Category Archives: Cinema, video & DVDs

The Mission in 2021

Posted on June 21, 2021 by barczablog

It’s been a month of reflection for Canadians following the discovery of the remains of 215 children buried on the grounds of the Kamloops residential school, another discovery near Brandon residential school, and the possibility of more to come. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Architecture & Design, Cinema, video & DVDs, Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Personal ruminations & essays, Politics, Spirituality & Religion, University life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Hamburg Lucia: go big or go home

Posted on June 16, 2021 by barczablog

OperaVision are making Staatsoper Hamburg’s Lucia di Lammermoor available to you for three months. Here’s how they describe it. Lucia loves Edgardo, the last heir of her family’s enemy clan. They are in danger, but Lucia refuses to betray her … Continue reading →

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Opera Atelier’s Resurrection

Posted on June 2, 2021 by barczablog

When you study theatre history one of the first things you may encounter is the quem quaeritis trope. It’s so short that I can quote it in its entirety, a tiny four line drama re-enacted at Easter in churches. Angels: … Continue reading →

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Le Barbier de Séville à l’Opéra de Québec

Posted on May 30, 2021 by barczablog

I watched the premiere of an online concert version of Barber of Seville, available until June 12th. It’s semi-staged, meaning that you watch the cast perform the opera in formal attire, Figaro miming shaving Bartolo, the lights flashing for the … Continue reading →

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What Mom taught me

Posted on May 28, 2021 by barczablog

I’m very lucky that my mother is still alive, an amazing example. My dad passed away when I was very young, so my family is matriarchal, lucky for us. I only have 3 or 4 solid memories of my father. … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Music and musicology, My mother, Popular music & culture, Psychology and perception | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

ZUMI Legends

Posted on May 26, 2021 by barczablog

I’ve been listening to the ten Dvorak Legends played by ZUMI Piano Duo. “ZUMI” comes from the two players. Zuzana & Mikolaj, or ZU + MI = ZUMI. Pianist Mikolaj Warszynski caught my attention with a pair of recordings, both … Continue reading →

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Hermione Lee: Tom Stoppard A Life

Posted on May 16, 2021 by barczablog

I’m humbled reading Hermione Lee’s biography of Tom Stoppard. I was exalted by Alex Ross’s colossal Wagnerism study because I’m a typical grandiose Wagnerian, thinking I know something about the topic. Its 784 pages flew by, the book flattering my … Continue reading →

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Quilico and Pavarotti in Rigoletto

Posted on April 12, 2021 by barczablog

The Metropolitan Opera’s free feed gave us a lovely trip down memory lane last week, with a 1981 Rigoletto starring Louis Quilico, Luciano Pavarotti and Christiane Eda-Pierre. I can’t be the only one who watched, remembering the times Quilico sang … Continue reading →

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Ouzounian’s Gatsby

Posted on April 12, 2021 by barczablog

Tonight I watched a 60 minute adaptation of The Great Gatsby from Talk is Free Theatre, the closing night of “Dinner a la Art”, presented virtually as a reading adapted & directed by Richard Ouzounian. Ouzounian explained that TIFT Artistic … Continue reading →

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Mr Smith wasn’t Born Yesterday

Posted on April 4, 2021 by barczablog

TV programming sometimes brings us serendipitous discoveries. TCM’s Good Friday offering was Mr Smith Goes to Washington. This morning we watched Born Yesterday. I never noticed how many similarities there are between the two films. An innocent recently come to … Continue reading →

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