Cratchit. The two performers were part of the work’s premiere three years ago, and will be under the direction of CCOC Artistic Director Ann Cooper Gay. A Dickens of a Christmas runs at the Enwave Theatre at Harbourfront November 28th through 30th.

There’s even more Dickens in store when actor John D. Huston makes a two-night stop in Toronto to perform his one-man version of Dickens classic Christmas tale. On its seventeenth national tour, the performance afford audience the chance to see what Dickens’ audiences experienced themselves, when the renowned author performed his work in a solo setting after its publication. Huston will be accompanied by period-specific music for his Toronto performance by female acapella trio MadriGALS. Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol featuring Huston and the MadriGALS runs December 10th and 11th at St. David’s Anglican Church on Donlands Avenue.

As well as Dickens, there’s music aplenty to be found in Toronto this holiday season. The Toronto Symphony will be performing Handel’s Favourite Messiah for the 59th time in its history. Featuring the Mendelssohn Choir under the direction of Noel Edison, the cast will include a stellar variety of Canadian signing talents, including tenor Frederic Antoun, most recently seen in Opera Atelier’s production of Mozart’s Abduction From the Seraglio. Toronto’s Favourite Messiah runs December 16th to the 21st at Roy Thomson Hall. The TSO will also be presenting A Very Merry Christmas, a pops concert that will feature both old and new favourites. Featuring the talents of the Mississauga Choral Society as well as the Canadian Children’s Opera Chorus, the show is sure to be a big hit with families. It runs at Roy Thomson Hall December 9th and 10th.

Young people will also feature prominently in the Randolph Young Academy’s Christmas concert. Featuring the company, and hosted by renowned musical performer Patricia Zentilli, RYC Carols will feature the talents of local musical performers including Andrew Kushnir and Sharron Matthews, as well as the debut of the Randolph Dance Crew, the Randolphe Academy’s youth dance performance troupe.  The concert is a benefit to fund the Academy’s upcoming fourth season, which includes West Side Story and Schoolhouse Rock Live Jr. RYC Carols happens December 14th at the Bathurst Street Theatre, at 7pm.

Of course, the other cherished Toronto Christmas tradition is the National Ballet of Canada’s beautiful, sumptuous production of The Nutcracker. Featuring the talents of the Viva Youth Singers of Toronto along with James Kudelka’s masterful choreography and Santo Loquasto’s stunning sets, The Nutcracker is an annual holiday treat. It runs at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts December 6th to 28th.  For those who can’t make it down to Queen and University, the ballet will be presented live from the Centre, in gorgeous high definition, at seventy-nine Cineplex cinemas across Canada on December 13th, at 2pm.

The Canadian Ballet Theatre will also be producing their version of The Nutcracker, with ballet superstars Alina Somova and Anton Korsakov of Russia’s famed Kirov Ballet Company. Zhong-Jing Fang, a member of the American Ballet Theatre since 2002, will also be performing. With set and costumes from the Bolshoi, choreography by Vasily Vainonen, and staging by Canadian Ballet Theatre’s Artistic Director Nadia Veselova Tencer, the production is sure to bring a hint of Russian style to the Christmas classic. The production runs December 20th and 21st at the Winter Garden Theatre.

Decidedly more noisy, but no less joyful, the Canadian Brass will welcome in the Christmas season with a blast when they play Roy Thomson Hall on December 23rd. The quintet, now in its 38th year, has tackled all manner and style of music, from classical to jazz to pop. They’ll be playing Christmas tunes new and old with Juno-Award winning organist Eric Robertson. Expect a few hijinks and hilarious surprises thrown into the festive mix.

Keeping with the Christmas spirit, legendary songster Andy Kin will be presenting his annual Christmas show at the Mod Club. Now in its fourth year, the Andy Kim Christmas Show is an uplifting, festive evening that is always jam-packed with the very best in Canadian talent. Past guests have included the Barenaked Ladies, Serena Ryder, and the Hidden Cameras. Singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith, another past guest, will be performing this year, along with more guests to be announced in the coming weeks. All proceeds from the show will benefit the Sanfilippo Children’s Research Foundation, which investigates the rare childhood genetic disorder. The Andy Kim Christmas show happens at the Mod Club on December 10th, with doors at 7pm.

CTV is offering a respite for those tired out by holiday shopping. They’ll be broadcasting the world premiere of Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning this holiday season. Written and directed by Emmy Award-winning Kevin Sullivan, the man behind the original Anne of Green Gables movies, the television film will feature a host of top Hollywood talent, including Shirley MacLaine and Barbara Hershey. To complement the premiere, CTV and A Channel will be presenting a series of titles within the beloved Lucy Maud Montgomery/Anne Shirley canon, including the original three Anne of Green Gables movies, episodes from Road To Avonlea, and more. Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning airs on CTV December 14th, at 7pm.