Fall

The temperatures have dropped, the patios have disappeared, and the down jackets are beginning to re-emerge. Autumn brings a resplendence of colours in Toronto, from the fiery trees on Sugar Beach to the pumpkins outside every supermarket. We’d eagerly awaited our first taste of pumpkin pie – but now we’re not so fussed about the second. Halloween is quite the celebration on this side of the pond, with offices adorned in Halloween tinsel (yes, you read that correctly) and whole streets closed for trick or treating. Even the lobby to our building became a temporary home for ghouls and zombies.

Fireworks Night hasn’t traversed the Atlantic, but commemorations for Remembrance Day have a familiar feel, with parades through the streets of Toronto, and poppies and wreaths at memorials from the Anglican Cathedral to Old City Hall. Canada played a significant role in World War I – committing 620,000 troops (compared to Britain’s six million) – and the author of “In Flanders Fields”, John McCrae, was born in Ontario. Even so, we haven’t seen a heavy focus on the centenary of the Armistice. However, we did witness a seismic performance of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir – the extraordinary pathos of Wilfred Owen’s war poetry amplified by Britten’s masterful setting of the medieval texts and the poignancy of the anniversary.

Indeed, the colder temperatures have seen Toronto’s musicians return to the city, and so far this Fall we’ve enjoyed a range of works from Mahler’s Fifth Symphony to Tchaikovsky’s most celebrated opera, Eugene Onegin. This classic of the repertoire was in stark contrast to the COC’s other offering, Hadrian, Rufus Wainwright demonstrating why it’s usually only the most distinguished composers who attempt to write an opera (even though the support for contemporary works is to be applauded in general). And, just like that, Autumn is over: now the leaves are falling, the Hudson’s Bay Christmas windows have just been unveiled, and the first flakes of snow have already settled. It’s amazing how quickly the year is passing!