Author Archives: barczablog

April Fundraising Concert

Posted on February 27, 2016 by barczablog

From Vasilisa Atanackovic: ******* I am having a fundraising concert on Saturday, April 2 to raise money for my performance journeys in Italy through to New York. I have been given the lead roles in two musical productions in Sicily this summer with … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal ruminations & essays, Press Releases and Announcements | Leave a comment

I Am Not An Answer at Cooper Cole Gallery

Posted on February 27, 2016 by barczablog

I suppose it depends on the question… If you were asking “what is art” you could find at least a couple of ways to answer that question at Cooper Cole Gallery. Art is a calling. It’s a business. It offers … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Architecture & Design | 1 Comment

Gábor Maté: When the Body Says No

Posted on February 26, 2016 by barczablog

Dr Gábor Maté keeps turning up in my life. I just published a review of betroffenheit, a hybrid dance-theatre piece at CanStage, a co-production of Kidd Pivot and Electric Company Theatre, and there at the end I mentioned a PTSD … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Personal ruminations & essays, Psychology and perception | 2 Comments

Last tango in Siviglia

Posted on February 24, 2016 by barczablog

There’s a curious mix of adventure and nostalgia that goes with the annual Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio performance of one of the season’s operas. After having seen a production with a cast of seasoned professionals, each year we get … Continue reading →

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

Betroffenheit’s ambitions

Posted on February 21, 2016 by barczablog

I am riding the emotional high of Betroffenheit, a co-creation & co-production of Crystal Pite’s Kidd Pivot and Jonathon Young’s Electric Company Theatre, presented tonight at the Bluma Appel Theatre as part of Canadian Stage’s current season, in a run … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

CASP – The Pilgrim Soul

Posted on February 20, 2016 by barczablog

“The Pilgrim Soul” was the name given to tonight’s collaboration between pianist Emily Hamper and baritone Phillip Addis for Canadian Art Song Project (aka “CASP”). I had assumed that tonight’s program would be more conventional, less experimental than CASP’s last … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Questions for Christos Hatzis

Posted on February 19, 2016 by barczablog

Christos Hatzis is a Juno award winning composer and professor of composition at the University of Toronto.  I was recently blown away by his score for Going Home Star, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s extraordinary piece in response to the Truth … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Music and musicology, Popular music & culture, Spirituality & Religion, University life | 3 Comments

Questions for Iain MacNeil: Guth’s Figaro

Posted on February 17, 2016 by barczablog

Canadian bass-baritone Iain MacNeil joined the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio in the fall of 2014, after studying at University of Toronto Opera with Canadian soprano Wendy Nielsen.  There’s a more complete biography on his website: here. His career is off … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Music and musicology, Opera, University life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Cakes and Puppets/Buchty a Loutky: La Calisto

Posted on February 11, 2016 by barczablog

The Centre for Drama, Theatre & Performance Studies at University of Toronto are in the midst of a residency by Cakes and Puppets, a Czech puppetry company.  Who are they and what are they presenting in this brief visit? Cakes … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, University life | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Salieri’s Falstaff: first time in Canada

Posted on February 8, 2016 by barczablog

To most people Antonio Salieri is unknown except as the older composer associated with Mozart in Amadeus, perhaps best captured in this little clip from Milos Forman’s 1983 film. Of course the way that story is told is a cruel … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments