Monthly Archives: April 2026

She Holds up the Stars from Red Sky & Toronto Symphony

Posted on April 20, 2026 by barczablog

In a week of adaptations, the trip to Roy Thomson Hall to see & hear the world premiere of She Holds Up the Stars from the Toronto Symphony & Red Sky Performance on Sunday April 19th was a fabulous case … Continue reading →

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Erin Shields’ Mary, Mary, Mary, Mary at Crow’s Theatre

Posted on April 19, 2026 by barczablog

I saw the matinee of Erin Shields’ Mary, Mary, Mary, Mary on Saturday afternoon April 18th. The title is playful I suppose, but makes a lot of sense when you look at the New Testament, particularly the female characters. I … Continue reading →

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Benevolence Opera Project & Redwood Theatre Present Don Giovanni Benefit Supporting Redwood Women’s Shelter

Posted on April 17, 2026 by barczablog

Benevolence Opera Project & Redwood Theatre Present Don Giovanni A One-Night-Only Opera Event Supporting the Redwood Women’s Shelter, Toronto. Benevolence Opera Project and Redwood Theatre are proud to present a special, one-night-only one-of-a-kind performance of Don Giovanni, featuring Canadian Baritone … Continue reading →

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Opera Atelier present their new Pelléas et Mélisande

Posted on April 16, 2026 by barczablog

Wednesday night saw the premiere of Pelléas et Mélisande in a new orchestration by Christopher Bagan, conducted by David Fallis at Koerner Hall. Opera Atelier commissioned Bagan to reduce the scope of Debussy’s opera from a post-Wagnerian orchestra (70 + … Continue reading →

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Toronto Symphony play Béla Bartók’s Miraculous Mandarin

Posted on April 12, 2026 by barczablog

Toronto Symphony recently released their third Harmonia Mundi live recording, captured from performances 21-23 November 2024 at Roy Thomson Hall, featuring two works by Béla Bartók (1881-1945) plus a piece by Canadian Emilie Cecilia LeBel. Roy Thomson Hall’s acoustics seem … Continue reading →

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Tafelmusik present Influencers without shoehorns or pigeonholes

Posted on April 11, 2026 by barczablog

Influencers is the anachronistic title for Tafelmusik’s concert program this week at Jeanne Lamon Hall. I’m reminded of the way Richard Strauss put Viennese waltzes into Der Rosenkavalier, a modern dance-form that didn’t really fit the time of the story, … Continue reading →

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Room of Keys with David James Brock and Adam Sherkin playing Béla Bartók

Posted on April 10, 2026 by barczablog

Room of Keys is a sort of sacred mystery play. I don’t throw that M word out there in the spirit of a whodunnit so much as the old sacred pre-Shakespearean plays that would stage a small Biblical episode. No … Continue reading →

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Anticipating David James Brock’s upcoming Room of Keys: an interview

Posted on April 2, 2026 by barczablog

Room of Keys is David James Brock’s one act play, created with Adam Sherkin of Piano Lunaire, inspired by Béla Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle (1918). It’s natural that a mysterious symbolist play invites exploration. As with the piano paraphrases of La … Continue reading →

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