Author Archives: barczablog

Missing comes east to Toronto

Posted on July 25, 2025 by barczablog

Toronto Summer Music presented a single concert performance of the opera Missing, from a libretto by Marie Clements and a score by Brian Current, to a full Koerner Hall. This was its first appearance in Eastern Canada after having been … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews, Spirituality & Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Asking Genevieve Adam about her newest play Heratio

Posted on July 21, 2025 by barczablog

On August 8th Guild Festival Theatre will be giving the world premiere performance of Heratio, a re-imagining of Hamlet that picks up the story where Shakespeare left off, giving voice to the women and servants who are left to clean … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Interviews, Personal ruminations & essays | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

George Li: virtuosity in the service of good taste

Posted on July 18, 2025 by barczablog

Tonight I had the pleasure of making my first acquaintance with pianist George Li, courtesy the Toronto Summer Music Festival, in an excellent concert at Koerner Hall. The four big works on the program plus the pair of encores all … Continue reading →

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Calidore String Quartet offering American culture

Posted on July 16, 2025 by barczablog

I love ambitious concerts, and that’s certainly what we heard tonight at Walter Hall from Calidore String Quartet, comprised of violinists Jeffrey Myers & Ryan Meehan, violist Jeremy Berry and cellist Estelle Choi. In one of his brief introductory talks … Continue reading →

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Celebration of life for my mother

Posted on July 12, 2025 by barczablog

July 10th would have been my mother’s 104th birthday, so it seemed like the perfect day to do a Celebration of Life. I want to share the moment here on the blog, largely because this event was my focus, if … Continue reading →

Posted in My mother, Personal ruminations & essays | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Jeff Bezos gives us another reason to shop local

Posted on July 7, 2025 by barczablog

Yes we’re all doing our part doing the elbows up thing, shopping local as a way to support Canadian business. Right? But here’s another huge reason. Google “amazon injury rate”. You will see a series of concerns raised. In 2023 … Continue reading →

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Discovering Mandle Philharmonic via YouTube

Posted on July 3, 2025 by barczablog

I’ve been watching the passionate responses to the concert at Roy Thomson Hall last week when Mandle Cheung conducted the Toronto Symphony in Mahler’s 2nd Symphony. The Globe & Mail contacted me the day before, asking me if I’d be … Continue reading →

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A Real Pain’s Chopin

Posted on June 24, 2025 by barczablog

I have just seen Jesse Eisenberg’s film A Real Pain (2024). I call it his, in the sense that Eisenberg wrote & directed and also stars as David opposite Kieran Culkin who is David’s cousin Benji. They are on a … Continue reading →

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Reflections from Stephen Bell, former COC chorister, Founder of Coffeeshop Film & Creative

Posted on June 16, 2025 by barczablog

Stephen Bell is an award winning filmmaker and visual designer based in Toronto. Videographer by day and opera singer by night, Stephen is the Founder of Coffeeshop Film & Creative. And on May 25th Stephen posted on Facebook that after … Continue reading →

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Gimeno Conducts the Best of Brahms

Posted on June 13, 2025 by barczablog

I would not dispute the title of tonight’s Toronto Symphony concert: “Gimeno Conducts the Best of Brahms”. Among the many wonderful pieces Johannes Brahms composed, his first piano concerto and fourth symphony are not just popular but arguably among his … Continue reading →

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