Category Archives: Opera

R.I.P.

Posted on October 28, 2013 by barczablog

“Requiescat in Pace” is the last line in the third of three operas presented by Opera 5, namely Cecilia Livingston’s The Masque of the Red Death, whereby we had the name for the evening’s program. I wonder if Poe’s story … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | Tagged Adrian Kramer, Aria Umezawa, Cask of Amontillado, Cecilia Livingston, Claude Debussy, Daniel Pinkham, Edgar Allan Poe, La chute de la maison Usher, Maika'i Nash, Opera 5, The Masque of the Red Death | 2 Comments

The Italian Lesson

Posted on October 27, 2013 by barczablog

Yesterday I was on the University of Western Ontario campus, attending a special performance of Lee Hoiby’s The Italian Lesson in a production from Diva Lounge Productions. UWO welcomed back alumnae Sonja Gustafson (soprano & Diva Lounge founder) and Tanya … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews, University life | Tagged Diva Lounge Productions, Lee Hoiby, Mark Shulgasser, Ruth Draper, Sonja Gustafson, Tanya Ellis, University of Western Ontario | Leave a comment

Opera Atelier Abduction from the Seraglio

Posted on October 25, 2013 by barczablog

I had a wonderful time at the dress rehearsal for Opera Atelier’s new Abduction from the Seraglio. It’s a remount but as usual they probed more deeply this time, accentuating the comic elements of the work. Anyone who’s seen this … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | Tagged Abduction from the Seraglio, Ambur Braid, David Fallis, Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg, Lawrence Wiliford, Marshall Pynkoski, Opera Atelier, Tafelmusik Orchestra | Leave a comment

Ten Questions for Mark Shulgasser

Posted on October 20, 2013 by barczablog

Mark Shulgasser is a librettist especially known for his collaborations with composer Lee Hoiby. They created several operas together, until Hoiby’s passing in 2011. One might call Shulgasser a champion for Hoiby’s work, except that I believe Shulgasser is still … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Opera | Tagged Gian Carlo Menotti, Lee Hoiby, Leontyne Price, Mark Shulgasser, opera, Ruth Draper, Samuel Barber, Sonja Gustafson, Thomas Adès | 1 Comment

COC Peter Grimes

Posted on October 18, 2013 by barczablog

Tonight I saw the Canadian Opera Company production of Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes. I’m late getting to the party for a production that opened on October 5th, but I was out of town that weekend. Regular readers of newspaper reviews … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | Tagged Alan Held, Ben Heppner, Benjamin Britten, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Jill Grove, Johannes Debus, Neil Armfield, operabase, Peter Grimes, Richard Wagner | 2 Comments

10 Questions for Ileana Montalbetti

Posted on October 14, 2013 by barczablog

Canadian soprano Ileana Montalbetti has been one of the standouts in the new Canadian Opera Company production of Peter Grimes. The Toronto Star’s review, for instance says “when we start to consider Ileana Montalbetti’s saintly Ellen Orford, we are in … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Opera | Tagged Adrianne Pieczonka, Alexander Neef, Ben Heppner, Canadian Opera Company, Ellen Orford, Ileana Montalbetti, Mel Braun, Peter Grimes, Wendy Nielsen | 4 Comments

10 Questions for Cecilia Livingston

Posted on October 14, 2013 by barczablog

Known across Canada and the US for her vocal music, Cecilia Livingston is deeply involved in Toronto’s choral and opera communities, with a special focus on writing music for women’s voices. She looks forward to projects in 2014-2015 in collaboration … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Opera | Tagged Arts & Letters Club, Benjamin Britten, Cask of the Amontiallado, Cecilia Livingston, Christos Hatzis, Claude Debussy, Daniel Pinkham, Edgar Allan Poe, In Pace Requiescat, John Adams, La chute de la Maison d’Usher, Opera 5, Philip Glass, The Masque of the Red Death | 2 Comments

Symbolist horror

Posted on October 12, 2013 by barczablog

What’s in a name? Sometimes we grab onto something in a name, think we know what we have, and miss something else through our assumptions. We’re so enamoured for instance with the mystique of the rose, but we don’t usually … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Opera | Tagged Alfred Hitchcock, Bernard Herrmann, Cask of the Amontiallado, Cecilia Livingston, Claude Debussy, Daniel Pinkham, Edgar Allan Poe, Jerry Lewis, La chute de la Maison d’Usher, Mladen Dolar, Opera’s Second Death, Slavoj Zizek, Symbolist, The Masque of the Red Death | Leave a comment

Ten Questions for Marshall Pynkoski

Posted on October 10, 2013 by barczablog

Marshall Pynkoski is one of Toronto’s greatest artists, even if he has been completely misunderstood. Since its inception in 1985, Opera Atelier has been a kind of lightning rod in Toronto for the conversation about historically informed performance. With co-artistic … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Opera | Tagged Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg, Marshall Pynkoski, Mozart, Opera Atelier, The Abduction from the Seraglio | 4 Comments

Caird & Farley’s Conceptual Bohème

Posted on October 4, 2013 by barczablog

The Canadian Opera Company opened their 2013-2014 season tonight with Puccini’s La Bohème at the Four Seasons Centre. It’s a new COC co-production with Houston Grand Opera & San Francisco Opera directed by John Caird & designed by David Farley. … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | Tagged Carlo Rizzi, Christian Van Horn, David Farley, Dimitri Pittas, Giacomo Puccini, Grazia Doronzio, John Caird, Joshua Hopkins, Joyce El-Khoury, La boheme, Phillip Addis | 1 Comment