Author Archives: barczablog

NACO Songs for Murdered Sisters

Posted on February 12, 2023 by barczablog

Every year at this time, the Toronto Symphony and National Arts Centre Orchestras visit one another as part of a tour. NACO and Joshua Hopkins brought the cycle Songs for Murdered Sisters by Jake Heggie and Margaret Atwood to Roy … Continue reading →

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Questions for Colin Eatock at 65

Posted on February 6, 2023 by barczablog

The invitation from Colin Eatock caught my eye: “I’m organizing a concert in Toronto on February 20 (my 65th birthday).The programme will include a new piece by me.Admission is by donation — I hope you can make it!” We’ve seen … Continue reading →

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Salome returns to tumultuous welcome

Posted on February 4, 2023 by barczablog

The Canadian Opera Company’s co-production of Richard Strauss’s Salome returned last night in the first of seven performances to huge applause. It’s a star vehicle for Ambur Braid in the title role, a wonderful first outing for Michael Schade as … Continue reading →

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Salome: from Matthew and Mark, through Oscar, Richard and Atom

Posted on February 1, 2023 by barczablog

It can be enjoyable to trace the changes in the way a story is adapted and/or interpreted. Salome begins in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. Matthew 14:1-11 (NIV)1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus, … Continue reading →

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Guth Ideas to save Figaro

Posted on January 29, 2023 by barczablog

The Canadian Opera Company have revived Claus Guth‘s production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro that they presented to us in 2016, this time with a slightly different cast and conductor. The three and a half hours fly by on … Continue reading →

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Fifteen Dogs at Crow’s Theatre

Posted on January 23, 2023 by barczablog

I loved the book (André Alexis’s 2015 novel Fifteen Dogs). I love the play (adapted for the stage and directed by Marie Farsi at Crow’s Theatre). The book hit me in totally different places than the play. When you read … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, domestic & wild, Books & Literature, Dance, theatre & musicals | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Telling stories of dogs and gods

Posted on January 19, 2023 by barczablog

Anecdotes are one sort of story. For example I heard that in 2020 COVID caused a surge in canine adoptions. Later I heard there was a flood in reverse, dogs being given up when people changed their minds. No I … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, domestic & wild, Books & Literature, Cinema, video & DVDs, Dance, theatre & musicals, My mother | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

TSO – TMC Mozart Requiem: Best Concert of the Year

Posted on January 12, 2023 by barczablog

The headline is only partly in jest. Yes it was the best concert so far in 2023, as of January 11th. Many are still saying “Happy New Year” and writing the wrong date on cheques (if they even write cheques … Continue reading →

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Best of 2022

Posted on January 9, 2023 by barczablog

I enjoy recalling the best moments of the past 12 months. There’s a fork in the road, however. One pathway leads towards that which is truly “new”, while the other relies on what we’ve seen before. Need I mention, the … Continue reading →

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There’s a place for us: in Scarborough

Posted on January 3, 2023 by barczablog

I’m thinking about two films I saw recently. Last week I finally saw Spielberg’s West Side Story. One of the songs in that film is the lens through which I viewed today’s film: Scarborough. In the 1961 film and the … Continue reading →

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