Category Archives: Opera

Techno-salvation, or a real Canadian Opera Company / National Ballet of Canada

Posted on March 7, 2021 by barczablog

The pandemic has offered a measure of clarity to the world of performing arts. Artists have been knocked for a loop by the lost pay due to gigs that couldn’t happen. Businesses are badly messed up by lost revenues, wondering … Continue reading →

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We Interrupt This Program: A Conversation with Amplified Opera

Posted on March 4, 2021 by barczablog

The co-founders of Amplified Opera invite you to join them in conversation as they discuss their organization, their new appointment as Disruptor-in-Residence at the Canadian Opera Company, the complexities of the opera industry, and their views on the role the … Continue reading →

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Canadian Opera Company and National Ballet of Canada to receive government support for digital infrastructure

Posted on February 18, 2021 by barczablog

Toronto – In an announcement made this morning by the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Canadian Opera Company will receive $644,372 in crucial funding provided through the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund toward the Digital Infrastructure Enhancements Project at the Four … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Press Releases and Announcements | 2 Comments

Shore’s new leitmotiv

Posted on February 18, 2021 by barczablog

Erika & I watched A Dangerous Method (2011) tonight. Have you seen it? It’s a fascinating film directed by David Cronenberg starring Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender & Keira Knightley, all three in fine form portraying, respectively, Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung … Continue reading →

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Two Voices juxtaposed by Opera in Concert

Posted on February 11, 2021 by barczablog

The one act play La Voix Humaine was written by Jean Cocteau in 1928. The one act opera La Voix Humaine based on that play was composed by Francis Poulenc in 1958. Each one is a monodrama, presented by a … Continue reading →

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Jussi 2021

Posted on February 3, 2021 by barczablog

I’m reading Jussi, a biography of Swedish tenor Jussi Björling from his widow Anna-Lisa Björling, and a surprisingly honest look at the life of a famous singer. It’s an appropriate week to think about Jussi. He used to celebrate his … Continue reading →

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François Girard’s Flying Dutchman

Posted on January 30, 2021 by barczablog

François Girard’s production of Richard Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman is tonight’s free opera on the Metropolitan Opera website, available also tomorrow until the early evening when Rigoletto takes over. It’s new as in, having premiered in 2020. I heard & … Continue reading →

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A tale of the stub, or Pollyanna Interrupted

Posted on January 20, 2021 by barczablog

As I was choosing my wardrobe for a trip to my mom’s place for lunch, I opted as usual to try to look a bit nicer for her, pulling out a pair of dress-pants that I realized haven’t been touched … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, domestic & wild, Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Personal ruminations & essays | Leave a comment

Wagner, Mendelssohn, Korngold & beyond with Sam

Posted on December 29, 2020 by barczablog

Sam appears to be feeling a lot better. Last week began with her staggering weakly, doing a scary impersonation of a carcass (lying on her side so forlorn in appearance that a couple of times I was asked to check … Continue reading →

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Looking back, aka Alex Ross’s Wagnerism: Art and Politics in the Shadow of Music

Posted on December 28, 2020 by barczablog

I’m ending 2020 with a pair of complementary book reviews. No they’re not in any way similar in their topics, yet they frame the transition to a new year rather well. Fareed Zakaria’s Ten Lessons for a Post-pandemic World, (the … Continue reading →

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