Category Archives: Interviews

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

10 Questions for Carol Baggott-Forte

Posted on October 23, 2012 by barczablog

Since 1977 Canadian voice teacher, Carol Baggott-Forte has taught singing based on vocal health and laryngeal function to many of Canada’s finest classical and music theatre singers. Her rational method of instruction is rooted in organic natural responses innate to … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews | Tagged Carol Baggott-Forte, Cornelius Reid | 4 Comments

10 Questions for David Fallis

Posted on October 12, 2012 by barczablog

David Fallis is surely one of the most important musical minds in Canada. He is Music Director for Opera Atelier, a long-time member and Artistic Director of the Toronto Consort, and director of Choir 21 (a choir specializing in 21st … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews | Tagged Carl Maria von Weber, David Fallis, Der Freischütz, Euryanthe, John Eliot Gardiner, Oberon, Opera Atelier, Toronto Consort | 6 Comments

10 Questions for Arthur Wenk

Posted on October 4, 2012 by barczablog

Arthur Wenk is so multi-faceted he’s what would once have been called a Renaissance Man. I wrote about Wenk earlier this year in connection with the sesquicentennial of the birth of Claude Debussy: because among so many other achievements, Wenk … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews | Tagged Amherst College, Arthur Wenk, Big Bang Theory, Charles Tournemire, Edwin H. Lemare, Harold Bloom, Janacek Glagolithic Mass, Jubilee United Church, Margaret Atwood, organ, Robertson Davies, The Western Canon, University of Pittsburgh, Wilson Counselling Associates | 1 Comment