Category Archives: Books & Literature

Thinking of Diefenbaker for Canada Day

Posted on July 1, 2022 by barczablog

A good performance can change how you understand a piece. I stumbled upon a YouTube recording that I keep listening to over and over, a piece I thought I knew. There are two contrasting tenor arias in Mendelssohn’s oratorio Elijah. … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Cinema, video & DVDs, Music and musicology, Opera, Spirituality & Religion | Tagged Elijah, Felix Mendelssohn, John Diefenbaker, Jon Vickers, Richard Outerbridge, Saskatchewan, UTS | Leave a comment

The Mel Brooks Songbook

Posted on June 29, 2022 by barczablog

Happy Birthday Mel Brooks. He turned 96 today. And no joke, there really is a Mel Brooks Songbook. When I picked it up from the shelf in the Indigo bookstore I was a bit disbelieving myself. Mel Brooks, songwriter? The … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Cinema, video & DVDs, Dance, theatre & musicals, Popular music & culture | Tagged Arkady Spivak, Blazing Saddles, Mel Brooks, The Producers, The Twelve Chairs, TIFT, Young Frankenstein | Leave a comment

Amazing Immersive Sweeney Todd from TIFT

Posted on June 11, 2022 by barczablog

I’m never going to see a better Sweeney Todd than the one I saw tonight from Talk is Free Theatre at the Neighbourhood Food Hub, Glen Rhodes Campus. Wow. Each night there are just 44 seats available, a cohort providing … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Andrew Prashad, Carol Kane, Cyrus Lane, Dan Rutzen, Glynis Ranney, Jeff Lillico, Michael Torontow, Mitchell Cushman, Stephen Sondheim, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Talk is Free Theatre, Tess Benger, TIFT | 2 Comments

Art Canada Institute presents Kent Monkman

Posted on June 8, 2022 by barczablog

The title of the lecture was “Art Canada Institute presents: The Making of a Masterpiece– Kent Monkman.” Monkman is an enormous star, famous far beyond the immediate milieu of art dealers and galleries. But I have no real idea who … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Architecture & Design, Books & Literature, Politics, Popular music & culture | Tagged adaptation, Art Institute of Canada, Clueless, Kent Monkman, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, Shame and Prejudice: A story of resilience, Shirley Madill | Leave a comment

From the Met: Jocelyn and Dean create a Hamlet

Posted on June 5, 2022 by barczablog

Adapting a play into an opera can be fascinating work, especially when it’s as well-known a play as Hamlet. I’ve seen several attempts to turn this play into something else including a couple of musicals, an opera long ago, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Allan Clayton, Barbara Hannigan, Brenda Rae, Brett Dean, Canadian Stage, Claude Debussy, Giuseppe Verdi, Hamlet, John Relyea, Matthew Jocelyn, Metropolitan Opera, Neil Armfield, New Creations, Nicholas Carter, Otello, Rod Gilfry, Sarah Connolly, Stephane Mallarme, Thomas Ades, Toronto Symphony, William Burden, Zachary Woolfe | Leave a comment

Weirdness Told

Posted on June 1, 2022 by barczablog

The sign on the door of Red Sandcastle Theatre facing out onto Queen St portends mystery. Or in other words, I don’t know what it means Metamorphosis and At the Mountains of Madness. Kafka and Lovecraft. A huge rabbit safely … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Dance, theatre & musicals | Tagged Eldritch Theatre, Eric Woolfe, Franz Kafka, Franz Schreker, Georges Melies, Gregor Samsa, HP Lovecraft, Lindsay Anne Black, magic, Mairi Babb, Melanie McNeill, Michael McClennan, Red Sandcastle Theatre, Two Weird Tales | 2 Comments

RUR A Torrent of Ideas

Posted on May 29, 2022 by barczablog

Tapestry Opera and OCAD University have a new site-specific opera on display. I chose the verb carefully given that many think of the medium as something one hears, when its tradition has often been one of spectacle, design, the Deus … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Danielle Buonaiuto, Gregory Oh, Keith Klassen, Krisztina Szabo, Michel Mori, Nicolas Billon, Nicole Lizée, OCADU, RUR A Torrent of Light, Scott Belluz, Tapestry Opera | 1 Comment

Gimeno + Hannigan = Ear-candy

Posted on May 20, 2022 by barczablog

It was a splendid formula. Far be it from me to propose something as reductive as math in the headline, only that the concert is titled “Gimeno + Hannigan”, which is certainly a quick overview. Between them Gustavo Gimeno and … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged Barbara Hannigan, Gustavo Gimeno, Igor Stravinsky, Julia Mermelstein, Tash Aw, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Zosha Di Castri | 1 Comment

Kyle’s Campy Conan

Posted on May 14, 2022 by barczablog

Erika and I went to see Conan and the Stone of Kelior tonight. It’s the last night of the run of the pasticcio opera from Kyle McDonald at Alumnae Theatre. There’s a final matinee Sunday that I would have attended … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Reviews | 4 Comments

Alexander Shelley is coming to town

Posted on March 27, 2022 by barczablog

Before there were convoys and honking horns, it used to be said that living in Ottawa gave you advantages, because of your proximity to the seats of power. Yet maybe there’s still some truth to it when we look at … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Cinema, video & DVDs, Music and musicology, Press Releases and Announcements | Tagged Alexander Shelley, Ana Sokolovic, Carnegie Hall, CBC, CBC-GEM, Dmitri Shostakovich, Donna Feore, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Life Reflected, Luminato, Measha Brueggergosman, NACO, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Nicole Lizee, Philip Gla, Roy Thomson Hall, Shawnee Kish, Southam Hall, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, UNDISRUPTED | Leave a comment