Author Archives: barczablog

Braid or CASP at RBA

Posted on May 5, 2016 by barczablog

Art-song?  The concept didn’t immediately blow me away as a child growing up in the same house with an opera singer, craving the full-out commitment of opera.  The pleasures on record were sometimes esoteric and fleeting.  I think I grew … Continue reading →

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Ambitious TSO program

Posted on May 5, 2016 by barczablog

It wasn’t at all what I expected, this Toronto Symphony program of Beethoven, Brahms and Adams, to be taken on a Canadian tour this weekend (Ottawa Saturday and Montreal Sunday). Peter Oundjian did tell us that it’s unusual to program … Continue reading →

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Maometto II, Conquerer

Posted on May 2, 2016 by barczablog

That was a fast three hours and twenty minutes. While I expected Maometto II, the Rossini opera presented by the Canadian Opera Company at the Four Seasons Centre, to be full of spectacular singing, I did not expect to be … Continue reading →

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Lucretia’s Rape: “Is it all”?

Posted on May 1, 2016 by barczablog

If you go see a show and it mystifies you, thank God for the internet to answer questions. And that’s the last thing I’ll say in this review that sounds even a little bit reverent. When I was a young … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | 3 Comments

Carmen Encore

Posted on April 29, 2016 by barczablog

The second cast in the Canadian Opera Company’s Carmen production directed by Joel Ivany brought us into a more realistic world than what we’d seen in the opening night’s cast. This is a cast that’s physically beautiful, from the heroic … Continue reading →

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Colourful Kensington

Posted on April 22, 2016 by barczablog

Late this afternoon, hungrier than I’d expected to be, I found myself at the corner of Oxford & Augusta. The Morrocan Stew I consumed at Urban Herbivore left me full.  That should have been enough. But then I noticed the … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Health and Nutrition | 3 Comments

A Carmen that ends differently

Posted on April 18, 2016 by barczablog

When I’ve missed opening night I try desperately to avoid reading other reviews, a sort of anxiety of influence. Social media makes it tough when you see headlines proclaiming the brilliance of that show: as I saw on Facebook concerning Joel … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera | 1 Comment

Sweet Swan of Avon: The Musicians In Ordinary celebrate William Shakespeare

Posted on April 14, 2016 by barczablog

Sweet Swan of Avon – Series of Words and Music Concludes THE MUSICIANS IN ORDINARY CELEBRATE SHAKESPEARE ON ACTUAL 400TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS DEATH, APRIL 23   ENGLISH-LANGUAGE AUTHORITY & AUTHOR SETH LERER READS IN ORIGINAL PRONUNCIATION Four centuries to … Continue reading →

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Famous tunes at the TSO

Posted on April 11, 2016 by barczablog

And the beat goes on. While there may have been a change of leadership, the Toronto Symphony hot streak continues, with bold performances onstage & at the box office. Sunday afternoon I attended the second of a pair of concerts … Continue reading →

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Lucio Silla: slaying the tyrant at the Elgin Theatre

Posted on April 10, 2016 by barczablog

Tonight I saw Opera Atelier’s Lucio Silla, an opera receiving its Canadian premiere production at the Elgin Theatre. I’ve wondered what was so special about this opera, having heard about previous Opera Atelier presentations of the work in Europe, and … Continue reading →

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