Category Archives: Opera

10 Questions for Darren Russo

Posted on December 30, 2014 by barczablog

Darren Russo is a composer born in 1984 in Montreal, Quebec.  In 2006 he began his bachelor’s degree in music composition at McGill, including studies with Chris Paul Harman, and Jean Lesage. He was awarded positions as composer-in-residence for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Opera | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Toronto Operetta Theatre’s Mikado

Posted on December 28, 2014 by barczablog

Although I haven’t seen many shows from Toronto Operetta Theatre, tonight’s is timely, after the social media debates between armchair Artistic Directors concerning management strategies. In the years to come we’re likely to see a scaling back of the boldest … Continue reading →

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

Die Meistersinger von Glyndebourne

Posted on December 23, 2014 by barczablog

I’m trying to understand why I responded the way I did to the Glyndebourne production of Wagner’s Die Meistersinger. It’s a relatively straight-forward production that might even be called conservative. David McVicar and the team who made the DVD have … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | 4 Comments

2014 CD and DVD reviews

Posted on December 16, 2014 by barczablog

I am way behind in reviewing the CDs & DVDs i have been receiving in the mail, or the ones i have been buying.  This little summary may be too late for Christmas shopping although there are also the gifts we … Continue reading →

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

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