Author Archives: barczablog

Brontë: The World Without comes to Guild Festival Theatre in Scarborough

Posted on July 20, 2026 by barczablog

Gothic Girl Summer began this week at Guild Festival Theatre with Brontë: The World Without, a recent play by Jordi Mand. I laughed loudly for much of the play showing us episodes, a series of scenes from a three-year period … Continue reading →

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Golden Age: Erin Morley and Lawrence Brownlee bring their magic to a live performance at Koerner Hall

Posted on July 17, 2026 by barczablog

Last year soprano Erin Morley and tenor Lawrence Brownlee released an album titled “Golden Age” accompanied by Munich Radio Orchestra conducted by Ivan Repušić featuring opera solos & duets from the 19th century. Thursday July 16th, the Toronto Summer Music … Continue reading →

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Gothic Girl Summer: Tyler Seguin talks about Brontë & Northanger Abbey at Guild Festival Theatre

Posted on July 14, 2026 by barczablog

I heard Guild Festival Theatre’s announcement of their 15th summer in Guild Park. Inspired by Gothic literature and the great women writers of the 19th century, GFT’s 2026 programming features a theatrical imagining of the lives of the beloved Brontë … Continue reading →

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Mark Tetreault recalls his Toronto Symphony Tuba playing days

Posted on July 12, 2026 by barczablog

Whenever I come into the concert hall for a Toronto Symphony Orchestra concert and see a tuba my heart beats a bit faster: because it means something extraordinary. I just googled the tuba. You won’t hear the instrument in a … Continue reading →

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A Toronto Summer Music opening night celebration with Les Arts Florissants

Posted on July 10, 2026 by barczablog

Driving downtown to the concert Thursday night July 9th in Koerner Hall I drove through downpours, hearing of roads closed by local flooding. By the time I got there the weather had cleared up, an auspicious beginning: to the 2026 … Continue reading →

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Discussing The Wounds of Love and Other Gifts, Bruce Dow’s new musical: an interview

Posted on June 23, 2026 by barczablog

In an interview I aim for rapport, to get the subject to trust me, to be open in their answers: language I learned decades ago when I trained to be a psychotherapist, a profession that in the end was beyond … Continue reading →

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Unprepared for Parḗlios

Posted on June 16, 2026 by barczablog

My review of Parḗlios? The headline says it. I was in the lobby at Theatre Passe Muraille early Sunday in anticipation of the closing performance of Parḗlios when I ran into Jennifer Nichols, who directed & choreographed the show, the … Continue reading →

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Of Whales and Willpower Part One: Jamaican Music from Apocryphonia

Posted on June 14, 2026 by barczablog

The title of the concert Friday June 12th at Christ Church Deer Park was “Of Whales and Willpower: The Jamaican Jonah, Part 1”, suggesting that there’s a sequel in the works. This first step was hearing excerpts from Samuel Felsted’s … Continue reading →

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Digging into cinematic culture with Maria Dueñas, Gustavo Gimeno & the Toronto Symphony

Posted on June 7, 2026 by barczablog

In a week when every item in the Toronto Symphony’s concert program has a connection to film, it was amazing to see such a remarkable variety, the many different ways music and movies can be connected. And the results were … Continue reading →

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Bringing the first Jamaican oratorio to life in Toronto: an interview with organist Joshua Duncan Lee

Posted on June 6, 2026 by barczablog

As a follower of Apocryphonia, I heard about the concert presenting excerpts from Samuel Felsted’s Jonah, coming this Friday June 12th at 7:30 pm, at Christ Church, Deer Park. The work is significant not just as the first oratorio composed … Continue reading →

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