-
Recent Posts
Subjects
- Animals, domestic & wild
- Art, Architecture & Design
- Books & Literature
- Cinema, video & DVDs
- Dance, theatre & musicals
- Essays
- Food & Nutrition
- Interviews
- Music and musicology
- Opera
- Personal ruminations & essays
- Politics
- Popular music & culture
- Press Releases and Announcements
- Psychology and perception
- Reviews
- Spirituality & Religion
- Sports
- University life
- Against the Grain Theatre
- Alexander Neef
- Allyson McHardy
- Ambur Braid
- Aria Umezawa
- Barbara Hannigan
- Beethoven
- Ben Heppner
- Benjamin Britten
- Berlioz
- Canadian Opera Company
- Canadian Stage
- Carla Huhtanen
- Christopher Alden
- Christopher Mokrzewski
- Claude Debussy
- COC
- Colin Ainsworth
- David Fallis
- Four Seasons Centre
- Francis Poulenc
- Franz Liszt
- Franz Schubert
- George Frideric Handel
- George Gershwin
- Giuseppe Verdi
- Glenn Gould
- Guillermo Silva-Marin
- Gustav Mahler
- Handel
- Hector Berlioz
- Ivars Taurins
- Jane Archibald
- Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg
- Joel Ivany
- Johannes Debus
- John Adams
- Jonathan Crow
- Koerner Hall
- Krisztina Szabo
- La Clemenza di Tito
- Les Troyens
- Linda Hutcheon
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Marshall Pynkoski
- Meghan Lindsay
- Messiah
- Metropolitan Opera
- Mireille Asselin
- Mozart
- opera
- Opera Atelier
- Parsifal
- Pelleas et Melisande
- Peter Oundjian
- Philip Glass
- Phillip Addis
- Puccini
- Richard Strauss
- Richard Wagner
- Rigoletto
- Robert Carsen
- Robert Lepage
- Rufus Wainwright
- Russell Braun
- Simone Osborne
- Sondra Radvanovsky
- Stewart Goodyear
- Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra
- Tapestry Opera
- Toronto Summer Music
- Toronto Symphony Orchestra
- Tristan und Isolde
- Wagner
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Archives
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
Meta
Monthly Archives: July 2016
The Coronation of King George II
This was the most fun I’ve had at a concert since the epic minimalist concert (oxymoron?) in August 1st 2013. Then as now I believe we were seeing Toronto Summer Music Artistic Director Douglas McNabney pushing the envelope of what’s … Continue reading
Jamie Barton in Recital
Toronto Summer Music continued their tradition of featuring a female vocalist. In 2014 it was Sondra Radvanovsky, while in 2015 it was Karita Mattila. Each of those two concerts represented a coup, and was a highlight of that year, nevermind of … Continue reading
Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews
Leave a comment
Finding Dory and the symbolists
These days I am feeling a bit overwhelmed by emotions. I’ve had a death in the family (not a tragedy, when someone lives to a ripe old age, but still, it has stirred up a lot of feelings for me … Continue reading
Lucretia: a messed up kind of story for a messed up time
Sometimes one escapes from the real world in the theatre, diverted from life. And sometimes theatre is such a perfect mirror that it reminds us of the craziness we’re seeing everywhere else. That latter choice –finding the craziness of the … Continue reading
Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews
3 Comments
Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words
I can’t help thinking that composers are sometimes badly appraised in their own century. I watched a documentary tonight that inspired me yet pained me, because it’s a nagging reminder of the undeserved obscurity enjoyed by Frank Zappa, and of … Continue reading
Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews
Leave a comment
Questions for Emma Char
Born in Kitchener – Waterloo, Ontario and raised in the Philadelphia area, Emma Char (who holds dual U.S. and Canadian Citizenship and currently resides in Toronto) recently crossed the border back to Canada to make debuts with Opéra de Montréal, … Continue reading
Posted in Interviews, Opera
1 Comment
London Calling: Toronto Summer Music Begins
Tonight’s concert kicked off Douglas McNabney’s final season as artistic director of the Toronto Summer Music Festival. “London Calling: Music in Great Britain” is the theme of the festival. Mother Nature even got into the act, offering us a proper … Continue reading
Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews
Leave a comment
A new Jussi Björling recording, 57 years later
The headline isn’t a mistake nor a figure of speech. Swedish tenor Jussi Björling is one of my favourite singers. As a child, it was his recordings of the great arias and duets that I usually encountered first, often spoiling … Continue reading
Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews
Leave a comment
