215 Best Performing Arts Venues in Canada

Since its opening in 1985, Opera Atelier has been dedicated to staging 17th- and 18th-century baroque operas, with extravagant sets and costumes and original instruments. The two annual productions are stage at the Elgin Theatre each fall and spring.

Place des Arts is located in the heart of the Quartier des Spectacles and has been hosting performances since 1963. In 2011, the venue underwent a major face-lift and makeover to stunning effect. The glass-walled Maison Symphonique concert hall is the permanent home of the Montréal Symphony Orchestra; with state-of-the-art acoustics and only 75 feet between the end of the stage and the last row, it's an intimate place for concerts. The Salle Wilfrid Pelletier performance space is used by three resident companies: the Opéra de Montréal, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, and the popular Jean Duceppe theater company. The venue's four other performance spaces host dance, theater, and festival events.

The other outdoor stages and other venues that make up the Quartier des Spectacles allow for lots of shows and festivals to be staged in one common area. Even if you don't have tickets to something, you can walk around the Quartier during festival season (pretty much all summer) to take in a variety of shows and concerts for free.

This center has been presenting theater, music, dance, opera, film, and forums on public issues since 1970. The two main halls are the luxuriously appointed Bluma Appel Theatre and the Jane Mallett Theatre, both venues for recitals and performances by companies like the Canadian Stage Company, the Toronto Operetta, and Music Toronto (chamber music).

Tickets for theatrical and musical performances, plus a host of other cultural events, can be bought through Ticketmaster.

Operated by the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) organization, this state-of-the-art five-screen, five-story complex, opened in 2010, shows classic and avant-garde films, director retrospectives, actor tributes, national cinema spotlights, exclusive limited runs, and new documentaries and artistic films. Tickets are C$13.