What to see at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa this summer

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The National Arts Centre will be alive with the arts for the third summer this year, with a robust program that includes the return of several popular free offerings. 

Among those is the free Canada Day concert by the NAC Orchestra, featuring conductor Alexander Shelley, slam poet YAO and a Unisong choir made up of singers from every province and territory of Canada. It takes place inside the NAC’s Southam Hall at 2:30 p.m. on July 1. 

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Also returning are the twice-weekly boat concerts, which feature a musical ensemble performing from the deck of an electric boat as it cruises the length of the Rideau Canal entertaining spectators along the shore. Performers include Miguel de Armas, the Lionyls and members of the NAC Orchestra. 

Another free concert series takes place outdoors on the NAC’s Wood Terrace, showcasing a diverse array of global rhythms from artists such as Mexico’s Quique Escamilla, franco-roots outfit Beauxmont, Okavango African Orchestra and more. 

As for the ticketed shows, they include a series of new plays with an $8 ticket price, a French-language production of Don Juan, the Cowboy Fringants’ musical comedy show, the world premiere of a new orchestral composition, and a variety of concerts ranging from singer-songwriter Linda McNeill to the Social Tango Project. 

The summer program announced this week adds to a calendar that already includes a Broadway Across Canada presentation of Les Miserables (Aug. 6-11) and a two-week run of the hit Canadian musical, Come From Away (Aug. 14-Sept. 1). 

For complete information, and to buy tickets, go to nac-cna.ca. 

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