Category Archives: Opera

Funeral for Father Owen Lee Saturday, August 10th

Posted on August 7, 2019 by barczablog

The funeral for Father Owen Lee will take place on this Saturday, 10th August 2019 at 10 a.m. at St Basil’s Church, Bay Street at St Joseph. All lovers of music are encouraged to attend. Although not a member of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Press Releases and Announcements, Spirituality & Religion, University life | Leave a comment

SOLT, The Importance of

Posted on August 5, 2019 by barczablog

This afternoon I saw the closing matinee of EARNEST, The Importance of Being, presented by Summer Opera Lyric Theatre and Research Centre (aka SOLT), at the Robert Gill Theatre. It’s an operetta based on Oscar Wilde’s play with music by … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews, University life | Tagged Anika-France Forget, EARNEST the importance of being, Eugene Benson, Guillermo Silva-Marin, Karen Bojti, Katelyn Bird, Victor Davies | Leave a comment

Crow Comes Out

Posted on July 30, 2019 by barczablog

Tonight’s concert at Walter Hall –“Europe and the New World”—in the Toronto Summer Music Festival put artistic director Jonathan Crow into the spotlight. He seems very comfortable there. That’s what I’m getting at with the headline. Our concert was sold … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Angel Blue, Cesar Franck, Eric Owens, George Gershwin, Healey Willan, Jascha Heifetz, Johannes Brahms, John Corigliano, Jonathan Crow, Philip Chiu, Porgy and Bess, Toronto Summer Music, Walter Hall, Walter Homburger | Leave a comment

Voices Across the Atlantic

Posted on July 19, 2019 by barczablog

The title “Voices Across the Atlantic” could refer to compositional voices or singing voices. You had Barber & Willan from our side of the pond, Brahms, Britten & Monteverdi from the other. Ditto for the performing talent, coming from many … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews, Spirituality & Religion | Tagged Benjamin Britten, Charles Daniels, Clarence Frazer, Claudio Monteverdi, Daniel Taylor, Johannes Brahms, Samuel Barber, Steven Philcox, Toronto Summer Music Academy, TS Eliot | Leave a comment

Beyond Borders with Toronto Summer Music

Posted on July 12, 2019 by barczablog

Tonight was the opening concert of Toronto Summer Music, running until August 3rd at multiple venues in Toronto. In this the third year of Jonathan Crow’s tenure as Artistic Director the talent pool seems a bit deeper, suggesting exciting days … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Adrianne Pieczonka, Chopin, Four Last Songs, John Greer, Jonathan Crow, Kerson Leong, Koerner Hall, New Orford String Quartet, Richard Strauss, Steven Philcox, Toronto Summer Music | 2 Comments

Operatic thought for Canada Day

Posted on June 29, 2019 by barczablog

Is it true that Alexander Neef, General Director of the Canadian Opera Company is headed back to Paris? Today I read Michael Vincent’s news report via Ludwig-van.com that was a natural segue from the conversation I had with my companion … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Personal ruminations & essays, Politics, Press Releases and Announcements | Tagged Alexander Neef, Canadian Opera Company, Gustavo Gimeno, Toronto Symphony Orchestra | Leave a comment

Isaiah Bell: The Book of My Shames

Posted on June 9, 2019 by barczablog

Should I have said “The book of HIS shames”? Isaiah Bell’s one-man show is about his shames, right? But no. He is everyman, every-person, and so these are your shames & my shames too. I couldn’t imagine a more apt … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Politics, Reviews | Tagged Darren Creech, Isaiah Bell, Sean Guist, The Book of My Shames | 1 Comment

Pomegranate

Posted on June 8, 2019 by barczablog

Less is more. Pomegranate, bearing the epithet “a lesbian chamber opera,” is the latest specimen suggesting that grand opera is all but dead. Small is beautiful whatever your sexual politics, both for the lower price-tag and the ideal connection you … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Aaron Durand, Amanda Hale, Jennifer Tung, Kye Marshall, lesbian opera, Michael Hidetoshi Mori, Pomegranate, Teiya Kasahara | 7 Comments

Shanawdithit in Toronto

Posted on May 22, 2019 by barczablog

Who would expect a new opera to affirm the value of the artform? Shanawdithit is a new opera co-produced by Newfoundland’s Opera on the Avalon and Toronto’s Tapestry Opera. There was a workshop a few months ago, a tantalizing glimpse not … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Politics, Spirituality & Religion | Tagged Clarence Frazer, Dean Burry, Marion Newman, Opera on the Avalon, Shanawdithit, Tapestry Opera, Yvette Nolan | 2 Comments

I swallowed a moon made of iron: Oxymoronic, Prophetic

Posted on May 18, 2019 by barczablog

Njo Kong Kie has created a one man show from Xu Lizhi’s texts, that he sings and enacts mostly from the piano, I swallowed a moon made of iron, presented at the Berkeley Street Theatre by Canadian Stage. That title comes … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Popular music & culture | Tagged Canadian Stage, I swallowed a moon made of iron, Njo Kong Kie, Xu Lizhi | Leave a comment