Category Archives: Music and musicology

Amplified Opera —The Queen in Me

Posted on October 12, 2019 by barczablog

The title tells the story. Night #2 in the Amplified Opera opening concert series at the Ernest Balmer Studio was The Queen in Me, a performance piece straddling the line between surreal confessional and stand-up comedy, a brilliant piece of … Continue reading →

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Somewhere over the… moon?

Posted on October 11, 2019 by barczablog

Both works currently playing at the Canadian Opera Company feature a famous aria known by people who might otherwise not know the whole work. In Turandot it’s “nessun dorma”, a piece associated with Luciano Pavarotti, and maybe a little bit … Continue reading →

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Toronto Symphony play for Gimeno

Posted on October 10, 2019 by barczablog

Tonight’s Toronto Symphony concert reminded me of someone I haven’t thought of in ages, a piano teacher in my teen years. At every lesson we’d begin with small-talk, and then he’d say “now play for me!” It was a wonderfully … Continue reading →

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Not quite forgotten: Liszt’s Valses oubliées

Posted on October 6, 2019 by barczablog

The composer centennials & bicentennials may be artificial stimuli to research, but the effect is real. Knowing that everyone is suddenly focusing upon a particular period seems to inspire all sorts of interesting studies, conferences where people share their research … Continue reading →

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Vivaldi con amore

Posted on October 5, 2019 by barczablog

I have been listening to Tafelmusik’s first CD with their new music director Elisa Citterio Vivaldi con amore. The title tells you what to expect, a recording affectionate as a love-letter, a promise of great things to come. I’ve lost … Continue reading →

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Robert Wilson’s Turandot

Posted on September 29, 2019 by barczablog

While the music is very much Puccini’s Turandot, a regular opera fan attending the premiere of the Canadian Opera Company’s new production might have trouble recognizing it. That’s why the headline proclaims it as Robert Wilson’s Turandot. Two words lurk … Continue reading →

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Amplified Opera: interviewing Teiya Kasahara and Aria Umezawa

Posted on September 26, 2019 by barczablog

I have huge admiration for the two artists behind Amplified Opera (aka AO), namely Aria Umezawa and Teiya Kasahara, a new opera company. Aria directed L’hiver attend beaucoup de moi in March. Teiya was larger than life singing in Pomegranate in … Continue reading →

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Tafelmusik meets Tchaikovsky

Posted on September 21, 2019 by barczablog

Finally! After waiting for decades Tafelmusik’s concert program tonight with works by Tchaikovsky & Mendelssohn plus a brand new composition felt like a political statement. Already last year led by their new Music Director Elisa Citterio, we were experiencing a … Continue reading →

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Dynamic Duo: Hannigan & Storgårds

Posted on September 20, 2019 by barczablog

The Toronto Symphony’s opening concert welcomed the “dynamic duo”, soprano Barbara Hannigan and violinist John Storgårds. Each did some conducting, and each took a turn as a soloist. While it was not a long evening it felt like a lot … Continue reading →

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Les sons et les parfums…

Posted on September 15, 2019 by barczablog

Janina Fialkowska has made a delightful new recording of French piano music titled “Les sons et les parfums…” You might know that phrase from Baudelaire’s Fleurs du mal, in a wonderfully evocative poem “Harmonie du soir”, where music is as fundamental … Continue reading →

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