Author Archives: barczablog

Benefit concert: You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown for Actors’ Fund of Canada

Posted on January 7, 2013 by barczablog

“Press releases and announcements” are presented verbatim without comment. Theatre critics and personalities unite in the concert version of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown in support of the Actors’ Fund of Canada. Barrie, ON – After a triumphant fundraising … Continue reading →

Posted in Press Releases and Announcements | Leave a comment

COC’S Ensemble Studio: La Clemenza di Tito

Posted on January 6, 2013 by barczablog

“Press releases and announcements” are presented verbatim without comment. RISING OPERA STARS OF COC’S ENSEMBLE STUDIO STEP INTO SPOTLIGHT IN SPECIAL PERFORMANCE OF LA CLEMENZA DI TITO Toronto – The young artists of the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio take … Continue reading →

Posted in Press Releases and Announcements | Leave a comment

Not so Incidental Music

Posted on January 6, 2013 by barczablog

November 21st I posted a kind of preliminary review of Lydia Perović’s first novel Incidental Music: preliminary because at that time, I hadn’t finished reading it yet. Now that i’ve finished reading the book i have more to say. A … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

High-def Troyens

Posted on January 6, 2013 by barczablog

Seeing Les Troyens at the Met Monday night, Elizabeth Bishop replaced Susan Graham as Dido, which led me to wonder who’d be singing the role in today’s high-definition broadcast. Silly me.  While it’s possible Graham was unwell Monday, her performance … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Jan 1st Troyens

Posted on January 4, 2013 by barczablog

Francesca Zambello’s production of Berlioz’s Les Troyens has returned to the Metropolitan Opera.  When it premiered a decade ago it was Deborah Voigt as Cassandra, Ben Heppner as Aeneas and Lorraine Hunt Lieberson as Dido, conducted by James Levine. A … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Adaptation: plus and minus

Posted on January 3, 2013 by barczablog

That plus or minus in the title is a less controversial way of phrasing something that came up among friends recently.  Someone was asking why people make adaptations: meaning, the kind they dislike of course. There is always going to … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal ruminations & essays | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Trojans: three or is it four?

Posted on January 3, 2013 by barczablog

To my knowledge there are three versions of Hector Berlioz’s epic Les Troyens on DVD. I obtained the first when it came out as a VHS tape.  It’s now available re-mastered, capturing several remarkable performances from 1983, the Metropolitan Opera … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A remembered tune: Les Troyens

Posted on January 2, 2013 by barczablog

Melodies are time-machines.  I can hear a song and instantly I go back in time. Composers know this.  It’s why films often employ compositions we’ve heard before to invoke a whole set of meanings.  In Forrest Gump Robert Zemeckis accomplishes … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal ruminations & essays | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Mornings after and music

Posted on January 1, 2013 by barczablog

Caution: some of this essay may stick in your head. As I write this on the first morning of the year, it’s a time when many of us are still feeling the after-effects of our celebrations, and may feel literally … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal ruminations & essays | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Gourmet Schnitzel House

Posted on December 28, 2012 by barczablog

My usual procedure is to write as soon as possible.  I try for a report that’s authentic in its immediacy, even as I sometimes admit ignorance on some matters.  Sometimes I may struggle a bit, but I never put myself … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment