Category Archives: Animals, domestic & wild

Stunning Vixen from Canadian Opera Company

Posted on January 29, 2024 by barczablog

The Canadian Opera Company are currently presenting Leos Janacek’s opera The Cunning Little Vixen. This flamboyantly theatrical production is among the most colourful things I’ve ever seen on a stage. Vixen is suitable for children and makes a terrific first … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, domestic & wild, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Adam Luther, Alex Halliday, Brechtian, Canadian Children’s Opera Company, Canadian Opera Company, Carolyn Sproule, Christopher Purves, Cunning Little Vixen, Czech Music, Ema Nikolovska, English National Opera, Jamie Manton, Jane Archibald, Johannes Debus, Leos Janacek, Tom Scutt | Leave a comment

2023: when Barkley beagle came into our lives

Posted on January 4, 2024 by barczablog

Barkley the Barcza beagle came into our lives exactly a year ago next Monday. He came home with me and Erika January 8th 2023. His birthday is May 2nd. He will be two years old in four months. The recent interview … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, domestic & wild | Tagged André Alexis, Barkley, Charles Schulz, Crow's Theatre, dogs, Fifteen Dogs, Peanuts | Leave a comment

Feline friendly aesthetic

Posted on November 17, 2023 by barczablog

I thought at first I’d call this “life in a cat house”, until I realized it might have some unsavory associations. Last week Erika and I went to visit our friend Eryna Huzan, one of the most hospitable people I’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, domestic & wild, Art, Architecture & Design, Personal ruminations & essays | Leave a comment

Remembrance Day lessons from Mr Bull and Barkley

Posted on November 12, 2023 by barczablog

I played the organ at Hillcrest Church last Sunday. Some years All Saints (November 1st) and Remembrance Day (November 11th) get separate commemorations. In 2023 Remembrance Day (Nov 11th) falls on a Saturday, making it logical to combine the All … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, domestic & wild, Music and musicology, Personal ruminations & essays, Spirituality & Religion | Tagged Barkley, Eternal Father Strong to Save, For All the Saints, Hillcrest Church, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Remembrance Day, Stewart H Bull, University of Toronto Schools | 4 Comments

Barkley: Snoopy or Benjy?

Posted on May 1, 2023 by barczablog

Barkley Barcza is our newest family member. We didn’t choose the name, glad to use the name that he already seems to know. And yes it sounds cute with his surname. Snoopy is the beagle everyone knows, the creation of … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, domestic & wild, Books & Literature, Dance, theatre & musicals, Personal ruminations & essays | Tagged André Alexis, Barkley, Charles M Schulz, Crow's Theatre, dogs, Fifteen Dogs, Peanuts, Snoopy | Leave a comment

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

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 André Alexis, Crow's Theatre, David Mesiha, Fifteen Dogs, Laura Condlln, Marie Farsi, Mirabella Sundar Singh, Peter Fernandes, Stephen Jackman-Turkoff, Tom Rooney, Tyrone Savage | 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 adaptation, André Alexis, Animal Farm, apologue, Bengal Tiger, Crow's Theatre, Fifteen Dogs, George Orwell, Giller Prize, Isle of Dogs, Marie Farsi, Pride and Prejudice, rescue dogs, Wes Anderson | Leave a comment

Tear-drop garden

Posted on September 30, 2022 by barczablog

Of all the photos on my iphone, half are pictures of Sam, the dog whose life ended in the spring. When I look at her I feel connected to her even if she’s gone. No wonder I hesitate to delete … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, domestic & wild | 3 Comments

Philip Glass: The Complete Piano Etudes

Posted on September 9, 2022 by barczablog

Do you compartmentalize? I ask because it’s common, a given in a modern life. Whether we’re speaking of the things we do for work-life balance, as part of an artistic discipline or simply to get through a busy day, it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, domestic & wild, Books & Literature, Food, Health and Nutrition, Music and musicology, Opera, Personal ruminations & essays, Popular music & culture, Psychology and perception, Spirituality & Religion | Tagged discipline, Etudes, Leslie Dala, Mary Trump, Philip Glass, Sarah Polley | Leave a comment