Category Archives: Opera

Powerhouse Tristan und Isolde

Posted on October 30, 2023 by barczablog

Last night Powerhouse Opera presented an abridged version of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde at Jeanne Lamon Hall. Powerhouse Opera is a new company begun by soprano Susan Tsagkaris in March 2022, aiming to showcase dramatic / large sized voices with … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | Tagged Alexander Cappellazzo, Andrew Tees, Brahm Goldhamer, Catherin Carew, Kurwenal, Peter Furlong, Powerhouse Opera, Richard Wagner, Susan Tsagkaris, Tristan und Isolde | Leave a comment

Varieties of inclusivity in COC Boheme

Posted on October 29, 2023 by barczablog

Erika and I watched the Canadian Opera Company’s la bohème today at the Four Seasons Centre using our subscription tickets, a revival of John Caird’s production that we saw in 2013 and again in 2019. As it was the closing … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Personal ruminations & essays, Reviews | Tagged Against the Grain, Canadian Opera Company, Charlotte Siegel, COC, COC charter, Giacomo Puccini, John Gilks, Jordan de Souza, Justin Welsh, La boheme, Lotfi Mansouri, Opera Ramblings | 8 Comments

Questions for Andrew Ager about New Opera Lyra, The Gothic Trilogy and The Mummy

Posted on October 23, 2023 by barczablog

New Opera Lyra (NOL) completes The Gothic Trilogy with the world premiere of Andrew Ager’s The Mummy on October 27th. This follows the premieres of Frankenstein in 2019 and Dracula last season. Andrew is co-artistic director of NOL, where his … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Opera | Tagged Andrew Ager, Dracula, Frankenstein, John Scott, Matthew Larkin, New Opera Lyra, Opera Lyra, Ryan Hofman, Scrooge’s Christmas, Suzanne Bassett, The Gothic Trilogy, The Mummy | Leave a comment

TOT Pirates

Posted on October 20, 2023 by barczablog

When you’re watching your dog prowling in the back-yard and the phrase “with cat-like tread” pops into your head, you know Gilbert and Sullivan must be on your mind. Of course I knew I was going to attend the Toronto … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Alexander Cappellazzo, Ana Isabella Castro, Gilbert and Sullivan, Gregory Finney, Guillermo Silva-Marin, Jane Mallett Theatre, Jennifer Tung, Karen Bojti, Sebastien Belcourt, SOLT, Toronto Operetta Theatre | Leave a comment

An all-female Magic Flute from OperOttawa

Posted on October 15, 2023 by barczablog

I heard that OperOttawa are presenting Mozart’s The Magic Flute, an opera I’ve heard called misogynistic, in November with a cast that’s 100% female! I had to ask their their artistic director Norman E Brown about it. Barczablog: Do the … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Opera | Tagged Anna Hejnar, Beverly McArthur, Carole Portelance, Erinne-Colleen Laurin, First Baptist Church, Kathleen Radke, Norman E Brown, OperOttawa, The Magic Flute, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Leave a comment

Apocryphonia: GinasterAmirov

Posted on October 2, 2023 by barczablog

When I interviewed Alex Cappellazzo a few weeks ago I asked: what does “Apocryphonia” mean? But tonight I found myself thinking about another question (and seeing the answer before me), namely what do we understand by “authenticity?” It came up … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Alberto Ginastera, Alexander Cappellazzo, Apocryphonia, Fikret Amirov, Narmina Afandiyeva, Sevil, Thera Barclay | Leave a comment

A post-truth Fidelio

Posted on September 30, 2023 by barczablog

Last night the Canadian Opera Company had their opening night of Fidelio in a recent San Francisco Opera production directed by Matthew Ozawa, with set and projections designed by Alexander Nichols and costumes by Jessica Jahn. Their design concept is … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Politics, Reviews | Tagged Alexander Nichols, Anna-Sophie Neher, Canadian Opera Company, Clay Hilley, Dimitry Ivashchenko, Fidelio, Four Seasons Centre, Jessica Jahn, Johannes Debus, Johannes Martin Kränzle, Josh Lovell, Ludwig van Beethoven, Matthew Ozawa, Miina-Liisa Värelä, Sava Vemic | Leave a comment

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