Author Archives: barczablog

Martin’s music

Posted on February 4, 2014 by barczablog

I’ve crossed over to the other side.  I’m sitting onstage rather than in the audience for a student production at Ryerson, playing an electronic keyboard alongside capable student singers & musicians.  As I mentioned in a recent post, I’ve been … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Personal ruminations & essays, University life | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Opera in Concert Hippolyte et Aricie

Posted on February 3, 2014 by barczablog

Today I took the road less traveled. At the same time as the Canadian Opera Company opened their new production of Un ballo in maschera, in the afternoon before the Superbowl, Opera in Concert took us in a less popular … Continue reading →

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

Ten Questions for Sir Thomas Allen

Posted on January 30, 2014 by barczablog

The talent pool at the Canadian Opera Company is deeper than ever, yet even so, few singers have the credentials of Sir Thomas Allen, one of the great singers of his generation. Currently starring as Don Alfonso in the COC’s … Continue reading →

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Her

Posted on January 27, 2014 by barczablog

It’s the shortest film title I’ve seen in awhile. Her It’s eerie just how much this film reminds me of the present and where we seem to be going.  Today, for instance, I was listening to Norah Young on Spark, … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Reviews | Leave a comment

Olsen writes about Syberberg’s Parsifal

Posted on January 26, 2014 by barczablog

In October 2007 I wrote the following review for the Wagner News (the newsletter of the Toronto Wagner Society), concerning Solveig Olsen’s massive book analyzing Syberberg‘s film of Parsifal.  I’m pulling it out again because I’m thinking of Syberberg’s film … Continue reading →

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Verdi’s Many Masks

Posted on January 25, 2014 by barczablog

The Canadian Opera Company open a production of Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Un ballo in maschera next week.  It’s placed in a modern setting, one that might have you wondering whether Verdi’s instructions are being flouted by a directorial intervention.  But … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Adapting Martin Chuzzlewit

Posted on January 24, 2014 by barczablog

Just had the first run of Martin Chuzzlewit which I am directing at Ryerson. It is by Charles Dickens in a great adaptation by Michael Hollingsworth. The text has sixty seven scenes and forty characters. Dickens thought the novel his … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Cinema, video & DVDs, Dance, theatre & musicals, University life | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Encounters –U of T composers

Posted on January 22, 2014 by barczablog

“Press releases and announcements” are presented verbatim without comment.  U of T Opera and Faculty of Music student composers present ENCOUNTERS One performance only Thursday, January 30 at 5 pm, MacMillan Theatre Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queen’s Park Free admission … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Press Releases and Announcements | Leave a comment

Cosi women

Posted on January 19, 2014 by barczablog

When you walk into the Four Seasons Centre for the new Canadian Opera Company production of Cosi fan tutte the first thing you see is a huge reproduction of Frida Kahlo’s painting Two Fridas. I imagined what Frida might have … Continue reading →

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

Back to school: open-hearted, open-minded

Posted on January 17, 2014 by barczablog

I’m inspired by last night’s announcement of Canadian Opera Company’s 2014-2015 season.  Anyone bumping into me today will see that my appetite is indeed so whetted that they might prefer to run in the opposite direction.  I can’t help myself. … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Personal ruminations & essays, Psychology and perception | Leave a comment