The 4th annual Luminato arts celebration set in Toronto will pay tribute to Toronto singer-songwriter and guitarist Bruce Douglas Cockburn at its annual Canadian Songbook event, set for Massey Hall on June 16.
The celebration in song will be the culmination of “40 years of longevity or just refusing to go away,” Cockburn quipped Tuesday when the arts festival announced its 2010 music lineup.
In a break from tradition, the honouree will not merely be a spectator but has elected to be a participant. Musicians named to perform with him onstage so far include Quebec vedete Michel Rivard, jazz-guitarist Michael Occhipinti,celebrated guitarist/producer Colin Linden and Margo Timmins.
It is guaranteed other names will be added to the Cockburn celebration. To date his song canon spanning 25 albums has been covered extensively by artists as diverse as Chet Atkins to Jerry Garcia, Jimmy Buffet to Judy Collins.
Two-time Academy Award nominee John Malkovich will star in the North American premiere of “The Infernal Comedy: Confessions of a Serial Killer,” about Austrian author and murderer Jack Unterweger. The piece features monologues and operatic arias to the music of the Vienna Academy Orchestra. There will be two performances at Massey Hall on June 11 and 12.
Rufus Wainwright, whose opera Prima Donna will be a prime Luminato event, will open his North American tour with a concert at the Elgin on June 15 linked to his album All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu. Luminato was one of three artistic organizations responsible for commissioning Wainwright’s debut opera that tells the story of a once-famous opera singer who is seduced back on stage by a young journalist.
As part of a thematic look at East-West dualities, Luminato has commissioned a new work, Dark Star Requiem, with Tapestry New Opera Works, set for Koerner Hall on June 11 and 12.. The dramatic oratorio on the history of HIV-AIDS in both North America and Africa is composer Andrew Staniland and poet Jill Battson, and features the Gryphon Trio and the Elmer Iseler Singers as well as soloists and percussionists.
Ten hours of Global Music is part of the numerous free events that make Luminato such a popular draw. Rock the Casbah & An African Prom staged in Toronto’s Queen’s Park on June 12 have been programmed by worldbeat music specialist Derek Andrews. The day-long festival features Algerian-born punk-rocker Rachid Taha as well as Bela Fleck and Bassekou Kouyate. The following Saturday, the same space will host another musical marathon, this time dubbed Global Divas and Global Blues and headlined by Salif Keita, tagged by some as the “golden voice of Africa.â€
The Vienna Academy Orchestra will be heard in concert on June 12 at Trinity St. Paul’s Centre.
The Toronto Symphony is set to do an unusual late-night performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony at Roy Thomson Hall starting at 11 p.m. on June 19 – followed by a party in the lobby that has received approval from on high to sell liquor into the wee hours of the morning.
Luminato runs June 11-20 in Toronto, offering more than 150 events and performances in about 40 venues.
The complete music program announcement details can be downloaded as a PDF file here.
