Category Archives: Opera

Questions for Peter Togni: Isis and Osiris

Posted on March 15, 2016 by barczablog

Peter Togni, a well-known name from his time on the CBC, also known as Peter-Anthony Togni, is a busy Canadian composer of spiritually rooted and contemplative music. You can read a detailed biography here.  Originally from Pembroke, Ontario, he currently … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Opera, Spirituality & Religion | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Knocking at the Hellgate

Posted on March 13, 2016 by barczablog

While the Toronto Symphony has been doing New Creations Festival for a dozen years or so, things seem substantially different in 2016.  One of the comments I sometimes hear from my colleagues is a concern that when so many of … Continue reading →

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Opera as blood sport: the Hutcheons contra Regietheater

Posted on March 5, 2016 by barczablog

I raced at top speed, not from jungle to city but from one end of the U of T campus to the other after work, afraid I’d be late for the (lecture about) opera, somewhat like the hero of Werner … Continue reading →

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Toronto Symphony and the music of change

Posted on February 28, 2016 by barczablog

I will eventually talk about the music performed at tonight’s Toronto Symphony Concert at Roy Thomson Hall but I must first observe a few things that were different. At intermission I met two guys from Richmond Hill named Michael. Yes, … Continue reading →

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Last tango in Siviglia

Posted on February 24, 2016 by barczablog

There’s a curious mix of adventure and nostalgia that goes with the annual Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio performance of one of the season’s operas. After having seen a production with a cast of seasoned professionals, each year we get … Continue reading →

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Betroffenheit’s ambitions

Posted on February 21, 2016 by barczablog

I am riding the emotional high of Betroffenheit, a co-creation & co-production of Crystal Pite’s Kidd Pivot and Jonathon Young’s Electric Company Theatre, presented tonight at the Bluma Appel Theatre as part of Canadian Stage’s current season, in a run … Continue reading →

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CASP – The Pilgrim Soul

Posted on February 20, 2016 by barczablog

“The Pilgrim Soul” was the name given to tonight’s collaboration between pianist Emily Hamper and baritone Phillip Addis for Canadian Art Song Project (aka “CASP”). I had assumed that tonight’s program would be more conventional, less experimental than CASP’s last … Continue reading →

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Questions for Iain MacNeil: Guth’s Figaro

Posted on February 17, 2016 by barczablog

Canadian bass-baritone Iain MacNeil joined the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio in the fall of 2014, after studying at University of Toronto Opera with Canadian soprano Wendy Nielsen.  There’s a more complete biography on his website: here. His career is off … Continue reading →

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Cakes and Puppets/Buchty a Loutky: La Calisto

Posted on February 11, 2016 by barczablog

The Centre for Drama, Theatre & Performance Studies at University of Toronto are in the midst of a residency by Cakes and Puppets, a Czech puppetry company.  Who are they and what are they presenting in this brief visit? Cakes … Continue reading →

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Salieri’s Falstaff: first time in Canada

Posted on February 8, 2016 by barczablog

To most people Antonio Salieri is unknown except as the older composer associated with Mozart in Amadeus, perhaps best captured in this little clip from Milos Forman’s 1983 film. Of course the way that story is told is a cruel … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments