Category Archives: Music and musicology

Lucio Silla: slaying the tyrant at the Elgin Theatre

Posted on April 10, 2016 by barczablog

Tonight I saw Opera Atelier’s Lucio Silla, an opera receiving its Canadian premiere production at the Elgin Theatre. I’ve wondered what was so special about this opera, having heard about previous Opera Atelier presentations of the work in Europe, and … Continue reading →

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Who’s that girl: Laura, Stella, Iris or Betsy

Posted on April 5, 2016 by barczablog

Bernard Herrmann died on Christmas Eve 1975 the day after he had finished recording the score to Taxi Driver. I can’t help thinking of the score as a natural conclusion to one of the big issues of his life. Back … Continue reading →

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Isis and Osiris, Gods of Egypt

Posted on April 3, 2016 by barczablog

I saw the second of two performances in the world premiere run of Isis and Osiris, Gods of Egypt, a new opera composed by Peter Togni from a libretto by Sharon Singer, presented by Opera in Concert – Voicebox. There … Continue reading →

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

Travelogue, or Bicycle Opera take Toy Piano Composers for a ride

Posted on April 3, 2016 by barczablog

If you can judge a book by its cover – or a small performing arts company by its poetic name – then it’s a match made in heaven, this idea for Travelogue: a collaboration between Bicycle Opera Project (opera with … Continue reading →

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Toronto Symphony Scheherazade

Posted on April 1, 2016 by barczablog

I had the pleasure of hearing the Toronto Symphony play Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade the final three times they played the work on their recent Florida tour.  As a souvenir of my trip, I’ve had a CD in the car for literally … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology | 3 Comments

Knocking at the Hellgate

Posted on March 13, 2016 by barczablog

While the Toronto Symphony has been doing New Creations Festival for a dozen years or so, things seem substantially different in 2016.  One of the comments I sometimes hear from my colleagues is a concern that when so many of … Continue reading →

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TSO’s happy midweek memorials

Posted on March 11, 2016 by barczablog

The second of the New Creations concerts by the Toronto Symphony Wednesday at Roy Thomson Hall was a wildly diversified program as Festival curator Brett Dean put a collaborative work by two Canadians between works by two Australian composers. Each … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Architecture & Design, Cinema, video & DVDs, Music and musicology, Popular music & culture, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The history of film music = the history of film

Posted on March 9, 2016 by barczablog

A friend of mine asked me to suggest a way to begin studying film music, knowing that I teach a course at the Royal Conservatory called Cinematic Music: How We Hear Film.  The course begins later in March. As a … Continue reading →

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TSO – Fragile Absolute

Posted on March 6, 2016 by barczablog

The Toronto Symphony’s three-concert New Creations Festival launched in impressive fashion tonight, a spectacular variety of styles on display in a programme with the title “Fragile Absolute”. Before the interval felt like personal testimony from the festival’s curator Brett Dean. … Continue reading →

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Opera as blood sport: the Hutcheons contra Regietheater

Posted on March 5, 2016 by barczablog

I raced at top speed, not from jungle to city but from one end of the U of T campus to the other after work, afraid I’d be late for the (lecture about) opera, somewhat like the hero of Werner … Continue reading →

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