News

ART & MUSEUMS

Mercer Union

We Interrupt This Program, an exhibition of conceptual pieces from the seventies and eighties, collects pieces that originally appeared in magazine ads or television spots rather than in a gallery or museum. The artworks are often disruptive in tone. Tomorrow (opening reception, 7 p.m.) to Dec. 12. Free. 1286 Bloor St. W., 416-536-1519.

CONCERTS

Roger Daltrey

People try to put him down, just because he's still around. The My Generation singer swings his microphone chord and gruffly voices the oversized British classic rock catalogue belonging to the Who. Today, 8 p.m. $63.25 to $74.75. Casino Rama, Orillia, Ont., 416-870-8000.

Canadian Opera Company

Tenor Ben Heppner, suffering from a viral infection while singing Tristan in Tristan und Isolde at London's Royal Opera House, won't be able help blow out the 60 candles of the COC's birthday cake. Still, a diamond-studded cast - conductor Johannes Debus, tenor Ramón Vargas, heroic-tenor John Treleaven and baritone Russell Braun - will be on hand for the French and German arias and orchestral pieces that mark the company's diamond anniversary. Saturday, 7 p.m. $100 to $210. Four Seasons Centre, 145 Queen St. W., 416-363-8231.

Britten: War Requiem

Christmas has its Messiah; Remembrance Day has its War Requiem. Peter Oundjian and the Toronto Symphony are joined by soprano Christine Brewer, tenor Michael Schade, baritone Russell Braun, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and the Toronto Children's Chorus for a masterful piece that mourns the loss of life and denounces the evilness of war. Nov. 11 and 12, 8 p.m. $29 to $128. Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St., 416-593-4828.

COMEDY

The Debaters

Be it resolved that audience members select the winners of arguments waged with the logic and laughs of top-flight comedians. Live tapings of the popular CBC Radio show happen at Glenn Gould Studio, where Sean Cullen, Teresa Pavlinekand others make funny points and cagy counterpoints. Nov. 9 and 10, 7:30 p.m. $19.50. 250 Front St. W., 416-872-4255.

DANCE

The Vision Impure

DanceWorks presents the Toronto debut of The Vision Impure, an evening of solos created and performed by the charismatic dance-powerhouse Noam Gagnon, with additional choreography by Nigel Charnock and the frontier-pushing Daniel Léveillé. The program's titular centrepiece, inspired by bullfights, begins with a black-and-white film of bullfighters, beasts and roaring crowds. Tomorrow and Saturday, 8 p.m. $17 to $28. Enwave Theatre, 231 Queens Quay W., 416-973-4000.

THEATRE

My Mother's Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding

It was a decade ago when Mirvish picked up a wedding-inspired hit Fringe Festival musical. The Drowsy Chaperone went on to win five Tony Awards and ran for 674 performances on Broadway, setting the bar high for an expanded version of a story about a mother who reveals to her children that she is not only as a lesbian, but a Jewish one at that. Opens Saturday. $25 to $60. Panasonic Theatre, 651 Yonge St., 416-872-1212. When My Name Was Anna

A full production of Necessary Angel's adaptation of Divisadero, Michael Ondaatje's novel of poem sequences and multiple plotlines, is planned for late next year. Until then, a work-in-progress version, directed by Daniel Brook and featuring music written and performed by the thoughtful singer-songwriter Justin Rutledge, is unveiled for three shows. Tomorrow and Saturday (8 p.m.) and Sunday (2 p.m.). $13. Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace, 16 Ryerson Ave., 416-504-7529.

LITERARY AND LECTURES

Giller Light Bash

Skip the tuxedos of the formal Giller Prize Gala at the Four Seasons Hotel, and watch that big-deal book event - authors Anne Michaels, Colin McAdam, Kim Echlin, Annabel Lyon and Linden MacIntyre all have their fingers crossed - on at a party in benefit of Frontier College. Nov. 10, 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. $25 to $100. Berkeley Church, 315 Queen St. E. gillerlightbash.ca or 416-923-3591, ext. 335.

CLUBS

Great Lake Swimmers Tony Dekker and crew make graceful, sensitive roots music (as heard on the Polaris Prize-short-listed Lost Channels album), in benefit of the War Child Canada charity. Today, 7:30 p.m. $35 (at maplemusic.com). Dakota Tavern, 249 Ossington Ave., 416-850-4579. Wolfmother, with Heartless Bastards

Watch for the laser-beam voiced Erika Wennerstrom and her no-nonsense Ohio garage rockers to steal the down-under thunder from the Australian Led Zeppelin revivalists Wolfmother, who celebrate the towering riff-based psychedelia of their new Cosmic Egg disc. Nov. 11, 8 p.m. $36. Kool Haus, 132 Queens Quay. W., 416-973-4000.

FAMILY

Royal Agricultural Winter Fair An annual event of horse pageantry, performing dogs and giant feats of farming is opened by Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, who, tomorrow, put the "royal" in the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. Tomorrow to Nov. 15. $14 to $18. Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place, 416-263-3400.

Brundibar

An anti-war fable, first performed at a Second World War death camp in German-occupied Czechoslovakia, symbolizes the triumph of helpless children over a monstrous regime. The children's opera, mounted during Holocaust Education Week, is preformed be by students of Netivot Hatorah, a Toronto Jewish day school. Nov. 10, 7:30 p.m. Free. Telus Centre, Royal Conservatory of Music, 273 Bloor St., W., holocausteducationweek.com.

ET CETERA

Rendezvous With Madness Film Festival

Under the umbrella theme of mental illness and its treatment, an event of 30 features and shorts starts tonight (7 p.m.) with the Canadian premiere of Clara, the biopic of Clara Schumann, the composer and wife of the anxiety-plagued, 19th-century German music man Robert Schumann. To Nov. 14. $10. Workman Theatre, 1001 Queen St. W., and Workman Arts, 651 Dufferin St., 416-583-4606 or rendezvouswithmadness.com. bwheeler@globeandmail.com