Category Archives: Opera

COC Barber in 2026

Posted on February 7, 2026 by barczablog

At first glance the two operas being presented by the Canadian Opera Company represent a contrasting pair. Last week I reviewed the dark Christopher Alden Rigoletto, being offered in a revival with a strong cast. Tonight I saw the COC’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | Tagged Canadian Opera Company, Daniela Candillari, Dave Monaco, Els Comediants, Gioachino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi, Joan Font, Joan Guillén, Luke Sutliff, Renato Girolami | Leave a comment

Opera Salon Series: Romanticism & Bel Canto

Posted on February 1, 2026 by barczablog

Today I attended a Voicebox: Opera in Concert Opera Salon, highlighting Romanticism & Bel Canto. I want to see any concert or presentation that offers us a new way to offer opera and to find an audience. We’ve seen arias … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | Tagged Alexander Cappellazzo, bel canto, Cassandra Amorim, classical-music, Diana Rockwell, Edward Jackman Centre, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Evan Korbut, Gaetano Donizetti, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Giuseppe Verdi, Guillermo Silva-Marin, Henry Ingram, Holly Chaplin, Jules Massenet, Justin Welsh, Michael William Balfe, music, opera, Romanticism, Vincenzo Bellini, Voicebox Opera in Concert | Leave a comment

A Rigoletto for our time

Posted on January 29, 2026 by barczablog

The Canadian Opera Company are reviving the Christopher Alden Rigoletto, last seen in 2018 and first seen here in 2011. I have always been conflicted about it, a production that in some ways shows the real story that composer Giuseppe … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | Tagged Ben Bliss, Canadian Opera Company, Christopher Alden, Four Seasons Centre, Franceso Maria Piave, Giuseppe Verdi, Johannes Debus, Quinn Kelsey, Rigoletto, Sarah Dufresne, Simone Genga, Zoie Reams | Leave a comment

Lawrence Wiliford shaping art song’s future

Posted on January 13, 2026 by barczablog

Tenor Lawrence Wiliford joined with pianist Steven Philcox and together founded the Canadian Art Song Project (CASP) in 2011. Someday I hope to interview pianist Steven Philcox, who has partnered Lawrence on his CASP journey. A few years ago Lawrence … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Interviews, Music and musicology, Opera, University life | Tagged Bobby Hull, Canadian Art Song Project, CASP, Cecilia Livingston, Chor Leoni, Erick Lichte, Hamilton, Helmuth Rilling, Jocelyn Morlock, John Williams, Jonelle Sills, Keith Lam, Lawrence Wiliford, Linda and Michael Hutcheon, Measha Bruegergosman-Lee, Peter Puck, Philippe Blanchard, Steven Philcox, Toronto Metropolitan University | Leave a comment

Toronto Operetta Theatre’s Czardas Princess starts the New Year

Posted on January 5, 2026 by barczablog

Toronto Operetta Theatre began the new year of 2026 looking over their shoulders with a romance that had its premiere over a century ago in Vienna: Imre Kálmán’s Czardas Princess. We went on the weekend sitting among a boisterously enthusiastic … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Czardas Princess, Derek Bate, Guillermo Silva-Marin, Imre Kalman, Janus, Johann Strauss Jr, Maeve Palmer, Patricia Wrigglesworth, Scott Rumble, Sebastien Belcourt, Toronto Operetta Theatre, TOT | Leave a comment

One of Joyce Wieland’s paintings

Posted on December 31, 2025 by barczablog

Zoe and I walked through the many wonderful pieces displayed in Joyce Wieland’s show Heart On, running at the AGO until Sunday January 4th. The conversations I have been having with Zoe about criticism can feel different depending on where … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Architecture & Design, Opera | Tagged AGO, Art Gallery of Ontario, Das Rheingold, feminist, Heart On, Joyce Wieland, nationalist, Richard Wagner, Shaping Matter, Toronto Wagner Society | Leave a comment

Interviewing versatile tenor Scott Rumble

Posted on December 7, 2025 by barczablog

I have heard tenor Scott Rumble a few times, a young artist who impressed both vocally and dramatically in Toronto Operetta Theatre’s Die Fledermaus in 2022. Ah how I wish I could have seen him take on the heroic role … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Opera | Tagged Ariadne auf Naxos, books, classical-music, Die Walküre, Guillermo Silva-Marin, Gwenlynn Little, Imre Kalman, James Patrick Raftery, Jon Vickers, opera, operetta, Orchestra Toronto, Peter Hofmann, Scott Rumble, Siegmund, theatre, Torin Chiles, Toronto Operetta Theatre | Leave a comment

Voicebox Opera in Concert’s Canadian premiere of Richard Coeur-de-Lion

Posted on November 16, 2025 by barczablog

Today I witnessed the Canadian premiere of André Grétry’s Richard Coeur-de-Lion, presented by Voicebox: Opera in Concert at the Jeanne Lamon Hall. Colin Ainsworth was singing the title role, but was indisposed, courageously singing the role but often dropping to … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | Tagged Alice Macgregor, André Grétry, classical-music, Colin Ainsworth, Diane Loeb, Fidelio, Guillermo Silva-Marin, Jeanne Lamon Hall, Madeline Cooper, music, Nicole Katerberg, Opera in Concert Chorus, rescue opera, Richard Coeur-de-Lion, Robert Cooper, Suzy Smith, Taylor Gibbs, Voicebox Opera in Concert, Yannik Gosselin | Leave a comment

Kyle and Corey reflect on the Lion-hearted King and the operas telling their stories

Posted on November 4, 2025 by barczablog

Kyle & Corey, as in Kyle Derek Mcdonald and Corey Arnold are the two creators of The Lion Heart, an opera being presented in concert in Ottawa November 15-16, one of several things they’re doing. I wanted to ask Kyle … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Interviews, Opera | Tagged classical-music, Corey Arnold, Ethandun, Kyle Derek McDonald, Kyle McDonald, Mathew Li, music, Philip Klaassen, Possession, Richard I, Richard Wagner, Samuel Andreyev, Scott Thompson, The Lion Heart, theatre, William G. Carpenter | Leave a comment

Mikado worthy of revisit

Posted on October 27, 2025 by barczablog

I took Erika to see the Toronto Operetta Theatre’s The Mikado Revisited at the Jane Mallett Sunday afternoon, wanting to escape from the world. Other than the usual topical jokes (and what’s Gilbert & Sullivan without references to current events) … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Gilbert and Sullivan, Gregory Finney, Guillermo Silva-Marin, Jane Mallett Theatre, Karen Bojti, Madeline Cooper, Marcus Tranquilli, Narmina Afandiyeva, Stuart Graham, Toronto Operetta Theatre | 1 Comment