Author Archives: barczablog

Dichterliebe

Posted on October 11, 2012 by barczablog

Are you seeing Dichterliebe from Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie (CLC) at the Citadel this week?  It’s a multi-media collaboration, and excuse me if that description is so common that it’s almost unintelligible; I’ll decode it in a moment. But you … Continue reading →

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Thanksgiving and sanity

Posted on October 8, 2012 by barczablog

According to the proponents of Positive Psychology –a relatively new movement in mental health—gratitude is useful if not essential to mental health. Martin Seligman, author of Authentic Happiness, is one of the key figures in this movement that seeks to … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal ruminations & essays | 2 Comments

The bat came back

Posted on October 8, 2012 by barczablog

The bat came back: from the dead that is. Forgive me for invoking one of my very favorite animated cartoons (and Richard Condie). I said BAT not CAT.   After many mediocre bats –productions of Die Fledermaus from the Canadian Opera … Continue reading →

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The Gehry-Mirvish Legacy will not be outsourced culture

Posted on October 7, 2012 by barczablog

It’s counter-intuitive for Torontonians.  We’ve become a bit shell-shocked with all the new condos.  More condos must be bad. Someone knocking down a theatre? surely a bad person. If anyone in Toronto has the right to knock down a theatre … Continue reading →

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Fledermaus: just like our century

Posted on October 5, 2012 by barczablog

No matter how well they may sing, Johann Strauss Jr’s operetta Die Fledermaus requires its singers to act.  Although the music may be irresistible, I haven’t fully surrendered to any of the Fledermice I’ve seen.  No wonder it was usually … Continue reading →

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10 Questions for Arthur Wenk

Posted on October 4, 2012 by barczablog

Arthur Wenk is so multi-faceted he’s what would once have been called a Renaissance Man. I wrote about Wenk earlier this year in connection with the sesquicentennial of the birth of Claude Debussy: because among so many other achievements, Wenk … Continue reading →

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Safe asset: Kaffe Fassett

Posted on October 3, 2012 by barczablog

Today I escaped from the urban rat race in the company of hundreds of fans of designer Kaffe Fassett.  We’d gone where the GPS won’t go, somewhere in the vicinity of Brantford Ontario. Fassett is the Mick Jagger of the … Continue reading →

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Ten Questions for Alex Pauk

Posted on October 2, 2012 by barczablog

Alex Pauk is an artistic activist, a composer, a conductor, driving force behind many commissions for other Canadian composers,  and the Founding Music Director & Conductor of the Esprit Orchestra, an ensemble embarking upon their 30th Anniversary Season with a … Continue reading →

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Radical Cycle

Posted on September 30, 2012 by barczablog

When you think about it, the notion of a “radical cycle” is a bit of an oxymoron.  Cycles are usually understood to be stable and repeating, which is hard to imagine if something is radical. Radical Cycle is also the … Continue reading →

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The eternal question

Posted on September 30, 2012 by barczablog

Paper or plastic?  Shaken or stirred? How about Verdi or Wagner?  That was one big question tonight.  While some people chose to attend the opening of the COC’s Il trovatore, I opted for Wagner, namely Die Walküre.  Oh dear, …I’m … Continue reading →

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