Author Archives: barczablog

Resurrection Again

Posted on April 10, 2023 by barczablog

Handel’s oratorio The Resurrection received its belated Canadian premiere in Opera Atelier’s production brought to Koerner Hall, an early work long neglected. Although the production had been prepared in 2021 it had to be filmed because in-person performance wasn’t possible … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Reviews, Spirituality & Religion | Tagged Allyson McHardy, Carla Huhtanen, Colin Ainsworth, David Fallis, Douglas Williams, George Frideric Handel, Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg, Koerner Hall, Marshall Pynkoski, Meghan Lindsay, Opera Atelier, Resurrection, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra | Leave a comment

Worship in a Time of Plague: Capella Intima and the Gallery Players of Niagara

Posted on April 5, 2023 by barczablog

Worship in a Time of Plague is a recording project by Capella Intima and the Gallery Players of Niagara. The title seems especially fitting for Holy Week in 2023, three years into our own pandemic. The scholarly side of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology | Tagged Alessandro Grandi, Andrew Dicker, Antonio Cifra, Borys Medicky, Bud Roach, Capella Intima, David Roth, Gallery Players of Niagara, Giovanni Rigatti, Giovanni Rovetta, Heinrich Schütz, Jennifer Enns Modolo, Jonathan Stuchbery, Julie Baumgartel, Lindsay McIntyre, Margaret Gay, Paul Winkelmans, Sheila Dietrich, Stefano Bernardi | 1 Comment

Visions of Spain, Glimpses of Gimeno

Posted on April 3, 2023 by barczablog

This past week’s Toronto Symphony concert offering “Visions of Spain” also gave a few interesting perspectives on their new Spanish-born music director Gustavo Gimeno. After two rather obscure pieces before intermission, we proceeded to three of the most well-known pieces … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged Aqua Cinerea, Boléro, Concierto de Aranjuez, Francisco Coll, Gustavo Gimeno, Henri Dutilleux, Joaquin Rodrigo, Manuel de Falla, Maurice Ravel, Olivier Messiaen, Toronto Symphony, Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra | Leave a comment

Being Legendary at the ROM: Kent Monkman confronts Colonialism and rethinks History

Posted on March 31, 2023 by barczablog

Kent Monkman’s current show Being Legendary at the Royal Ontario Museum continues for a couple of weeks more until April 16th. Art Canada Institute have created a book that helps preserve the show and its impact. I’ve been pondering the … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Architecture & Design, Books & Literature, Spirituality & Religion | Tagged Being Legendary, Going Away Song, Indigenous art, Indigenous Genocide, Kent Monkman, Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, Royal Ontario Museum, The Escape, The Sparrow | Leave a comment

Mass in B minor from Toronto Mendelssohn Choir

Posted on March 29, 2023 by barczablog

Last night’s performance of the Bach B minor Mass by the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir at Koerner Hall with a baroque orchestra led by their new artistic director Jean-Sébastien Vallée has put us on notice, that maybe Toronto Mendelssohn Choir are … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged Jean-Sébastien Vallée, JS Bach, Koerner Hall, Mass in B Minor, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir | Leave a comment

Metamorphoses 2023

Posted on March 27, 2023 by barczablog

Last night I watched a brand new opera featuring a sensual feast of colours hitting the eye and ear. Today I was at Crow’s Theatre, enjoying Metamorphoses 2023 from Theatre Smith-Gilmour, in Ovid’s stories of transformations of gods & humans, … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Dance, theatre & musicals, Reviews | Tagged Crow's Theatre, Daniel R. Henkel, Dean Gilmour, Metamorphoses, Michele Smith, Neena Jayarajan, Ovid, Rob Feetham, Sukruti Tirupattur, Theatre Smith-Gilmour | 2 Comments

Glorious Of the Sea

Posted on March 26, 2023 by barczablog

Of the Sea opened tonight to tumultuous applause from the Bluma Appel Theatre crowd, a co-production of Obsidian Theatre & Tapestry Opera. Kanika Ambrose (libretto) and Ian Cusson (music) have collaborated to bring a beautiful myth to life. I heard … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Reviews, Spirituality & Religion | Tagged Bluma Appel Theatre, Chantale Nurse, Ian Cusson, Jennifer Tung, Jorell Williams, Justin Welsh, Kanika Ambrose, LibLab, Of the Sea, Paul Williamson, Philip Akin, Suzanne Taffot, Tapestry Opera | Leave a comment

Gimeno conducts Beethoven 5

Posted on March 23, 2023 by barczablog

Wednesday night was the latest example of the remarkable chemistry we see, hear and feel between the Toronto Symphony and their new music director Gustavo Gimeno, continuing the magic of their 100th anniversary season. Last night’s program included Madrigal: Celebration … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged Brian Harman, Gustavo Gimeno, Gyorgy Ligeti, Iman Habibi, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Jeder Baum spricht, Ludwig van Beethoven, Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto Symphony | 2 Comments

L’Amant anonyme

Posted on March 20, 2023 by barczablog

Voicebox Opera in Concert presented the last performance of their season series dedicated to Mozart and the operas of his time, L’Amant anonyme by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges aka Joseph Boulogne, sometimes called “The Black Mozart”. His life story … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | Tagged Alexander Cappellazzo, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, David Fallis, Dion Mazerolle, Holly Chaplin, Robert Cooper, The Black Mozart, Voicebox Opera in Concert | 2 Comments

Rhino

Posted on March 10, 2023 by barczablog

Rhino is an adaptation of Ionesco’s 1959 absurdist play Rhinoceros, by Aleksandar (Sasha) Lukac and Emilie Varga. Last night I watched its premiere at Theatre Glendon with students in Lukac’s drama class. It’s much shorter than the original. As I … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, domestic & wild, Dance, theatre & musicals, Reviews | Tagged absurdism, Aleksandar Lukac, Emilie Varga, Eugene Ionesco, Sasha Lukac, Theatre Glendon | Leave a comment