Category Archives: Opera

Il Trovatore

Posted on July 10, 2011 by barczablog

Verisimilitude may be a tad over-rated.  Tonight I witnessed a concert performance of Verdi’s Il Trovatore by Toronto’s Opera By Request.  It’s habitual to apologize for what’s missing in these virtual renditions, that have music stands instead of sets, and … Continue reading →

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Svadba-Wedding

Posted on June 25, 2011 by barczablog

I experienced one of the great joys tonight at a new opera.  For awhile I was lost.  In a world of GPS precision and universal surveillance, it’s very hard to be so engrossed as to not know where you are. … Continue reading →

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Bohème against the grain

Posted on June 3, 2011 by barczablog

It’s been attempted before: taking that well-known and perhaps overly-familiar opera, Puccini’s La bohème, and reinventing it. Baz Luhrmann tried it with some success. So did Jonathan Larson, with Rent (another success). You can’t blame people for wanting to attempt … Continue reading →

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Che faro senza COC?

Posted on May 27, 2011 by barczablog

Tonight, my last opera of the Canadian Opera Company 2010-2011 season, was my second trip into the special world of Robert Carsen’s Orfeo ed Euridice. I didn’t talk about the visuals in my review (awhile ago) because I strive to … Continue reading →

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Lepage’s Walküre, or “Welcome to The Machine, part two”

Posted on May 15, 2011 by barczablog

It doesn’t matter how big they are.  Whether we’re speaking of fame or stature, every singer in the current Metropolitan Opera productions (both Das Rheingold and Die Walküre) directed by Robert Lepage & his Ex Machina group shares the stage … Continue reading →

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Rheingold by Request

Posted on May 14, 2011 by barczablog

A concert performance of Wagner’s Das Rheingold can be many things, but above all, it’s a colossal job.  For almost three hours, a group of singers breathes life into Gods, giants, dwarves, and Rhine-maidens, while a pianist impersonates a huge … Continue reading →

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Adrianne’s Ariadne

Posted on May 13, 2011 by barczablog

You know you’re an opera fan when___ .  There are lots of ways to complete the sentence, but how about this one(….?): you know you’re an opera fan when you come out of the Lion King, humming Ariadne auf Naxos.  … Continue reading →

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Lion Taymor

Posted on May 11, 2011 by barczablog

I knew I was going to use a punny headline of some sort, this was perhaps the least offensive among my options.  I saw The Lion King tonight, admittedly years after its opening, and awhile after its first appearance in … Continue reading →

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COC Orfeo ed Euridice

Posted on May 9, 2011 by barczablog

Some subjects are so immense that the only way to put them onstage is by making them into opera.  Gluck‘s Orfeo ed Euridice takes on all the major topics—love, death and art –in a concise 90 minute plot.  They don’t … Continue reading →

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Two tunes

Posted on May 8, 2011 by barczablog

William Shookoff’s Opera By Request presented two short operas last night, I Pagliacci paired with Gianni Schicchi.   It’s an interesting pairing.  Once upon a time you’d encounter two verismo shockers (Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci), each ending with death and a … Continue reading →

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