Category Archives: Interviews

10 Questions for Isabel Bayrakdarian

Posted on February 26, 2013 by barczablog

When I pictured writing a biographical essay about Isabel Bayrakdarian, the phrase that popped into my head –no lie—is exactly the one you find on her official bio on her website. She really did “burst onto the international opera scene”. … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews | Tagged Amici Chamber ensemble, Beethoven, Chanson perpétuelle, Chausson, Cinco canciones negras, Dialogues des Carmelites, Francis Poulenc, Isabel Bayrakdarian, Laboratoire Central, Le bal masque, Marilyn Horne, Max Jacob, Montsalvatge, Placido Domingo, Serouj Kradjian | 3 Comments

10 Questions for Jacqueline Woodley

Posted on February 18, 2013 by barczablog

Soprano Jacqueline Woodley is as comfortable undertaking original music as she is taking on well-known classics. Modern? Woodley created the role of Milica the bride in Ana Sokolovic’s Svadba with Queen of Puddings. This past year she sang Arvo Pärt’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews | Tagged Against the Grain Theatre, Ana Sokolovic, Arvo Pärt, Christopher Mokrzewski, György Kurtág, Jacqueline Woodley, Judith Wier, Kafka Fragments, Kaija Saariaho, Kancheli, Kerry DuWors, Queen of Puddings, Svadba, Tavener | 1 Comment

10 Questions for Franz-Josef Selig

Posted on February 9, 2013 by barczablog

German bass Franz-Josef Selig is making his Canadian Opera Company debut as King Marke in Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde. Selig has performed at the world’s great opera houses including the Met, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, La Scala, Wiener Staatsoper, … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews | Tagged Franz Schubert, Franz-Josef Selig, King Marke, Richard Strauss, Tristan und Isolde, Wagner | 4 Comments

Seven Liebestod questions for Christopher Mokrzewski

Posted on January 29, 2013 by barczablog

On Saturday February 2nd as part of the Opera Exchange colloquium on Richard Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, with a nod to the composer’s bicentennial, pianist Christopher Mokrzewski will be playing Franz Liszt’s transcription of the liebestod for piano solo. Mokrzewski … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews | Tagged Christopher Mokrzewski, Franz Liszt, Liebestod, Richard Wagner, The Opera Exchange, transcription, Tristan und Isolde | 4 Comments

10 Questions for Wallis Giunta

Posted on January 26, 2013 by barczablog

Have you seen this smile? That’s Wallis Giunta, who may have caught your eye in the in-flight magazine you’d casually leaf through if you were flying Porter airlines between New York and Toronto: as Giunta herself likely does. A graduate … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews | Tagged Alison Krauss, Cherubino, Giuseppe Giacomini, Isabel Leonard, Juno, La Clemenza di Tito, Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, Metropolitan Opera, Michael Cera, Wallis Giunta | 2 Comments

Ten Questions for Christopher Enns

Posted on January 25, 2013 by barczablog

Born in Manitoba, tenor Christopher Enns is in his final season with the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio. He made his COC debut as an American/Glass Maker/Strolling Player in Death in Venice. Enns was one of the strengths of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews | Tagged Ambur Braid, Christpher Enns, Garth Brooks, La Clemenza di Tito, Magic Flute, Mozart, Russell Braun, Tamino | 4 Comments

10 Questions for Allyson McHardy

Posted on December 9, 2012 by barczablog

Mezzo-soprano Allyson McHardy has a voice that invites sensuous adjectives. Radiant? Dusky? Sumptuous? You be the judge. In the past year I wrote about her participation in two very different productions by the same composer, namely Händel: Hercules semi-staged by … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews | Tagged Allyson McHardy, Handel, Messiah | 3 Comments

10 Questions for Daniel Taylor

Posted on December 8, 2012 by barczablog

Daniel Taylor is a countertenor with a unique voice, arguably Canada’s finest, with more than 100 recordings on Sony, DG Archiv, Decca, Harmonia Mundi, BIS, Analekta, Teldec, Erato and Universal. Taylor has performed with the Metropolitan Opera, Glyndebourne, Rome Opera, … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, University life | Tagged Daniel Taylor, Gabrieli Consort, Paul McCreesh, TEM, Theatre of Early Music | Leave a comment

10 Questions for Milton Granger

Posted on November 20, 2012 by barczablog

Milton Granger is composer/librettist/lyricist of six chamber operas, all of which have been produced multiple times throughout the U.S. by college opera workshops and regional companies. Two (Uncharted Waters and Talk Opera) are first-place National Opera Association prizewinners. Granger’s musical play Bronze … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews | Tagged Milton Granger, Opera Five, Puccini, Talk Opera, Turandot, Verdi | Leave a comment

10 Questions for Meghan Lindsay

Posted on October 24, 2012 by barczablog

Hailed by critics as a singer with “lovely stage presence,” a “silvery tone,” and “exquisite mezza voce,” Canadian soprano Meghan Lindsay is enjoying a vibrant career. She begins the 2012/13 season with the role of Agathe in Opera Atelier’s Der … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews | Tagged Bebo and Cigala, Der Freischütz, Jordi Savall, Martin Sexton, Meghan Lindsay, Mozart, Nina Simone, Opera Atelier, Paolo Pandolfo, Pino de Vittorio, The Black Keys, The Tallest Man on Earth, Weber | Leave a comment