Category Archives: Opera

Cavalli’s Elena from Toronto Consort

Posted on May 13, 2017 by barczablog

Francesco Cavalli’s Elena received its Canadian premiere tonight at the Jeanne Lamon Hall in a partially staged performance that was still more than enough to charm the audience in attendance. As my companion observed it was a nerdy bunch, ready … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | 1 Comment

The Return and its promise

Posted on May 5, 2017 by barczablog

Three performances remain of The Return (il ritorno) at the Bluma Appel Theatre, the last of Canadian Stage’s “Spotlight Australia”, a kind of festival that they’ve offered the past few weeks.  The Return, from Circa appears to be the creation of Yaron Lifschitz, … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Reviews | 3 Comments

Questions for Natalya Gennadi – Oksana G.

Posted on May 1, 2017 by barczablog

Ukrainian Canadian soprano Natalya Gennadi was recently announced as a replacement in the title role of Tapestry Opera’s Oksana G, when the original singer had to cancel. Oksana G tells the story of a young Ukrainian woman lured into the … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Opera | Leave a comment

MYOpera + Rossini = the perfect marriage

Posted on April 29, 2017 by barczablog

I like an opera with ambition. Tonight I saw a production with style & wit whose chief ambition was to make us laugh: and it succeeded admirably because it was unafraid of sometimes being totally silly. MYOpera launched their 2017 … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | Leave a comment

CCOC’s 50th Anniversary Season Announcement

Posted on April 25, 2017 by barczablog

Ben Heppner and other opera stars join the Canadian Children’s Opera Company for thrilling 50th Anniversary Season TORONTO – The Canadian Children’s Opera Company presents the thrilling lineup of its 2016/2017 50th Anniversary Season.  Founded by Ruby Mercer and Lloyd … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Press Releases and Announcements | Leave a comment

Opera Atelier: badass Jason vs hot mess Medea

Posted on April 23, 2017 by barczablog

When an opera company remounts a work they’ve done before, one wants to see improvement. Lately every time Opera Atelier revives a piece it comes back better than before. Tonight was the opening of Charpentier’s Médée, promoted as “Medea and … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | 1 Comment

Hinton’s Riel: protocols for reconciliation

Posted on April 21, 2017 by barczablog

When I look back at my childhood, the way the word “Indian” was used and abused, I can barely recognize where we were and where we’ve come. The past two years have been especially transformative, with the Truth & Reconciliation … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Politics, Reviews | 3 Comments

Questions for Peter Hinton concerning his Revisionist Riel

Posted on April 20, 2017 by barczablog

Director, dramaturg and playwright Peter Hinton has worked across Canada with many theatre companies. He has been the Associate Artistic Director at Theatre Passe Muraille and the Canadian Stage Company in Toronto, Artistic Director of the Playwrights Theatre Centre in … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Opera, Politics | 3 Comments

Dialogue on use of Indigenous Songs in Canadian Compositions, hosted by COC

Posted on April 12, 2017 by barczablog

In a press release, the Canadian Opera Company have announced a closed meeting on April 19th –the eve of the premiere of their new co-production of Louis Riel—to discuss “First Nations song protocol and the use of Indigenous songs in … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Personal ruminations & essays, Politics, Press Releases and Announcements | 2 Comments

Robert Lepage speaks white in 887

Posted on April 8, 2017 by barczablog

Although I missed Robert Lepage’s 887 the first time it came to Toronto in 2015 (during the Pan Am Games) I’m glad I was able to see it today with Canadian Stage at the Bluma Appel, in a short run … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Politics | 3 Comments