Category Archives: Interviews

10 Questions for Barbara Hannigan

Posted on February 21, 2015 by barczablog

Barbara Hannigan is one of Canada’s most remarkable exports, a brilliant singer, conductor and actor of rare conviction.  While I haven’t heard her use the word “actor” to describe herself, how can I omit it, when I struggle to describe … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Music and musicology, Opera | 4 Comments

10 Questions for Kyle Ketelsen

Posted on January 20, 2015 by barczablog

Kyle Ketelsen is a special talent, a wonderful voice with extraordinary dramatic presence. I’ve seen him twice. The first time he was in the Canadian Opera Company’s La Cenerentola, when I said that he “brought a majestic sound to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Opera | 1 Comment

10 Questions for Jennifer Holloway

Posted on January 19, 2015 by barczablog

Lauded for her “nuanced dramatic impulses” and “voice that is liquid, lambent, and lit from within”, American singer Jennifer Holloway gives new life to the characters she plays and the music she sings at leading opera houses and concert halls … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Opera | Tagged , | 1 Comment

10 Questions for Heidi Melton

Posted on January 17, 2015 by barczablog

If a list of engagements on a website is anything to go by, Heidi Melton is coming into her own. Toronto audiences are lucky to be able to see the young soprano at a time when she’s taking on all … Continue reading →

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10 Questions for Jocelyn Morlock 

Posted on January 7, 2015 by barczablog

Juno-nominated composer Jocelyn Morlock is one of Canada’s most distinctive voices. She is Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s Composer in Residence having just completed a term as inaugural Composer in Residence for Vancouver’s innovative concert series, Music on Main (2012 – 2014). … Continue reading →

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10 Questions for Christine Goerke

Posted on January 6, 2015 by barczablog

It’s a coup when a great international artist comes to your city. But when the artist in question is one of the most talked-about singers of the year? AND she’s choosing to make her most important role-debut here in this … Continue reading →

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10 Questions for Darren Russo

Posted on December 30, 2014 by barczablog

Darren Russo is a composer born in 1984 in Montreal, Quebec.  In 2006 he began his bachelor’s degree in music composition at McGill, including studies with Chris Paul Harman, and Jean Lesage. He was awarded positions as composer-in-residence for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Opera | Tagged , | 1 Comment

10 Questions for Colin Balzer

Posted on December 4, 2014 by barczablog

I’ve never seen tenor Colin Balzer in person, but I did watch his Don Ottavio twice in the broadcast of Tcherniakov’s Don Giovanni presented by TFO less than a year ago: when it was becoming evident that the COC would … Continue reading →

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10 Questions for Brett Polegato

Posted on November 29, 2014 by barczablog

Brett Polegato is a baritone with a beautiful voice. He’s a capable interpreter of songs, for example, in the recent Canadian Art Song Project concert: “I was more delighted by Brett Polegato’s loveliness of tone –one of the nicest baritones … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Music and musicology | 4 Comments

10 Questions for Jan Lisiecki 

Posted on November 8, 2014 by barczablog

This month the Toronto Symphony has a festival of five concerts between November 12th and 22nd, featuring Danish conductor Thomas Dausgaard and young Canadian pianist Jan Lisiecki commemorating Carl Nielsen’s 150th birthday, presented alongside the three final piano concerti of … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Music and musicology | 1 Comment