Author Archives: barczablog

Seventh Elizabeth Krehm Memorial Concert: Shostakovich & Strauss

Posted on October 18, 2019 by barczablog

Annual benefit concert for St. Michael’s Hospital  Strauss’ Four Last Songs and Shostakovich’s 5th Symphony Program includes Kol Nidrei by Bruch, The Four Last Songs by Strauss and Symphony no. 5 by Shostakovich. TORONTO—An accomplished group of musicians will assemble on Mon Nov. 25, 2019 for a special performance at … Continue reading →

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Welcome to the Club: PAL fund-raiser

Posted on October 18, 2019 by barczablog

Welcome to the Club! Please join us at PAL’s Crest Theatre Green Room on Thursday October 24 for a star-studded evening in support of the programming at PAL’s Celebrity Club! 110 The Esplanade, Toronto Featuring: Sean Cullen David Warrack Theresa … Continue reading →

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Resonant Minorities

Posted on October 18, 2019 by barczablog

Tonight I was present at the Canadian premiere of Yang Zhen’s third installment of his “Revolution Game Trilogy”, Minorities, a Red Virgo production presented by Canadian Stage. You will recognize many things in this show. We watch five female dancers later … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Politics, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Rusalka: and now for something completely different

Posted on October 13, 2019 by barczablog

Tonight the Canadian Opera Company premiered their take on the recent Lyric Opera of Chicago production of Dvořák’s Rusalka directed by Sir David McVicar. It stands in rather stark contrast to the other current COC production, Puccini’s Turandot¸ whose mise-en-scene … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Music and musicology, Opera, Personal ruminations & essays, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Amplified Opera —The Queen in Me

Posted on October 12, 2019 by barczablog

The title tells the story. Night #2 in the Amplified Opera opening concert series at the Ernest Balmer Studio was The Queen in Me, a performance piece straddling the line between surreal confessional and stand-up comedy, a brilliant piece of … Continue reading →

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Somewhere over the… moon?

Posted on October 11, 2019 by barczablog

Both works currently playing at the Canadian Opera Company feature a famous aria known by people who might otherwise not know the whole work. In Turandot it’s “nessun dorma”, a piece associated with Luciano Pavarotti, and maybe a little bit … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Personal ruminations & essays, Popular music & culture | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

AMPLIFIED OPERA @ birth: The Way I See It 

Posted on October 11, 2019 by barczablog

I was among the audience present at the Ernest Balmer Studio for the birth of Amplified Opera, the brain-child of Teiya Kasahara & Aria Umezawa, in the first of three different programs to launch a new opera company. Directed by … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Personal ruminations & essays, Psychology and perception, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Toronto Symphony play for Gimeno

Posted on October 10, 2019 by barczablog

Tonight’s Toronto Symphony concert reminded me of someone I haven’t thought of in ages, a piano teacher in my teen years. At every lesson we’d begin with small-talk, and then he’d say “now play for me!” It was a wonderfully … Continue reading →

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Not quite forgotten: Liszt’s Valses oubliées

Posted on October 6, 2019 by barczablog

The composer centennials & bicentennials may be artificial stimuli to research, but the effect is real. Knowing that everyone is suddenly focusing upon a particular period seems to inspire all sorts of interesting studies, conferences where people share their research … Continue reading →

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Vivaldi con amore

Posted on October 5, 2019 by barczablog

I have been listening to Tafelmusik’s first CD with their new music director Elisa Citterio Vivaldi con amore. The title tells you what to expect, a recording affectionate as a love-letter, a promise of great things to come. I’ve lost … Continue reading →

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