Category Archives: Opera

Ugly crying at Yuval Sharon’s brilliant Tristan und Isolde from the Metropolitan Opera

Posted on March 23, 2026 by barczablog

Saturday March 21st I was among the viewers in a Scarborough Cineplex watching and listening to the Metropolitan Opera high definition broadcast of Tristan und Isolde directed by Yuval Sharon, conducted by Yannick Nezet-Seguin. At least as far as the … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | Tagged Cineplex, classical-music, Gary Halvorson, Jon Vickers, Liebestod, Lise Davidsen, Metropolitan Opera Company, Metropolitan Opera High Definition Broadcast, Michael Spyres, music, Norman Lebrecht, opera, Pelléas et Mélisande, Richard Wagner, Tomasz Konieczny, Tristan und Isolde, Yannick Nezet-seguin, Yuja Wang, Yuval sharon | 4 Comments

Christopher Bagan, busy keyboardist & scholar talks about his new orchestration of Pelléas et Mélisande

Posted on March 14, 2026 by barczablog

Christopher Bagan wears a lot of hats, as keyboardist, conductor, professor at University of Toronto, chamber musician, basso continuo specialist, coach & repetiteur. In the immediate future: Christopher joins Toronto Mendelssohn Choir’s presentations of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion March 24th-25th. … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Music and musicology, Opera | Tagged Arnold Schönberg, Baroque, Christopher Bagan, classical, classical-music, Claude Debussy, continuo, Felix Deak, François Couperin, Johann Sebastian Bach, Jonathan Oldengarm, music, Opera Atelier, Pelléas et Mélisande, piano, St Matthew Passion, Toronto Bach Festival, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir | Leave a comment

Interviewing soprano Sarah Dufresne

Posted on March 5, 2026 by barczablog

Reviewers work after the fact, which means that sometimes we only notice stars when the show is over, especially when we are seeing the artist for the first time. So here I am belatedly interviewing Sarah Dufresne, long after her … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Opera | Tagged art, Barrie Kosky, Canadian Opera Company, Carmen, Florence Pugh, Gilda, Hamlet, Ian Sabourin, opera, Opera de Montreal, Ophélie, Pacific Opera Victoria, Rigoletto, Royal Opera, Sarah Dufresne, Siegfried, Teatro alla Scala, Verdi | 2 Comments

A closer look at the COC’s zany Barber of Seville

Posted on February 22, 2026 by barczablog

Your tickets to the opera really are a case of “location location location”. When I saw the Canadian Opera Company’s Barber of Seville two weeks ago seated in the middle of the downstairs at the Four Seasons Centre, yes I … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Press Releases and Announcements, Reviews | Tagged Ariadne auf Naxos, Barber of Seville, Benjamin Britten, Canadian Opera Company, Cherie Dimaline, classical-music, Cosi fan tutte, Daniela Candillari, Dave Monaco, David Ferguson, Deepa Johnny, Elixir of Love, Four Seasons Centre, Gioachino Rossini, Ian Cusson, Ian Derrer, Joan Font, Joan Guillén, La Traviata, Luca Pisaroni, Luke Sutliff, music, Nathan Keoughan, opera, Perryn Leech, Pietro Adaini, Renato Girolami, Richard Strauss, Robert Lepage, Rossini, theatre, Turn of the Screw | Leave a comment

A last Rigoletto on the cusp of a regime change

Posted on February 15, 2026 by barczablog

For Valentine’s Day 2026 this subscriber attended the Canadian Opera Company’s last performance of Rigoletto in their winter season at the Four Seasons Centre, in Christopher Alden’s rather un-romantic production. The rose petals fall from above as the young girl … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | Tagged Andriana Chuchman, Ben Bliss, Canadian Opera Company, Christopher Alden, David Ferguson, Family Day, Four Seasons Centre, Ian Derrer, Johannes Debus, Lunar New Year, Peixin Chen, Quinn Kelsey, Rigoletto, Sarah Dufresne, Simona Genga, Valentine's Day, Verdi | Leave a comment

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