Category Archives: Dance, theatre & musicals

Resurrection Again

Posted on April 10, 2023 by barczablog

Handel’s oratorio The Resurrection received its belated Canadian premiere in Opera Atelier’s production brought to Koerner Hall, an early work long neglected. Although the production had been prepared in 2021 it had to be filmed because in-person performance wasn’t possible … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Reviews, Spirituality & Religion | Tagged Allyson McHardy, Carla Huhtanen, Colin Ainsworth, David Fallis, Douglas Williams, George Frideric Handel, Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg, Koerner Hall, Marshall Pynkoski, Meghan Lindsay, Opera Atelier, Resurrection, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra | Leave a comment

Metamorphoses 2023

Posted on March 27, 2023 by barczablog

Last night I watched a brand new opera featuring a sensual feast of colours hitting the eye and ear. Today I was at Crow’s Theatre, enjoying Metamorphoses 2023 from Theatre Smith-Gilmour, in Ovid’s stories of transformations of gods & humans, … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Dance, theatre & musicals, Reviews | Tagged Crow's Theatre, Daniel R. Henkel, Dean Gilmour, Metamorphoses, Michele Smith, Neena Jayarajan, Ovid, Rob Feetham, Sukruti Tirupattur, Theatre Smith-Gilmour | 2 Comments

Glorious Of the Sea

Posted on March 26, 2023 by barczablog

Of the Sea opened tonight to tumultuous applause from the Bluma Appel Theatre crowd, a co-production of Obsidian Theatre & Tapestry Opera. Kanika Ambrose (libretto) and Ian Cusson (music) have collaborated to bring a beautiful myth to life. I heard … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Reviews, Spirituality & Religion | Tagged Bluma Appel Theatre, Chantale Nurse, Ian Cusson, Jennifer Tung, Jorell Williams, Justin Welsh, Kanika Ambrose, LibLab, Of the Sea, Paul Williamson, Philip Akin, Suzanne Taffot, Tapestry Opera | Leave a comment

Rhino

Posted on March 10, 2023 by barczablog

Rhino is an adaptation of Ionesco’s 1959 absurdist play Rhinoceros, by Aleksandar (Sasha) Lukac and Emilie Varga. Last night I watched its premiere at Theatre Glendon with students in Lukac’s drama class. It’s much shorter than the original. As I … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, domestic & wild, Dance, theatre & musicals, Reviews | Tagged absurdism, Aleksandar Lukac, Emilie Varga, Eugene Ionesco, Sasha Lukac, Theatre Glendon | Leave a comment

I love the smell of gasoline: questions for Claren Grosz

Posted on March 8, 2023 by barczablog

The description of Claren Grosz’s new show caught my eye. I love the smell of gasoline dives into Western alienation, the Canadian oil and gas machine and what it all means in the face of an environmental apocalypse. Her title … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Interviews, Politics | Tagged Aki Studio, Alberta, Claren Grosz, environmental apocalypse, I love the smell of gasoline, Kurt Vonnegut, Pencil Kit Productions, Rick Mercer Report, Western alienation | Leave a comment

Opera York’s Magic Flute

Posted on March 6, 2023 by barczablog

It was worth the drive to Richmond Hill yesterday to see Opera York’s production of The Magic Flute, their first in-person return to the stage since the pandemic. While Friday night’s snow-storm likely reduced attendance, Sunday’s matinee was sold out. … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Holly Chaplin, Opera York, OperOttawa, Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts, Ryan Downey, The Magic Flute, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | 1 Comment

Aleksandar Lukac discusses his adaptation of Ionesco’s Rhinoceros

Posted on February 27, 2023 by barczablog

Rhino is Aleksandar (Sasha) Lukac’s adaptation of Rhinoceros, opening March 9th at Glendon College. Sasha directed over sixty professional theatre productions in his native Yugoslavia (now Serbia and Bosnia), which garnered seven Grand Prix awards for Best Director as well … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Interviews | Tagged absurdism, Aleksandar Lukac, commedia dell'arte, Emilie Varga, Eugene Ionesco, Rhino, Rhinoceros, Theatre Glendon, Tik Tok | 1 Comment

Salome returns to tumultuous welcome

Posted on February 4, 2023 by barczablog

The Canadian Opera Company’s co-production of Richard Strauss’s Salome returned last night in the first of seven performances to huge applause. It’s a star vehicle for Ambur Braid in the title role, a wonderful first outing for Michael Schade as … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Ambur Braid, Atom Egoyan, Canadian Opera Company, Johannes Debus, Karita Mattila, Michael Kupfer-Radecky, Michael Schade, Richard Strauss, Salome | Leave a comment

Salome: from Matthew and Mark, through Oscar, Richard and Atom

Posted on February 1, 2023 by barczablog

It can be enjoyable to trace the changes in the way a story is adapted and/or interpreted. Salome begins in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. Matthew 14:1-11 (NIV)1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus, … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Architecture & Design, Books & Literature, Cinema, video & DVDs, Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Spirituality & Religion | Tagged Atom Egoyan, Canadian Opera Company, Oscar Wilde, Regietheater, Richard Strauss, Salome, The Ten Commandments | Leave a comment

Fifteen Dogs at Crow’s Theatre

Posted on January 23, 2023 by barczablog

I loved the book (André Alexis’s 2015 novel Fifteen Dogs). I love the play (adapted for the stage and directed by Marie Farsi at Crow’s Theatre). The book hit me in totally different places than the play. When you read … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, domestic & wild, Books & Literature, Dance, theatre & musicals | Tagged André Alexis, Crow's Theatre, David Mesiha, Fifteen Dogs, Laura Condlln, Marie Farsi, Mirabella Sundar Singh, Peter Fernandes, Stephen Jackman-Turkoff, Tom Rooney, Tyrone Savage | 1 Comment