Category Archives: Opera

Canoe

Posted on September 19, 2023 by barczablog

For such a brief title, the opera Canoe invites me to go on at length. It’s not that it is a difficult work, for it was very accessible to the audience at Trinity St. Paul’s. But I want to properly … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Canoe, Catherine Magowan, Conlin Delbaere-Sawchuk, Dr Spy-Denomme-Welch, Kristine Dandavino, Michelle Lafferty, Native Earth Performing Arts, Nicole Joy-Fraser, The Toronto Consort, Theatre Passe Muraille, Trinity St. Paul's, Unsettled Scores | Leave a comment

Interviewing Alexander Cappellazzo – Apocryphonia and Diapente Renaissance Vocal Quintet

Posted on September 17, 2023 by barczablog

I first encountered Alexander Cappellazzo in the title role of L’Amant anonyme by Joseph Bologne for Voicebox- Opera in Concert back in March of this year, when he sang “a passage in the first scene that contains an obscene number … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Interviews, Music and musicology, Opera | Tagged Alberto Ginastera, Alexander Cappellazzo, Apocryphonia, Diapente Renaissance Vocal Quintet, Jane Fingler, Jonathan Stuchbery, Martin Gomes, Narmina Afandiyeva, Peter Koniers, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Thera Barclay | Leave a comment

Toronto Vocal Showcase 1.0

Posted on August 29, 2023 by barczablog

Ryan Hofman’s social media post said“Today…I hope I changed the game going forward.“ It may be so. “Toronto Vocal Showcase 1.0” was the title, and Ryan was the producer. Sixteen singers auditioned this afternoon for an audience largely made up … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera | Tagged Hope United Church, Ivan Jovanovic, Ryan Hofman, Toronto Vocal Showcase | Leave a comment

Three Oppenheimers

Posted on August 27, 2023 by barczablog

No one left the IMAX theatre for the three intense hours of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. Nightmare images that night reminded of my childhood, portents of the end of the world as I tossed and turned. Kai Bird and Martin J … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Cinema, video & DVDs, Opera, Reviews | Tagged agency, American Prometheus, Black Panther, Bruce Robinson, Christopher Nolan, Ennio Morricone, Fat Man and Little Boy, Gerald Finley, J Robert Oppenheimer, John Adams, John Cusack, John Donne, Kai Bird, Laura Dern, Ludwig Göransson, Martin J Sherwin, Melodrama, Miserere, Oppenheimer, Otello, Roland Joffé, The Mission, The Untouchables | Leave a comment

The Butterfly Project

Posted on July 13, 2023 by barczablog

Teiya Kasahara gave the first iteration of a self-exploratory monologue from Amplified Opera tonight at the Toronto Summer Music Festival in Walter Hall. It’s called The Butterfly Project because it’s to be an ongoing investigation, inviting us to explore the … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Andrea Wong, David Belasco, Giacomo Puccini, John Luther Long, madama butterfly, Nikkei, Teiya Kasahara, Toronto Summer Music | Leave a comment

Rossini’s Otello from Opera By Request

Posted on June 26, 2023 by barczablog

Last night I watched a concert presentation of Rossini’s Otello from Opera By Request, a company who demonstrate their importance with every outing. Bill Shookhoff leads from the piano working without a conductor, seated upstage of performers who face the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Arrigo Boito, Berio di Salsa, Bill Shookhoff, College Street United Church, Ernesto Ramirez, Gioachino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi, Meagan Reimer, Opera by Request, Otello, Othello, Paul Williamson, William Shakespeare | Leave a comment

Tosca on my mind

Posted on May 29, 2023 by barczablog

Tosca is on my mind after the final performance yesterday. Several of Puccini’s melodies are having their way with me, stuck in my head. I’m not complaining. But I can’t stop thinking about the opera and the Canadian Opera Company’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Personal ruminations & essays | Tagged Canadian Opera Company, Giacomo Puccini, Joseph Kerman, Opera as Drama, Paul Curran, Roland Wood, Tosca | 4 Comments

Macbeth closing performance: women have it harder

Posted on May 21, 2023 by barczablog

Three weeks ago I reviewed the powerful opening night of the new Sir David McVicar production of Verdi’s Macbeth from the Canadian Opera Company. Today I came full circle watching the last show of the run including exciting changes in … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Adam Luther, Canadian Opera Company, Charlotte Siegel, Elinor Ross, Four Seasons Centre, Giuseppe Verdi, Lady Macbeth, Louis Quilico, Macbeth, Matthew Cairns, Quinn Kelsey, Sir David McVicar, Speranza Scappucci, Tosca, Tracy Cantin | Leave a comment

SOLO Traviata in Burlington

Posted on May 14, 2023 by barczablog

Last night was the boldest step forward yet for Southern Ontario Lyric Opera (SOLO), performing a fully staged La Traviata before a rapturous sold-out audience at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre (BPAC). I’ve been observing the artistic version of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Reviews | Tagged BPAC, Burlington Performing Arts Centre, Corey Arnold, Daniela Agostino, Ernesto Ramirez, Giuseppe Verdi, James Westman, Karoline Podolak, La Traviata, Maria Callas, Michael Robert-Broder, Ryan Hofman, Sabatino Vacca, SOLO, Southern Ontario Lyric Opera | 1 Comment

Opera by Request’s William Shookhoff

Posted on May 6, 2023 by barczablog

Aside from family William Shookhoff aka Bill aka “Shookie” is the person I’ve known longest of anyone I’ve mentioned on this blog. In fact I interviewed him back in 1976, for the University of Toronto’s student newspaper. And so forty-six … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Opera | 1 Comment