Tafelmusik Joins Opera Atelier For Tour To The United States And France

Canada's most active touring orchestra hits the road this month for two high-profile engagements in the United States and France. Tafelmusik has been invited by long-time collaborators Opera Atelier to join them in performances of Charpentier's Actéon and Rameau's Pygmalion on November 15, 16, and 17 at the Harris Theater in Chicago, and on November 30, December 1 and 2 at the Royal Palace of Versailles near Paris. The Charpentier/Rameau double bill also opened Opera Atelier's Toronto season and is currently running at the Elgin Theatre until November 3. Tour itineraries are available at tafelmusik.org.

Tafelmusik is delighted to join Opera Atelier for their fifth appearance at Versailles, a tradition that began in 2012. In an interview with NOW Magazine, Opera Atelier's music director David Fallis said, "When I conduct Tafelmusik, I feel like a kid who's been given his father's Maserati to drive for a week."

While in Versailles, Opera Atelier will present an expanded version of Harmonia Sacra, the staged and choreographed performance that debuted to great acclaim in the Royal Chapel in 2017. This new version, The Angel Speaks, features an original composition by violinist and composer Edwin Huizinga, choreography by Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg and Tyler Gledhill, singers Mireille Asselin and Jesse Blumberg, artists of Atelier Ballet, and members of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra.

Tafelmusik maintains a rigorous schedule of touring engagements, spending an average of five to eight weeks on the road each season. To date, the orchestra has visited more than 350 cities in 32 different countries.

Upcoming Tafelmusik tours feature two spectacular multimedia programs created by double bassist Alison Mackay. The first is J. S. Bach: The Circle of Creation, which travels to Western Canada from January 24 to February 3, 2019. Performed by Tafelmusik musicians entirely from memory, this program combines text, music, and projected video and images to explore the world of the artisans who helped J.S. Bach realize his musical genius.

Tales of Two Cities: The Leipzig-Damascus Coffee House, Tafelmusik's groundbreaking multimedia fusion of Saxon and Arabic music, travels to six US cities from February 27 to March 11, 2019. This tour culminates in Los Angeles with a concert at Walt Disney Concert Hall, part of the LA Philharmonic's centennial season. Tales of Two Cities will also be seen in Ottawa at the National Arts Centre on March 26, 2019 following performances at Toronto's Koerner Hall from February 21 to 24. ABOUT TAFELMUSIK
Led by Music Director Elisa Citterio, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir is one of the world's leading period ensembles and Canada's most-toured orchestra. Tafelmusik engages Toronto audiences with an annual season of more than 80 concerts in diverse venues across the city, as well as national and international audiences through an extensive schedule of tours and critically acclaimed recordings. The Tafelmusik Chamber Choir, under the direction of Ivars Taurins, was formed in 1981 to complement the Orchestra. Tafelmusik also seeks to transport audiences to the baroque and classical periods through adventurous cross-cultural collaborations, on stage with Toronto's Opera Atelier, and underground at its Haus Musik series. The orchestra's musicians share their knowledge and experience through artist training initiatives such as the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer and Winter Institutes. Tafelmusik's catalogue of award-winning recordings on the SONY, CBC Records, Analekta, and Tafelmusik Media labels have garnered nine JUNO Awards and numerous other recording prizes. Jeanne Lamon continues her association with Tafelmusik as Music Director Emerita.