Category Archives: Opera

Metropolitan Opera 2013-2014

Posted on February 27, 2013 by barczablog

Depending on your taste, there are good and bad things in Peter Gelb’s announcement of the 2013-2014 season at the Metropolitan Opera. I am most excited by an item that seems to currently be under the radar.  Dmitri Tcherniakov will … Continue reading →

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Pageants of Power

Posted on February 25, 2013 by barczablog

Whenever a new pair of presenters come out onto the stage at the Academy Awards, the pit band begins to play something suitable. Nobody does that when I walk into a room. I was thinking about this after reading some … Continue reading →

Posted in Essays, Opera, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Akhnaten in Indiana

Posted on February 24, 2013 by barczablog

It’s late at night.  It’s intermission, as I watch Philip Glass’s opera Akhnaten from Jacobs School of Music, at Indiana University, Bloomington, conducted by Arthur Fagen, directed by Candace Evans, and live-streamed on my laptop.  This student production is very … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews, University life | 7 Comments

Psychological portraits: Tito’s Rome

Posted on February 7, 2013 by barczablog

La Clemenza di Tito is not known the way the major operas of Mozart’s maturity are known and loved.  When I say Don Giovanni or Marriage of Figaro or Magic Flute there are tunes that instantly pop into my head … Continue reading →

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Inclemenza

Posted on February 7, 2013 by barczablog

We’re expecting snow here in Toronto, but it’s already somewhat inclement, if we think chilly or unmerciful. I am expanding on the experience of La Clemenza di Tito Sunday in Toronto.  I was enraptured, as were the audience: until the … Continue reading →

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Clemenza: Apollo’s Turn

Posted on February 4, 2013 by barczablog

After a week of thinking about Tristan und Isolde –at the COC, in the Opera Exchange, at the piano and rattling around inside my head—I was ready for something different.  Tristan is many things.  It’s humongous, it’s conceptual & symbolic, … Continue reading →

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Meeting Titurel

Posted on April 21, 2012 by barczablog

I wrote this as a Facebook “note” in August 2009, a kind of diary entry seen only by friends.  It came to mind today in an online conversation, and so I decided to revisit these thoughts. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ I am not … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Health and Nutrition, Opera, Personal ruminations & essays, Psychology and perception, Spirituality & Religion | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

10 Questions for Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg

Posted on March 31, 2012 by barczablog

Canadian dancer and choreographer Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg has performed internationally in classical ballet, modern dance and national/historical dance.  Her training took place at The Royal Academy of Dancing in London, England and in Copenhagen, Denmark. Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg, with Marshall … Continue reading →

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AtG-7DS = Against the Grain Theatre-Seven Deadly Sins

Posted on March 17, 2012 by barczablog

Against The Grain (“AtG”) Theatre’s production The 7 Deadly Sins (and Holier Fare) resists easy categorization.  As I ponder this question (what is this show?), and try to stifle the impulse to classify, I can’t help noticing that the question … Continue reading →

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Armide returns to Toronto

Posted on March 15, 2012 by barczablog

Opera Atelier’s production of Lully’s Armide is coming back to Toronto, the first stop in an international tour.  After a week in Toronto, May takes them to Royal Opéra, Versailles, followed by a summertime sojourn at Glimmerglass Festival in New … Continue reading →

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