Category Archives: Dance, theatre & musicals

Melancholiac at Music Gallery

Posted on December 8, 2019 by barczablog

The best works of theatre or music function as advocacy for the creator. A good production of a play, a great performance of a song, should persuade you of the importance of the work & its author. Melancholiac: The Music … Continue reading →

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Questions about Melancholiac: the Music of Scott Walker

Posted on November 28, 2019 by barczablog

Long ago I stumbled upon Scott Walker, via a cassette with the hand-written inscription The Godlike Genius of Scott Walker. I remember wondering: is this for real? What may have been at least part ironic self-mockery was upon closer inspection … Continue reading →

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Oxymoronic Augmented Opera

Posted on November 23, 2019 by barczablog

I don’t use that word lightly, and it’s not an insult. Some operas are oxymoronic, rife with contradiction, asymptotic in their fascination with impossibilities. Maeterlinck’s play Pelléas et Mélisande is the creation of a playwright who cringed in the presence … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Personal ruminations & essays, Politics, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

New & Improved Don Giovanni

Posted on November 3, 2019 by barczablog

I saw Opera Atelier’s revival of Don Giovanni that’s running at the Ed Mirvish Theatre.  I loved it last time & it continues to thrill me as though it weren’t an opera I’ve known since childhood. But it feels new.  … Continue reading →

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The Bald Soprano

Posted on October 31, 2019 by barczablog

I’ve just seen the Théâtre Français de Toronto production of La Cantatrice Chauve aka The Bald Soprano by Eugène Ionesco, at the upstairs space at the Berkeley Street Theatre. I must apologize that the run is almost over, as I … Continue reading →

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Nightwood Theatre: Strombergs Family Realization Fund winner

Posted on October 19, 2019 by barczablog

Nightwood Theatre is pleased to announce the winner of the inaugural Strombergs Family Realization Fund: Dian Marie Bridge. This $10,000 cash award, established by theatre director Vinetta Strombergs in honour of her artist parents, is intended to support a woman … Continue reading →

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Resonant Minorities

Posted on October 18, 2019 by barczablog

Tonight I was present at the Canadian premiere of Yang Zhen’s third installment of his “Revolution Game Trilogy”, Minorities, a Red Virgo production presented by Canadian Stage. You will recognize many things in this show. We watch five female dancers later … Continue reading →

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Imagining the unimaginable or why we need a #GlobalClimateStrike

Posted on September 27, 2019 by barczablog

I boarded this train of thought last week in preparation for church. I was the substitute music director in a Sunday without the choir, seeking joy while pondering darker thoughts. I don’t pretend to know how I happened to be … Continue reading →

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The Book of Life

Posted on September 22, 2019 by barczablog

I needed that. The Book of Life, a Volcano Production in association with the Woman Cultural Centre, Rwanda, and Why Not Theatre, is currently running at the Berkeley St Theatre, presented by Canadian Stage. I came into this show wondering … Continue reading →

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Cinematic rockstars

Posted on September 12, 2019 by barczablog

I wish I could somehow reclaim my innocence.  Sometimes sophistication & experience get in the way. No you can’t believe everything you read, especially when you overthink (….guilty). When will I learn? I came to Rocketman this past weekend more … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment