Author Archives: barczablog

Cobalt

Posted on April 23, 2014 by barczablog

It’s a colour.  It’s an element.  And most recently, it’s Jocelyn Morlock’s CD that I’ve been playing incessantly. I first encountered Morlock as one of the composers in the workshop experience of Tapestry Briefs,  a process whimsically compared to speed-dating. … Continue reading →

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

10 Questions for Kate Applin

Posted on April 17, 2014 by barczablog

Toronto soprano Kate Applin founded Metro Youth Opera, a new opera company designed to create viable development opportunities for young artists in all fields related to the world of opera: singers, stage directors, music directors, and more. Holder of an … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Opera | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Posted on April 17, 2014 by barczablog

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) cost $90 million to make but earned only $58 million. Even with the few bucks on PPV I spent tonight this is a film that seems to bely its own messages.    It’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Looking at Lully

Posted on April 16, 2014 by barczablog

There are two departure points for this little excursion. 1) Opera Atelier’s Toronto revival of Persee opening next week 2) Joseph Kerman’s departure from the realm of the living, earlier this year. In Opera as Drama Kerman looks at a … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Opera | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Fawn Opera: l’Homme et le Ciel

Posted on April 12, 2014 by barczablog

I witnessed a clinic on how to create buzz. Let’s review. Social media spread the word about L’Homme et le Ciel, an opera in progress from Fawn Opera.  This past week, the performers did a workshop, and then opened it … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Kidd Pivot-The Tempest Replica@CanStage

Posted on April 12, 2014 by barczablog

“Press releases and announcements” are presented verbatim without comment Canadian Stage presents the Toronto premiere of The Tempest Replica created by award-winning Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite A Kidd Pivot production on stage at the Bluma Appel Theatre May 7 to … Continue reading →

Posted in Press Releases and Announcements | Leave a comment

AJ Gray this is your life

Posted on April 9, 2014 by barczablog

I came to the restaurant for AJ Gray’s art displayed on the second floor. I’d known this place in its earlier incarnations, and now it has become “Harvest Kitchen”, on Harbord Street in that competitive stretch west of Spadina Ave … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Architecture & Design, Food, Health and Nutrition | Tagged | 8 Comments

Giasone: Back to the Future

Posted on April 7, 2014 by barczablog

What a weekend.  While I only managed to get to three things in three days (Tap:Ex Friday, Hercules Saturday, and Giasone today) I feel I’ve been to a symposium studying the possibilities for opera.  It’s a happy accident that the … Continue reading →

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

Sellars’s Hercules

Posted on April 6, 2014 by barczablog

If I had a dime for every time I’ve seen an opera modernized via the use of modern military garb I could buy an opera subscription.  But someone was bound to make it work, right? I saw the Canadian Opera … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Tapestry’s Revolutionary Questions

Posted on April 5, 2014 by barczablog

I apologized to Michael Mori –Tapestry Opera’s Artistic Director & the director of Tap:Ex Revolutions, the program that opened tonight at the Ernest Balmer Studio—after the show for what I knew was going to say.  Not critical words, but rather, … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments