Author Archives: barczablog

St Matthew Passion: Bach at 334

Posted on March 22, 2019

Tonight was the first of four performances of the St Matthew Passion from Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Tafelmusik Chamber Choir, with members of the Toronto Children’s Chorus, all led by Masaaki Suzuki. By coincidence it was JS Bach’s 334th birthday. While … Continue reading →

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The Next Wave @ RBA

Posted on March 20, 2019

A concert is not a litmus test but even so today’s free noon-hour concert at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre is an unmistakable sign of health in the community of women creating opera in this country, and apt in the home … Continue reading →

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Berlioz 150   

Posted on March 17, 2019

I started writing this one and shoved it aside because I’m swamped with several things at the same time.  That’s life in Toronto if you’re keeping up with the music or opera or theatre scene, let alone trying to see … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal ruminations & essays | Tagged , | 1 Comment

ELLES—Marina Thibeault

Posted on March 17, 2019

The new ATMA Classics CD ELLES seems apt for a month when there seems to be a great deal of music, opera & theatre created by women, celebrating female creativity, and perhaps extra noticeable with last week’s International Women’s Day … Continue reading →

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Unsafe

Posted on March 15, 2019

There are nights when the theatre reminds you how lucky you are. You may think that I say this too often, but I don’t believe we say it often enough, especially the entitled white upper class twits I think of … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Reviews, Theatre & musicals | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Episode V: beyond popularity

Posted on March 14, 2019

Films with live accompaniment are becoming a regular experience. I don’t mean that the novelty is wearing off, at least I hope not. But what began as an experiment has become a new revenue-stream for the Toronto Symphony, somewhere between … Continue reading →

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Evolving past jealousy in opera

Posted on March 13, 2019

I was thinking about jealousy today.  It’s funny how sometimes a word can come up over and over again. I confessed to some envy in my last review, admiring the way Stephen Walsh wrote about Debussy.  I don’t know if … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Opera, Personal ruminations & essays, Politics, Psychology and perception | 1 Comment