Category Archives: Dance, theatre & musicals

TOT: A Waltz Dream

Posted on June 20, 2022 by barczablog

Insights sometimes sneak up on you. I was blind-sided by one today watching the Toronto Operetta Theatre Canadian premiere production of Oscar Straus’ A Waltz Dream at St Lawrence Centre. TOT play an important role offering local artists a place … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Reviews | Tagged A Waltz Dream, Alexandra Weintraub, Amy Moodie, Andrea Nunez, Brittany Stewart, Derek Bate, Elizabeth Beeler, Gregory Finney, Guillermo Silva-Marin, Karina Bray, Opera in Concert, Oscar Straus, Scott Rumble, Summer Opera Lyric Theatre, The Shop Around the Corner, Toronto Operetta Theatre | 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

CCOC Alice in Wonderland

Posted on June 5, 2022 by barczablog

Today I watched an outdoor performance of Alice in Wonderland presented by the Canadian Children’s Opera Company. Over the past few weeks it’s been a joy to see productions that signal a return by many companies forced to the brink … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Popular music & culture | 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

Singulières in Toronto

Posted on June 4, 2022 by barczablog

Singulières is a piece of theatre about single women in Québec, although the most remarkable things about the show are not what I expected. Five women fill the stage of Crow’s Guloien Theatre with vibrant life, sometimes throbbing with joy, … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Architecture & Design, Dance, theatre & musicals, Reviews | Tagged Alexandre Fecteau, Ariane Sauvé, Billy Bergeron, David B Ricard, Singulières, Théâtre Français de Toronto | Leave a comment

Lindsay Anne Black: canary in the mine

Posted on June 2, 2022 by barczablog

Whether your Kafkaesque fate is to wake up to the discovery you’ve turned into an insect, or merely that you have to hide inside your house because of coronaviruses and lockdowns, I think we’re ready for Eldritch Theatre’s current theatrical … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Food, Health and Nutrition, Interviews, University life | Tagged asthma, Craig Walker, Donna-Michelle St Bernard, Eldritch Theatre, Environmental Sensitivities, Eric Woolfe, ES, Franz Kafka, Fred Euringer, HP Lovecraft, Karen P Hay, Lindsay Anne Black, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, Natalie Rewa, Prairie Theatre Exchange, Queen's University, Red Sandcastle Theatre, rewild, Two Weird Tales, Women's College Hospital | 1 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

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

Karen Bojti reflects on A Northern Lights Dream

Posted on May 10, 2022 by barczablog

Greetings Barczablog reader, Leslie Barcza was unable to attend the world premiere of Michael Rose’s, A Northern Lights Dream so I asked him for special permission to be a contributor in his absence. Karen BojtiCast member, A Northern Lights Dream … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, guest blog, Opera | Tagged Amy Moodie, Christina Raphaelle Haldane, Daniela Agostino, Gregory Finney, Guillermo Silva-Marin, Ian Backstrom, Karen Bojti, Kate Carver, Lauren Pearl, Lilian Brooks, Michael Rose, SOLT, Summer Opera Lyric Theatre, Toronto Operetta Theatre, Voicebox | Leave a comment