Category Archives: Opera

Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa (Our Maliseets Songs) from Jeremy Dutcher

Posted on August 17, 2018 by barczablog

I’ve been listening to Jeremy Dutcher’s debut CD, Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa. When I googled to try to find out what that means, the phrase “Our Maliseets Songs” came up. Wikipedia tells me that “The Wolastoqiyik, or Maliseet are an Algonquian-speaking First … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Spirituality & Religion | Tagged Jeremy Dutcher, Linda Hutcheon, Maliseet, Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa | 3 Comments

Oxymoronic Gould Transcriptions

Posted on July 29, 2018 by barczablog

It seems like a lifetime ago, back when Glenn Gould was still alive. I’d first learned of him in my childhood as the one who showed us a new approach to Bach, a famous performer who had then abandoned live … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Music and musicology, Opera, Personal ruminations & essays, Reviews | Tagged Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Bell Rocket Belt, Carl Morey, Die Meistersinger, Glenn Gould, Michael Kamen, Parsifal, Richard Wagner, Siegfried Idyll, Terry Gilliam | 3 Comments

L’Histoire du Toronto Summer Music

Posted on July 20, 2018 by barczablog

It was all there tonight, on the stage of Koerner Hall. Sometimes concerts are microcosms that allow you to see and grasp everything in one lucid moment. It’s the second year of Jonathan Crow’s tenure as Artistic Director of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera | Tagged Alaina Viau, Derek Boyes, Jennifer Nichols, Jonathan Crow, Kelly Zimba, Koerner Hall, Miles Jaques, Suzanne Roberts Smith, Toronto Summer Music, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, TSM Academy Fellows, TSO Chamber Soloists | Leave a comment

Parsifal Bayerische Staatsoper 2018

Posted on July 10, 2018 by barczablog

As a Canadian I regularly see pleasant but undistinguished productions that are enjoyable for some aspects, while leaving me unsatisfied overall. The performance of Parsifal that I watched tonight live-streamed from the Bavarian State Opera, sung and played with such … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Architecture & Design, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Amfortas, Brecht, Christian Gerhaher, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Georg Baselitz, Gustav Neidlinger, Jonas Kaufmann, Julian Crouch, Kirill Petrenko, Klingsor, Kundry, Nina Stemme, Parsifal, Phelim McDermott, Pierre Audi, Richard Wagner, Wolfgang Koch | 2 Comments

1960 Les Troyens

Posted on July 5, 2018 by barczablog

It’s a testament to what might have been, this CD I’m reviewing, a relic to be sure. In 1960 the stars didn’t quite align, wouldn’t permit the recording that was intended, Sir Thomas Beecham engaged to conduct Hector Berlioz’s mammoth … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera | Tagged Eleanor Steber, Hector Berlioz, Les Troyens, Regina Resnik, Richard Cassilly, Thomas Beecham | 2 Comments

100 years ago tonight: The Llandovery Castle

Posted on June 28, 2018 by barczablog

Composer Stephanie Martin & playwright Paul Ciufo are collaborating on their first opera, The Llandovery Castle. They’re telling the story of the sinking of an unarmed hospital vessel of that name exactly 100 years ago. On the night of June … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Kimberley-Ann Bartczak, Paul Ciufo, Stephanie Martin, The Bicycle Opera Project, The LLandovery Castle, Tom Diamond | 1 Comment

Plummer, Shakespeare & Oundjian

Posted on June 27, 2018 by barczablog

Tonight’s concert, the latest in the month-long Toronto Symphony celebration of Peter Oundjian, was like a cross between a pops concert and a play reading, titled “Christopher Plummer’s Symphonic Shakespeare”. It was like “Shakespeare’s Greatest Hits”, a series of textual … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Berlioz, Christopher Plummer, Debussy, Healey Willan, Korngold, Mendelssohn, Nino Rota, Peter Oundjian, Prokofiev, Shakespeare, Tchaikovsky, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Vaughan Williams, Wagner, William Walton | Leave a comment

Ermanno Mauro: “Great Tenor Arias”

Posted on June 21, 2018 by barczablog

Sometimes recordings can open a window on the past. I’ve got a “new” CD, actually an old one that’s only new to me. Forgive me if I choose to write about something that’s not easily available but the CD immediately … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Canadian Opera Company, Carl Morey, Don Carlos, Ermanno Mauro, Ezra Schabas, Giuseppe Di Stefano, Giuseppe Verdi, James McCracken, Lotfi Mansouri, O'Keefe Centre, Otello, Peter Barcza | 4 Comments

The Little Match Girl Passion

Posted on June 8, 2018 by barczablog

Tonight was the second & concluding performance for Soundstreams presentation of David Lang’s The Little Match Girl Passion, paired on the program with the world premiere of James Rolfe’s song cycle I Think We Are Angels at Crow’s Theatre. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged accordion, Andrea Ludwig, Colin Ainsworth, David Lang, I Think We Are Angels, James Rolfe, Michael Bridge, Soundstreams, Stephen Hegedus, The Little Match Girl Passion, Vania Chan | Leave a comment

Opera: Passion, Power, and Politics

Posted on June 1, 2018 by barczablog

There it all is, everything a boy or girl could want in one headline. Now in fact that’s the title of a big beautiful book that I’ve been reading. And what good is a book if it doesn’t push your … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Architecture & Design, Books & Literature, Music and musicology, Opera, Politics, Popular music & culture, Reviews | Tagged Antonio Pappano, Aubrey Beardsley, Claudio Monteverdi, Dresden, Giuseppe Verdi, Michael Levine, Peter Brook, Placido Domingo, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Rinaldo, Robert Carsen, Roger Parker, Salome, Simone Young, Tannhäuser | Leave a comment