Category Archives: Opera

Back to school: open-hearted, open-minded

Posted on January 17, 2014 by barczablog

I’m inspired by last night’s announcement of Canadian Opera Company’s 2014-2015 season.  Anyone bumping into me today will see that my appetite is indeed so whetted that they might prefer to run in the opposite direction.  I can’t help myself. … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Personal ruminations & essays, Psychology and perception | Leave a comment

Six for COC in 2014-15

Posted on January 16, 2014 by barczablog

The Canadian Opera Company announced their 2014-15 season at a festive event tonight.  Yes the COC are stepping back from their recent pattern of seven-opera seasons, to offer six instead.  But this is also the year when the New York … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera | 1 Comment

Tcherniakov’s Don Giovanni

Posted on January 13, 2014 by barczablog

Dimitri Tcherniakov has been seen a fair bit on TFO lately.  After recent productions of Il trovatore and Ruslan und Ludmilla, tonight’s broadcast had special importance, a co-production with several companies including the Canadian Opera Company.  COC General Director Alexander … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Opera, Reviews | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

10 Questions for Leslie Ann Bradley

Posted on January 8, 2014 by barczablog

Canadian “Soprano Leslie Ann Bradley brings the stage to life whenever she sets foot into the spotlight” (Toronto Star).  Praised as a “vocal and dramatic powerhouse”, her 2013/14 season is filled with debuts and return engagements.  Her winter/spring is infused … Continue reading →

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

(Q + A) x 300: questions and conversations

Posted on January 1, 2014 by barczablog

This is the moment when bloggers look at their annual stats, notice trends, and perhaps say thank you to the community that supports them. According to my stats I posted 232 different items over 365 days. This is a moment … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Interviews, Opera | Leave a comment

10 questions for Stephen Lord

Posted on December 31, 2013 by barczablog

Identified by Opera News as one of the “25 Most Powerful Names in US Opera”, Stephen Lord is a conductor known for his sensitive handling of singers.  In my review of April’s Canadian Opera Company production of Lucia di Lammermoor … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Music and musicology, Opera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

TOT Land of Smiles

Posted on December 28, 2013 by barczablog

Every work is really several possibilities, depending on the emphases in the interpretation.  There are several operas inside each opera, several musicals inside each musical.  And this is particularly so when we speak of operetta, a form that can seem … Continue reading →

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Born on December 22nd

Posted on December 21, 2013 by barczablog

If you’re a child born on December 22nd you might grow up perpetually frustrated because of the proximity of your birthday to Christmas.  There you are, early in the sign of Capricorn, and everybody’s celebrating someone else’s birth instead of … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Personal ruminations & essays | Leave a comment

Thinking about snobs, with Baz Luhrmann and Jay Gatsby

Posted on December 8, 2013 by barczablog

I’m thinking about two competing narratives lately, as I alluded at the beginning of my review of Singing the Earth.  Is transcendent activism possible? Nelson Mandela seems to say yes.  Rob Ford would agree, although he sees himself as an … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Opera, Personal ruminations & essays, Politics, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Singing the Earth: The Old & The New

Posted on December 6, 2013 by barczablog

Today is a day of contrasts.  The morning paper brought more revelations about Toronto’s Mayor, while this afternoon’s social media story was the passing of Nelson Mandela.  While Mandela seems to embody the possibilities for heroic activism nothing suggests that  … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Politics, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment