Author Archives: barczablog

10 Questions for Mary McGeer

Posted on March 7, 2014 by barczablog

Mary McGeer is Artistic Director of Talisker Players Chamber Music, General Manager and principal violist of the Talisker Players Choral Music Orchestra, also principal violist of the Huronia Symphony, and performs with a wide variety of other ensembles in and … Continue reading →

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Patrick DeCoste: Dreaming of Bear and Crow

Posted on March 6, 2014 by barczablog

There is a particularly Canadian sensibility that I crave, an attitude that feels all too scarce these days.  I crave a real sense of history, the kind of thing I grew up watching on the CBC & the NFB.  At … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, domestic & wild, Art, Architecture & Design, Reviews, Spirituality & Religion | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Adams & Thomalla at RBA

Posted on March 5, 2014 by barczablog

Today’s free concert at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre was an opportunity to hear composers John Adams and Hans Thomalla.  We heard them speak and then we heard their music. The RBA is not to be confused with an ideal concert … Continue reading →

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

Unfinished dreams from Borodin to Putin

Posted on March 2, 2014 by barczablog

Today’s High Definition broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera (Dmitri Tcherniakov’s version of Borodin’s Prince Igor) threw me.  I’m sure I couldn’t be the only person amazed at how perfectly the show seemed to match what’s unfolding, while the world holds … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Opera, Reviews | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Unexpected WWI Cabaret

Posted on February 28, 2014 by barczablog

When I say “World War I” what pops into your head? Mustard gas? Trench warfare: a stalemate in muddy battlefields? In Flanders Fields: a desperately sad poem about honour? A war of attrition? The end of illusions about heroism and … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Reviews | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Gentle Dafne

Posted on February 26, 2014 by barczablog

The Dafne I refer to is not that of Jacopo Peri from 1598, and considered the first opera (for those who might want to make that kind of statement), but Marco da Gagliano’s 1608 setting, also using Ottavio Rinuccini’s libretto. … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Tcherniakov’s Wozzeck

Posted on February 26, 2014 by barczablog

Dmitri Tcherniakov is a brilliant young artist—just approaching his 44th birthday—who designs his own sets & costumes as well as directing his singers.  The DVD I just watched of Alban Berg’s opera Wozzeck was a co-pro. between the Bolshoi Theatre … Continue reading →

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

Questions about WWI. (Re)Visions of the Aftermath

Posted on February 23, 2014 by barczablog

WWI. (Re)Visions of the Aftermath, presented this week at Theatre Glendon beginning Wednesday February 26, is an exercise in history & story-telling, both onstage and inter-actively through social media. What was World War I? What impact did it have, perhaps still … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Interviews | 2 Comments

ATMA Orlando

Posted on February 23, 2014 by barczablog

I’ve been listening to a recording that deserves recognition.  It’s an ATMA Classics recording of Handel’s Orlando.  Is anyone anywhere recording operas anymore?  Perhaps the question sounds a bit silly, but the health of the classical music industry has been … Continue reading →

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

Saul

Posted on February 22, 2014 by barczablog

The biblical story of Saul is one of the most psychologically complex stories in the Old Testament.  Young David is a humble shepherd brought to soothe the troubled spirit of King Saul with his harp-playing.  Later David surprises everyone by … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments