Monthly Archives: February 2015

Soundstreams’ Whisper Opera and the meaning of meaning

Posted on February 28, 2015 by barczablog

It’s a cute phrase I heard in a Tom Robbins novel, as someone speaks in passing of “the meaning of meaning”. I love it because it simultaneously references our understanding (and what it means to mean) and yet sounds like … Continue reading →

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10 Questions for Leslie Dala

Posted on February 26, 2015 by barczablog

Conductor Leslie Dala aka Les Dala is especially well-known out west, having conducted at the Vancouver Opera, Pacific Opera Victoria and Vancouver Bach Choir, at Banff Centre and UBC Opera Ensemble.  In October 2014 he conducted Vancouver Opera’s world premiere … Continue reading →

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Barbara Hannigan “dissolved in swirling sound… a spark of the holy fire”

Posted on February 25, 2015 by barczablog

The title of the movement is “Entrückung”, the text by Stefan George, the score to the String Quartet by Arnold Schoenberg, the concert part of the New Creations Festival curated by George Benjamin, a late-afternoon incarnation of the Canadian Opera … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | 1 Comment

10 Questions for Barbara Hannigan

Posted on February 21, 2015 by barczablog

Barbara Hannigan is one of Canada’s most remarkable exports, a brilliant singer, conductor and actor of rare conviction.  While I haven’t heard her use the word “actor” to describe herself, how can I omit it, when I struggle to describe … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Music and musicology, Opera | 4 Comments

Wagnerian truths, whether on the COC stage or your own electronic device

Posted on February 20, 2015 by barczablog

Ah such a long title. I’m already being Wagnerian. He’s everywhere whether you know it or not, Wagner not precisely über alles, but still ubiquitous. We talked about him inevitably last night in class, discussing the dramaturgy of silent film, … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | 7 Comments

“Don Giovanni or Don JianGhomeshi…?“

Posted on February 13, 2015 by barczablog

The quote in the headline is the witty riposte of Ian Henderson as part of the conversation about Dmitri Tcherniakov’s Don Giovanni. You may have thought of it as Mozart’s Don Giovanni,…? ha! but when a modern opera director gets … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | 1 Comment

Pockets picked: the inspiring story of Pocket Opera

Posted on February 4, 2015 by barczablog

The show must go on, and it usually does (from Janos Gereben in California). Pocket Opera ( http://www.pocketopera.org/ ), Donald Pippin’s inimitable 38-year-old performing organization, has always lived on pennies, but now – thanks to clueless thieves the day before … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal ruminations & essays | 2 Comments

Deep in the Vienna Woods

Posted on February 4, 2015 by barczablog

There’s a well-known waltz-tune by Johann Strauss Jr called Tales from the Vienna Woods.  It begins with an air of mystery, suggestions of the country, woods, birds, and also the use of unsophisticated instruments such as the zither. It’s an … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal ruminations & essays, University life | 1 Comment