Author Archives: barczablog

House of Dreams

Posted on February 8, 2012 by barczablog

None of the arts exists in isolation.  While I can go to an art gallery and see paintings or sculpture by an artist, those works came from a person who ate, drank, and slept.  Chances are they read books, saw … Continue reading →

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Upwards

Posted on February 4, 2012 by barczablog

I’ve been trying to wrap my head around the images from Kaija Saariaho’s opera Amour de Loin in its Toronto production from the Canadian Opera Company as “Love from Afar“.  When I hit the publish button the other night to … Continue reading →

Posted in Essays, Opera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

From Afar

Posted on February 3, 2012 by barczablog

The love one encounters in Saariaho’s opera Love from Afar is not at all like the love most people think of when they use the word in the 21st century.  And while the work was composed recently employing very modern … Continue reading →

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10 Questions for Michael Slattery

Posted on February 2, 2012 by barczablog

Since graduating from Juilliard, Michael Slattery has enjoyed an exciting international career. He has worked with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival, the French National Orchestra in Paris, the Akademie … Continue reading →

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Tosca tonight

Posted on February 1, 2012 by barczablog

Puccini’s Tosca can take one of at least a few possible shapes: It can be a riveting thriller of a story, at times keeping you glued to the action It can be a virtuoso vehicle, an opportunity for any one … Continue reading →

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Lepage and The End

Posted on January 28, 2012 by barczablog

As I listen to the Metropolitan Opera premiere the last of the four operas in Wagner’s Ring Cycle –streamed for free to an eager audience worldwide—I have to say, the natives are restless.  While Canadians are just fine with Robert … Continue reading →

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Cruel and Tender

Posted on January 26, 2012 by barczablog

I feel very fortunate to have seen the story of the Women of Trachis portrayed twice within a week.  I don’t mean two performances of the same production, but two different works in wildly different media.  The comparisons are unavoidable. … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Bridal lullaby

Posted on January 24, 2012 by barczablog

Without being able to ask the artist, one sometimes wonders about the depths of meaning one encounters.  Are they intentional creations—where the creator sought for and purposefully aimed at those depths—or, are they serendipitous brilliance?  There’s a third possibility, that … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Essays, Personal ruminations & essays | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

“Tosca leaps…”

Posted on January 21, 2012 by barczablog

If this were a debate, Joseph Kerman would be in one corner, dissing Puccini’s Tosca, the opera he famously called a “shabby shocker”. Kerman is not alone in that corner.  Benjamin Britten wasn’t too thrilled with Tosca either.  But I … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Essays, Opera | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Herculean

Posted on January 20, 2012 by barczablog

Tonight’s premiere of Tafelmusik’s semi-staged version of Handel’s Hercules was dramatic in more ways than one. We came to honour Jeanne Lamon, to celebrate her thirty years leading the baroque orchestra.  While it was a commemoration of past achievements in … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments