Category Archives: Dance, theatre & musicals

Circa Humans

Posted on November 10, 2018 by barczablog

Tonight I saw Humans by the Circa Ensemble a visiting troupe from Australia. I read the following brief preamble from Yaron Lifschitz, the Artistic Director of Circa.  While it was poignant before the show, it was positively illuminating to re-read … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Personal ruminations & essays, Psychology and perception, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Workshop Ecology

Posted on October 27, 2018 by barczablog

I’ve been tossing and turning, struggling with several questions in my head. I regularly wake up in the night to fine-tune something that I’ve blogged, fixing a wrong spelling, adding wrinkles & nuances. It’s been a turbulent two weeks, as … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Personal ruminations & essays | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Hadrian’s Dramaturg: Questions for Cori Ellison

Posted on October 6, 2018 by barczablog

Cori Ellison is the Dramaturg for the Canadian Opera Company’s world premiere production of Hadrian¸composed by Rufus Wainwright and with libretto by Daniel MacIvor. Cori Ellison, a leading creative figure in the opera world, was recently appointed staff Dramaturg at … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Interviews, Opera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Producers at Lower Ossington Theatre

Posted on September 15, 2018 by barczablog

I just saw The Producers at the Lower Ossington Theatre. I have so many different sorts of responses, I want to keep them straight. 1. The theatre 2. The play (I know every line of the film, the play is … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Dance, theatre & musicals, Popular music & culture, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

I Call myself Princess

Posted on September 12, 2018 by barczablog

I watched and listened to the second preview of I Call Myself Princess, Jani Lauzon’s impressive new play with opera, presented at Aki Studio in a collaboration between A Paper Canoe Projects, Cahoots Theatre and Native Earth Performing Arts. Genre … Continue reading →

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

Yiddish Glory: The Lost Songs of World War II

Posted on August 29, 2018 by barczablog

Tonight was the opening night concert of the 2018 Ashkenaz Festival at Koerner Hall, an unforgettable evening of Yiddish culture titled “Yiddish Glory: The Lost Songs of World War II”. For awhile Soviet scholars worked to assemble an archive of … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Politics, Popular music & culture, Spirituality & Religion, University life | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

To re-purpose

Posted on August 12, 2018 by barczablog

The word is in my head after The Death of Stalin. Iannucci’s film takes music and uses it in new ways. Whether we’re talking about John Hughes, Stanley Kubrick or your organist at church, the re-use of an existing piece … Continue reading →

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

L’Histoire du Toronto Summer Music

Posted on July 20, 2018 by barczablog

It was all there tonight, on the stage of Koerner Hall. Sometimes concerts are microcosms that allow you to see and grasp everything in one lucid moment. It’s the second year of Jonathan Crow’s tenure as Artistic Director of the … Continue reading →

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Against the Grain Orphée+

Posted on April 28, 2018 by barczablog

Orphée+? That plus sign might signify an opera updated, enlarged, perhaps even reformed(?). The “+” means some remarkable additions and changes from Gluck’s original, Orphée et Eurydice (or the Italian version aka Orfeo ed Euridice). Gluck created more than one … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Popular music & culture, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Eagerly anticipating Against the Grain’s Orphée⁺ next week

Posted on April 21, 2018 by barczablog

I’m writing about Against the Grain Theatre right now as I think about their imminent co-production of Gluck’s opera, that they are calling Orphée⁺ (the original press release said “an international co-production between AtG, the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, and Opera Columbus“, … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Personal ruminations & essays | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment