Category Archives: Opera

Pondering wandering

Posted on April 14, 2019 by barczablog

I like the sound of that headline. As I do what it says, pondering wandering, I am a bit lost in the ambiguities. If we knew where we were going it wouldn’t be wandering, would it. The time of year … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Personal ruminations & essays, Spirituality & Religion | Tagged Byron, Harold in Italy, Hector Berlioz, Joel Ivany, Matjash Mrozewski, Parsifal, Richard Wagner, Robert Lepage, Terence Mallick, Topher Mokrzewski, Tree of Life | Leave a comment

Questions for Sky Gilbert: Shakespeare’s Criminal

Posted on April 8, 2019 by barczablog

I’m a great admirer of Sky Gilbert, the playwright, performer, professor, and activist: and I didn’t nearly cover it all. You can read his Guelph university bio here …where they list him as an expert in Canadian theatre, Creative writing, … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Music and musicology, Opera, Politics, Popular music & culture | Tagged drag, Dustin Peters, Ellen Harris, Guelph University, Marion Newman, Nathaniel Bacon, Queer theory, Shakespeare's Criminal, Sky Gilbert, Susan Sontag, Wayne Koestenbaum | 2 Comments

Against the Grain: Vivier’s Kopernikus

Posted on April 6, 2019 by barczablog

Claude Vivier’s Kopernikus has been promoted on social media as “Canada’s most famous unknown opera.” And Joel Ivany is quoted saying “I think this is Canada’s greatest opera ever written.” After seeing what Against the Grain did with Vivier I’m … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera | Tagged Against the Grain Theatre, Bruno Roy, Claude Vivier, Dion Mazerolle, Joel Ivany, Kopernikus, Topher Mokrzewski | 1 Comment

Idomeneo: Marshall Law

Posted on April 5, 2019 by barczablog

The question running through my head as I watched tonight’s opening of Opera Atelier’s Idomeneo at the Ed Mirvish Theatre was: “who is the star?” In this their first performance in a new venue I could say “it’s the space”. … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Colin Ainsworth, David Fallis, Douglas Williams, Idomeneo, Marshall Pynkoski, Measha Bruggergosman, Meghan Lindsay, Mozart, Opera Atelier, Wallis Giunta | Leave a comment

887: a quest for redemption for Robert Lepage

Posted on April 2, 2019 by barczablog

There is some irony that Canadian Stage are bringing back Robert Lepage’s 887, both because it’s a powerful piece of theatre that you must see if at all possible, but also as an exploration of memory. Throughout the work Lepage is … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Politics, Reviews | Tagged 887, Anne Midgette, Anthony Tommasini, James Jorden, Robert Lepage | Leave a comment

TCO Traviata

Posted on March 29, 2019 by barczablog

Toronto City Opera? While the name is new to me, reading the history I see the lineage, going back over forty years to the legacy of Giuseppe Macina’s Toronto Opera Repertoire. You can read more of their history here. This … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera | Tagged Alaina Viau, Giuseppe Macina, Giuseppe Verdi, Ivan Jovanovic, Jennifer Tung, La Traviata, Toronto City Opera | Leave a comment

Musique 3 Femmes – Next Wave Workshop

Posted on March 24, 2019 by barczablog

The Wednesday March 20th noon-hour sample of Next Wave was a small sample of the riches we encountered in tonight’s Workshop, presented with the support of Tapestry Opera & hosted at their Ernest Balmer Studio. And there was a social … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Reviews | 1 Comment

The Next Wave @ RBA

Posted on March 20, 2019 by barczablog

A concert is not a litmus test but even so today’s free noon-hour concert at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre is an unmistakable sign of health in the community of women creating opera in this country, and apt in the home … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera | Tagged Alaina Viau, Alice Abracen, Amanda Smith, Anna Theodosakis, Anne Frank, Aria Umezawa, Cecilia Livingston, Ernest Balmer Studio, Jennifer Szeto, Jessica Derventzis, Kendra Harder, Laurence Jobidon, Loose Tea Music Theatre, Margareta Jeric, Maria Atallah, Michelle Telford, Monica Pearce, Musique 3 Femmes, Naima Kristel Phillips, Pascale St-Onge, Suzanne Rigden, Tapestry Opera, The Next Wave | 1 Comment

Episode V: beyond popularity

Posted on March 14, 2019 by barczablog

Films with live accompaniment are becoming a regular experience. I don’t mean that the novelty is wearing off, at least I hope not. But what began as an experiment has become a new revenue-stream for the Toronto Symphony, somewhere between … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Opera, Personal ruminations & essays | Tagged Episode V, film music, George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, John Williams, Lawrence Kasdan, Leigh Brackett, Melodrama, Richard Wagner, Siegfried, star wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Toronto Symphony Orchestra | Leave a comment

Evolving past jealousy in opera

Posted on March 13, 2019 by barczablog

I was thinking about jealousy today. It’s funny how sometimes a word can come up over and over again. I confessed to some envy in my last review, admiring the way Stephen Walsh wrote about Debussy. I don’t know if … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Opera, Personal ruminations & essays, Politics, Psychology and perception | 1 Comment