Category Archives: Opera

Saying #Uncle: more on AtG’s latest

Posted on December 13, 2014 by barczablog

I barely scratched the surface in my review of Against the Grain’s #UncleJohn from late Thursday night.  With one prominent exception I barely mentioned anyone.  I am cocooning Saturday because of the cold that burst in on me like a … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | 2 Comments

#UncleJohn, or COC lite: a new way to do business

Posted on December 12, 2014 by barczablog

Against the Grain Theatre premiered #UncleJohn, their new adaptation of Don Giovanni tonight at The Black Box Theatre at the Great Hall on Queen St West after workshops out west at the Banff Centre. As much as anything this was … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | 4 Comments

Glenn Gould: extra hands

Posted on December 11, 2014 by barczablog

Thank you Edward Johnson Building library, once again I found treasure in the collection that never disappoints. I’d grabbed a great mass of scores in anticipation of a couple of gigs, never knowing fully what to play, but wanting to … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Music and musicology, Opera | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

10 Questions for Colin Balzer

Posted on December 4, 2014 by barczablog

I’ve never seen tenor Colin Balzer in person, but I did watch his Don Ottavio twice in the broadcast of Tcherniakov’s Don Giovanni presented by TFO less than a year ago: when it was becoming evident that the COC would … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Music and musicology, Opera | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

COC Centre Stage 2014

Posted on November 26, 2014 by barczablog

Tonight was the fourth public competition for membership in the Canadian Opera Company’s Studio Ensemble. I missed the first one in 2011. The second was held in November 2012, in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, aka the space in the upper … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera | 5 Comments

Social media and performance: bane or boon?

Posted on November 19, 2014 by barczablog

To tweet or not to tweet: that is the question. Saturday night at the Tapestry Briefs performance, Artistic Director Michael Mori invited the audience to employ social media, to post to Facebook or to tweet.  He even gave us the … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Popular music & culture | 8 Comments

Tapestry Briefs: Booster Shots

Posted on November 16, 2014 by barczablog

I took in Tapestry Opera’s latest experimental workshop “Tapestry Briefs: Booster Shots”. The title plays on a few influences: Because Tapestry lives in the so-called “Distillery District” we’re in a realm of booze, so it makes sense to be thinking … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | 2 Comments

Soundstreams and Canadian Stage collaborating on Philippe Boesmans’ Julie

Posted on November 15, 2014 by barczablog

Canadian Stage have already shown a willingness to venture into different disciplines, bringing great artists such as Crystal Pite and Robert Lepage to Toronto to broaden the experience of the CanStage audience under Matthew Jocelyn’s leadership. Soundstreams and Canadian Stage have … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Press Releases and Announcements | 2 Comments

Gerald Finley on the shelf

Posted on November 11, 2014 by barczablog

It’s November. October was Gerald Finley month in Toronto, as his Falstaff jumped up on the table that was our collective experience (and for the final scene of the opera). Don’t let the headline (“Finley on the shelf”) scare you, … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | 1 Comment

10 Questions for Daniel Cabena

Posted on November 4, 2014 by barczablog

Canadian countertenor Daniel Cabena is highly regarded in both Canada and Europe for prize-winning performances ranging from baroque to contemporary repertoire, described as “very classy, with his freely flowing slender, well-sustained alto voice”. Cabena holds an Honours Bachelor of Music … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Opera | 4 Comments