May 10-11 at Toronto’s Jane Mallett Theatre, you can catch Hockey Noir, the new graphic chamber opera by The Ensemble contemporain de Montréal (ECM+), co-presented by Continuum Contemporary Music and the Toronto Comic Arts Festival. Hockey Noir unfolds during the playoff finals of two fictional Canadian hockey teams, based in cities where the passion for Canada’s national sport is “bordering on the fanatical.” The production features illustrations by Kimberlyn Porter, and Marie-Josée Chartier directs this “stylized musical adventure full of excitement and intrigue, bathed in a smoky post-war atmosphere of the ‘film noir’.” For details and ticket information, click here.

May 24-29 is Estonian Music Week in Canada. Estonia counts more from its diaspora in Toronto than anywhere else in the world, and in the 100th year of the country’s independence, Estonia sends some of its finest musicians to collaborate with artists in Toronto. Highlights include the festival opener, featuring Estonian ensemble Avarus on May 24 at Church of the Redeemer, the May 26 co-presentation with the Royal Conservatory of Music’s 21C festival, featuring Vox Clamantis in collaboration with HH (Hendrik Kaljujärv) at Koerner Hall, and the closing concert on May 29 at Lula Lounge, featuring Estonian Voices, Kadri Voorang, and Canada’s Quartetto Gelato. For a full schedule of events and to purchase tickets, click here.

On May 25 at the Four Seasons Centre, the young artists of the Canadian Opera Company take the main stage. The emerging talent of the Ensemble Studio are scattered throughout the COC’s season, singing supportive roles and often understudying the leads. An Evening With the Ensemble Studio is a chance to hear these singers and pianists, front and centre; they’ll sing scenes from Mozart’s Così fan tutte, and offer a concert staging of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. Tickets are just $35, a steal for any seat in the Four Seasons Centre. For details and tickets, click here.

And on June 2, 8pm at Alliance Française Theatre, three musicians from the Toronto Chinese Orchestra perform No Place Like Home. Patty Chan (erhu), Di Zhang (yangqin), and Cynthia Zimen Qin (gu zheng) present a concert which tells stories of home, identity, and roots. “These seven original pieces will represent different aspects of home, using unique Chinese instruments, original sound and visual art.” For details and ticket information, click here.

Readers, what are you looking forward to in the coming weeks? Let us know at [email protected].