Author Archives: barczablog

How it Storms: an Opera by Allen Cole on June 17 & 18

Posted on June 17, 2015 by barczablog

How it Storms The Array Space, 155 Walnut Ave. 2nd floor, Toronto, ON M6J 3W3 416.532.3019 http://www.arraymusic.com advance tickets can be purchased at: http://www.arraymusic.com/how-it-storms/ TOMORROW (Wednesday) and Thursday June 17 and 18 @ 8PM; $15 It is better to blaze up, … Continue reading →

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Picturing the Americas: AGO goes Hemispheric

Posted on June 16, 2015 by barczablog

As a swan song “Picturing the Americas” might be Matthew Teitelbaum’s finest hour.  The show is in some ways a triumph of diplomacy, an impossibly congenial meeting between museums and cultures sure to be a feather in his cap, as … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Architecture & Design, Reviews | 4 Comments

TSO Delivers Thank You Note(s) to the City of Toronto with FREE Concert

Posted on June 16, 2015 by barczablog

The TSO Delivers Thank You Note(s) to the City of Toronto with FREE Concert Tuesday, July 7, 2015 at 12:30pm at Roy Thomson Hall  June 16, 2015: “If a symphony orchestra plays in a city and no one is around … Continue reading →

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Toronto Symphony – Pan American Rhythms

Posted on June 15, 2015 by barczablog

This weekend the Toronto Symphony began a summer of the arts celebrating the Pan Am Games coming to Toronto. There’s much more to come, for example… Toronto Summer Music celebrate their tenth year with a festival titled “The New World” … Continue reading →

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

Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony with the TSO

Posted on June 11, 2015 by barczablog

It’s been a long time between Mahler 2nds with the Toronto Symphony. I heard Andrew Davis lead them with Maureen Forrester in Massey Hall, one of several cherished memories from the old days on Shuter Street, aka the 1970s. Given … Continue reading →

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Melissa McCarthy and the F word: Spy vs Spies

Posted on June 7, 2015 by barczablog

For more than half a century we’ve been watching various bodacious hunks enacting our fantasies of control at a time of great anxiety. Cold War jitters made the heroics of James Bond and his ilk extra attractive no matter how … Continue reading →

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Goodyear plays Rachmaninov

Posted on June 7, 2015 by barczablog

Now I have a better idea what we missed. Stewart Goodyear was in the news recently when the Toronto Symphony hired him to replace the scheduled pianist at the last minute: until he withdrew due to online harassment. On social … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | 1 Comment

#AtGdeathdesire: more desire than death

Posted on June 3, 2015 by barczablog

If yesterday’s Dora announcement is anything to go by the youthful Against the Grain crew are a force to be reckoned with, as they’re up for several awards. Tonight AtG opened their latest, Death & Desire. Reading the lists of … Continue reading →

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Operatic Doras

Posted on June 2, 2015 by barczablog

Awards are a wonderful way to celebrate excellence.  They serve to promote individuals and their performances, while also raising the profile of an entire industry.  I hope that nothing I say here in any way diminishes the work done by … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Personal ruminations & essays | 1 Comment

Ann Cooper Gay says goodbye to Canadian Children’s Opera Company

Posted on May 25, 2015 by barczablog

Today the Canadian Children’s Opera Company said their goodbyes to Ann Cooper Gay, their departing Artistic & Executive Director. In last year’s interview I alluded to her importance, as one of the most influential figures in opera and music in … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal ruminations & essays | 1 Comment