Author Archives: barczablog

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

Bacon and Moore: Terror and Beauty

Posted on April 2, 2014 by barczablog

The show is called “Francis Bacon and Henry Moore” with the subtitle “Terror and Beauty”, opening at the AGO on April 5th and running until July 20th. Moore? As a Torontonian I have a relationship with Henry Moore, the sculptor … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Architecture & Design, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

A better Mary Poppins

Posted on April 1, 2014 by barczablog

Before I had ever seen an opera, I already had experience with adaptation. I had read Mary Poppins. And then I encountered the Disney film. Julie Andrews didn’t really seem anything like the character in the book. I was young, … Continue reading →

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

Hallelujah Sellars

Posted on March 29, 2014 by barczablog

Hallelujah Junction is: 1) A place. When John Adams went there –so he said recently—he figured that it would make a great title for… 2) A musical composition. And so it came to pass, a composition for two pianos. And … Continue reading →

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

10 Questions for Michael Mori

Posted on March 28, 2014 by barczablog

Michael Mori was announced as the new Artistic Director of Tapestry Opera earlier this year. Having worked alongside Tapestry founder, Wayne Strongman for two years as Associate Artistic Director and for the past eight months as Artistic Director Designate, this … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Opera | 1 Comment

CASP at RBA

Posted on March 27, 2014 by barczablog

I’d like to call the Canadian Art Song Project a recent initiative, but I think the truth is that they’ve been around since 2011 and so I’m late to the party. Today was my first encounter with CASP. They were … Continue reading →

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

Any interpreter

Posted on March 27, 2014 by barczablog

Am I like everyone else? Could be. I know people who get bored with music, are incessantly searching for new tunes, new interpretations, new sensations.  I don’t use that B word, which strikes me as a kind of obscenity.  How … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Personal ruminations & essays | 5 Comments

American Hustle

Posted on March 23, 2014 by barczablog

It should be better.  The performances are mostly good.  Christian Bale is amazing with a surprisingly big gut and a comb-over, channelling the Robert De Niro of Raging Bull.  Yes, we’re told, Amy Adams can act.  This is the sexiest … Continue reading →

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