Many of us developed an affection for opera early in life through Looney Tunes versions of Rossini and Wagner. For some, having Elmer Fudd chant “Kill the Wabbit” to the tune of “Ride of the Valkyries” in Chuck Jones's animated masterpiece taught us everything we wanted to know about opera. But if your ambition to appreciate the finer things in life extends beyond Bugs Bunny, real opera could be an intimidating world of old rich......

Bluma Appel, philanthropist and patron of the arts, died last night in a Toronto hospital from complications of cancer. She was 86. Her death comes as a sudden blow to the city and to her family; she was diagnosed with lung cancer only two months ago. Appel and her husband celebrated their 67th wedding anniversary last week. Torontonians knew Appel as a passionate advocate for the arts and particularly for the theatre community, where she......

You may have already heard about the stellar line-up of bands going on for this year's Wintercity, but there's much more to this festival than an eclectic mix of tunes. It's a good thing winter finally arrived because this event may not have taken place. Now that it's here (and with a vengeance), the City is inviting everyone to come down and have a little bit of fun on their dime. Theatrics, ice sculptures......

Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann courtesy of the TSO. If you’re turned off at the idea of classical music concerts because they seem like an activity for the high society rich, think again. There are plenty of ways to enjoy Toronto’s healthy classical music scene on the cheap or for free. Toronto Symphony Orchestra In an effort to infuse some young blood into its increasingly grey-haired audience demographic, the TSO offers $12 concert tickets to......

There's a lot of Henry Moore in the city of Toronto. After so many years of public school trips to the AGO, it took a fine art education to convince this writer that Moore wasn't a Canadian sculptor. In the late 1950's, British sculptor Henry Moore was at the height of his artistic powers and world-class cities were being defined by their Henry Moore sculptures. New York got a Moore. So did London. And......

Last week, we had a sneak preview of the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. It's the new home for the Canadian Opera Company and The National Ballet. Yesterday marked the official ribbon cutting ceremonies.......

Most metropolitan cities around the world would be lucky to have one, maybe two buildings designed by superstar architects. Toronto is about to get another, adding to our collection of world-class architecture, which has grown significantly over the past few years....

Torontoist has heard that end of year lists are generally tedious and irrelevant. Torontoist acknowledges the point. But Torontoist also only burst on the scene a couple of months ago and would like to take this moment to salute nine plays we liked in 2004. They weren’t necessarily the best plays, per se, but we liked them is all. The Handmaid’s Tale (Canadian Opera Company) You can call it an opera if you so desire,......