Author Archives: barczablog

Farewell Norma

Posted on November 6, 2016 by barczablog

I had another look at the Canadian Opera Company’s Norma tonight, the closing performance of their fall season. It was both a chance to get a closer look as well as to see a slightly different cast. Elza van den … Continue reading →

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COC Centre Stage 2016

Posted on November 4, 2016 by barczablog

Tonight was the annual Centre Stage event at the Four Seasons Centre, a combination of competition and gala celebration.  It was wonderful seeing so many familiar & famous faces in an audience including Stephen Lord, Gunta Dreifelds, Bruce Ubukata and … Continue reading →

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Questions for Caitie Graham – Paradise Comics

Posted on November 2, 2016 by barczablog

Since graduating from the Performance Acting Program at Ryerson University in 2014, Caitie Graham has become a committed member of the theatre and youth education community in Toronto, as well as an advocate for work that engages young women. Her … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Interviews, Personal ruminations & essays | Leave a comment

Interview with James Anagnoson

Posted on November 2, 2016 by barczablog

It’s 40 years that James Anagnoson has been part of a duo with Leslie Kinton, to be celebrated in a sold-out concert Sunday November 13th at the Royal Conservatory of Music. By coincidence I happened to listen to their version … Continue reading →

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Naomi’s Road: an opera about a shameful moment in Canada’s history

Posted on November 1, 2016 by barczablog

Michael Mori, Artistic director of Tapestry Opera posted the following on Facebook (the press release follows immediately below): When we started planning Naomi’s Road, a show deals with the shameful treatment of Japanese-Canadians during WWII, it was well before Trump’s … Continue reading →

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TSO exhibit Elfman – Burton brilliance

Posted on October 31, 2016 by barczablog

While there are still two months left in 2016 I am pretty sure that I just saw the best concert of the year, and I didn’t see it coming.  At the intermission I was musing to myself that I had … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Music and musicology, Reviews | Leave a comment

All But Gone

Posted on October 29, 2016 by barczablog

When you’re ushered into the chapel for a wedding, sometimes they ask you “bride or groom?” That’s to identify where you should sit. I was thinking of that quaint custom as I came into the Berkeley Street theatre tonight for … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Leave a comment

That other Aeneas and Dido story

Posted on October 25, 2016 by barczablog

It was a funny coincidence. When I ran into David Fallis the other day –an encounter I mentioned in my recent review of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas—I showed him a DVD I was returning to the library, the Fura del … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Reviews | 1 Comment

Ariodante questions

Posted on October 24, 2016 by barczablog

My second time through the Canadian Opera Company’s Ariodante yesterday raised more questions in my mind. There are the vocal questions, ones that aren’t new.  I have long wondered about the way we perceive operatic performance, that a perfect performance … Continue reading →

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Fourth Annual Elizabeth Krehm Memorial Concert

Posted on October 23, 2016 by barczablog

Monday November 14 at 7:30pm at Metropolitan United Church Tickets & information Elizabeth Krehm passed away on November 17, 2012 in the ICU at St Michael’s Hospital. Every year since her passing, her family has held a memorial concert as … Continue reading →

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