Category Archives: Interviews

Questions about WWI. (Re)Visions of the Aftermath

Posted on February 23, 2014 by barczablog

WWI. (Re)Visions of the Aftermath, presented this week at Theatre Glendon beginning Wednesday February 26, is an exercise in history & story-telling, both onstage and inter-actively through social media. What was World War I? What impact did it have, perhaps still … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Interviews | 2 Comments

Ten Questions for Sir Thomas Allen

Posted on January 30, 2014 by barczablog

The talent pool at the Canadian Opera Company is deeper than ever, yet even so, few singers have the credentials of Sir Thomas Allen, one of the great singers of his generation. Currently starring as Don Alfonso in the COC’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Opera | Tagged Canadian Opera Company, Cosi fan tutte, Rachel Andrist, Sir Thomas Allen | Leave a comment

10 Questions for Leslie Ann Bradley

Posted on January 8, 2014 by barczablog

Canadian “Soprano Leslie Ann Bradley brings the stage to life whenever she sets foot into the spotlight” (Toronto Star). Praised as a “vocal and dramatic powerhouse”, her 2013/14 season is filled with debuts and return engagements. Her winter/spring is infused … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Music and musicology, Opera | Tagged Leslie Ann Bradley, Lorna MacDonald, Marie Daveluy, Mary Morrison, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Wendy Nielsen, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | 4 Comments

(Q + A) x 300: questions and conversations

Posted on January 1, 2014 by barczablog

This is the moment when bloggers look at their annual stats, notice trends, and perhaps say thank you to the community that supports them. According to my stats I posted 232 different items over 365 days. This is a moment … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Interviews, Opera | Leave a comment

10 questions for Stephen Lord

Posted on December 31, 2013 by barczablog

Identified by Opera News as one of the “25 Most Powerful Names in US Opera”, Stephen Lord is a conductor known for his sensitive handling of singers. In my review of April’s Canadian Opera Company production of Lucia di Lammermoor … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Music and musicology, Opera | Tagged Aida, Antonino Votto, Canadian Opera Company, Carlos Kleiber, Dimitri Mitropoulos, Giuseppe Verdi, Glenn Gould, Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, La Traviata, Regietheater, Sandra Horst, Stephen Lord, Tullio Serafin, Un ballo in maschera | 15 Comments

10 Questions for David Ferry

Posted on December 12, 2013 by barczablog

I first encountered David Ferry as an actor, even though he’s also a director, a dramaturg and a great teacher with extensive experience in theatre, television, film and radio. In that production of Othello Ferry created the most astonishing Iago, … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Interviews | Tagged (Mercutio, ACTRA, Alex Poch-Goldin, CBC, Clare Coulter, Diana Leblanc, Dostoyevsky, Hamlet, Jack Humphrey, Jennifer Phipps, John Gilbert, Lady Capulet, Layne Coleman, Leontes, Life of Jude, Luke Humphrey, Michael Langham, Paul Gross, Puck, Romeo and Juliet, Sandi Ross, Stratford Festival, Talk is Free Theatre, Tarragon Theatre, The Gambler, The Nurse, William Shakespeare | 2 Comments

10 Questions for Joel Ivany

Posted on November 27, 2013 by barczablog

Joel Ivany’s career seems to be taking off. His work with Against the Grain Theatre here in Toronto is impressive enough, but in addition he directed the recent World premiere of Gavin Bryars chamber opera Marilyn Forever with the Aventa … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Interviews, Opera | Tagged Against the Grain Theatre, Albert Herring, AtG, Aventa Ensemble, Christopher Mokrzewski, Debussy, Edmonton Opera, Figaro's Wedding, Gavin Bryars, Joel Ivany, Korngold, Le Nozze di Figaro, Les Contes D’Hoffmann, Macbeth, Marilyn Forever, Messiah, Minnesota Opera, Miriam Khalil, Nabucco, Pelleas et Melisande, Robert Carsen, Royal Conservatory of Music, The Rape of Lucretia, The Silent Serenade, University of Toronto, Verdi, Western University | 2 Comments

Ten Questions for Mark Shulgasser

Posted on October 20, 2013 by barczablog

Mark Shulgasser is a librettist especially known for his collaborations with composer Lee Hoiby. They created several operas together, until Hoiby’s passing in 2011. One might call Shulgasser a champion for Hoiby’s work, except that I believe Shulgasser is still … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Opera | Tagged Gian Carlo Menotti, Lee Hoiby, Leontyne Price, Mark Shulgasser, opera, Ruth Draper, Samuel Barber, Sonja Gustafson, Thomas Adès | 1 Comment

10 Questions for Ileana Montalbetti

Posted on October 14, 2013 by barczablog

Canadian soprano Ileana Montalbetti has been one of the standouts in the new Canadian Opera Company production of Peter Grimes. The Toronto Star’s review, for instance says “when we start to consider Ileana Montalbetti’s saintly Ellen Orford, we are in … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Opera | Tagged Adrianne Pieczonka, Alexander Neef, Ben Heppner, Canadian Opera Company, Ellen Orford, Ileana Montalbetti, Mel Braun, Peter Grimes, Wendy Nielsen | 4 Comments

10 Questions for Cecilia Livingston

Posted on October 14, 2013 by barczablog

Known across Canada and the US for her vocal music, Cecilia Livingston is deeply involved in Toronto’s choral and opera communities, with a special focus on writing music for women’s voices. She looks forward to projects in 2014-2015 in collaboration … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Opera | Tagged Arts & Letters Club, Benjamin Britten, Cask of the Amontiallado, Cecilia Livingston, Christos Hatzis, Claude Debussy, Daniel Pinkham, Edgar Allan Poe, In Pace Requiescat, John Adams, La chute de la Maison d’Usher, Opera 5, Philip Glass, The Masque of the Red Death | 2 Comments