Author Archives: barczablog

If you build it will they come…?

Posted on July 8, 2011 by barczablog

Tonight I saw the opening of Guild Festival Theatre, an ambitious company taking the stage in The Greek Theatre in Guildwood Park. This is the former site of the Guild Inn,  in Guildwood Village.  There really was a “guild” at … Continue reading →

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Codex Nocturno

Posted on June 27, 2011 by barczablog

I suspect this is going to be a long review, so for those of you who need the executive summary up front, yes I liked it.  Go see Codex Nocturno!!   I will make an effort to see it again before … Continue reading →

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Svadba-Wedding

Posted on June 25, 2011 by barczablog

I experienced one of the great joys tonight at a new opera.  For awhile I was lost.  In a world of GPS precision and universal surveillance, it’s very hard to be so engrossed as to not know where you are. … Continue reading →

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Cosy and Hungarian

Posted on June 22, 2011 by barczablog

Following the uprising in 1956, we were blessed for a time with a neighbourhood of Hungarian restaurants. Magyar refugees poured into the downtown Toronto area, leaving their mark in Kensington Market, as well as the stretch of Bloor St West … Continue reading →

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A genuine Bali high

Posted on June 14, 2011 by barczablog

There are nine musicians in Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan(aka “ECCG”), and judging by the works presented tonight, this is an ambitious group eagerly embracing new disciplines & styles, while welcoming a diverse assortment of collaborators. I was drawn to this … Continue reading →

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Placido and Sondra

Posted on June 5, 2011 by barczablog

Tonight’s Toronto concert by Placido Domingo with Sondra Radvanosvky was the proverbial “happening”. Held in a converted tennis stadium enjoying its christening as a musical venue, we were watching their faces on a jumbotron, hearing a wall of amplified sound, … Continue reading →

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Bohème against the grain

Posted on June 3, 2011 by barczablog

It’s been attempted before: taking that well-known and perhaps overly-familiar opera, Puccini’s La bohème, and reinventing it. Baz Luhrmann tried it with some success. So did Jonathan Larson, with Rent (another success). You can’t blame people for wanting to attempt … Continue reading →

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Che faro senza COC?

Posted on May 27, 2011 by barczablog

Tonight, my last opera of the Canadian Opera Company 2010-2011 season, was my second trip into the special world of Robert Carsen’s Orfeo ed Euridice. I didn’t talk about the visuals in my review (awhile ago) because I strive to … Continue reading →

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Always the Bridesmaid

Posted on May 23, 2011 by barczablog

I saw Bridesmaids tonight. If you watch Saturday Night Live you know Kristen Wiig. In passing, I’ll acknowledge that you might be one of those people who used to watch SNL.   Fine, you don’t want to admit that you watch … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Popular music & culture, Reviews | 1 Comment

Lepage’s Walküre, or “Welcome to The Machine, part two”

Posted on May 15, 2011 by barczablog

It doesn’t matter how big they are.  Whether we’re speaking of fame or stature, every singer in the current Metropolitan Opera productions (both Das Rheingold and Die Walküre) directed by Robert Lepage & his Ex Machina group shares the stage … Continue reading →

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