Category Archives: Politics

Post-Democracy at Tarragon Theatre

Posted on November 18, 2022 by barczablog

Theatre sometimes takes us into worlds we don’t like, showing us people we’d avoid, situations we might never encounter otherwise. In some respects theatre is like a conceptual hazmat suit, a way to taste poison without dying. We may cower … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Politics, Reviews | Tagged Chantelle Han, Diego Matamoros, Hannah Moscovitch, Jesse LaVercombe, Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu, Post-Democracy, Rachel Cairns, Succession, Tarragon Theatre | 1 Comment

Mary Trump’s Reckoning

Posted on September 19, 2022 by barczablog

The title of the book is The Reckoning: Our Nation’s Trauma and Finding a Way to Heal. It’s to be understood as a reckoning for America, but perhaps also a personal one for the author. After watching the Royal Funeral … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Politics, Psychology and perception, Reviews | Tagged donald trump, Mary Trump, Queen Elizabeth, The Godfather, The Reckoning, Too Much and Never Enough, Vito Corleone | Leave a comment

Art Canada Institute presents Kent Monkman

Posted on June 8, 2022 by barczablog

The title of the lecture was “Art Canada Institute presents: The Making of a Masterpiece– Kent Monkman.” Monkman is an enormous star, famous far beyond the immediate milieu of art dealers and galleries. But I have no real idea who … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Architecture & Design, Books & Literature, Politics, Popular music & culture | Tagged adaptation, Art Institute of Canada, Clueless, Kent Monkman, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, Shame and Prejudice: A story of resilience, Shirley Madill | Leave a comment

Ecology of Being –Duo Concertante

Posted on April 16, 2022 by barczablog

In childhood I heard musicians and performers protesting the Vietnam War or advocating as part of the Civil Rights Movement. Ever since I’ve admired activist artists. Music, film, satire, humour, painting, can all be powerful voices advocating change, moving emotions, … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Politics, Spirituality & Religion | Tagged Anthropocene, anthropogenic global warming, Bekah Sims, Carmen Braden, Clara Steeves, Dawn Avery, Duo Concertante, Ian Cusson, Melissa Hui, Nancy Dahn, Randolph Peters, Timothy Steeves | Leave a comment

ARC Ensemble –Dmitri Klebanov Chamber Works

Posted on October 26, 2021 by barczablog

Exile doesn’t just occur when you’re distant from your homeland. What about artists ignored or silenced inside their country? I never thought of it that way before reading Simon Wynberg’s excellent essay in the liner notes to ARC Ensemble’s new … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Politics, Reviews, University life | Tagged anti-Semitism, ARC Ensemble, Bernard Herrmann, Dmitri Klebanov, Dmitri Shostakovich, Erika Raum, exile, Gustav Mahler, Kevin Ahfat, Marie Bérard, North by Northwest, Royal Conservatory of Music, Simon Wynberg, Steven Dann, Thomas Wiebe | 1 Comment

Nixon in China, 2021

Posted on July 4, 2021 by barczablog

The Metropolitan Opera feed of free streaming performances celebrate American composers the week of July 4th Independence Day. I was especially excited to get another look at John Adams’s Nixon in China, that we saw both via a production by … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Politics, Reviews | Tagged Alice Goodman, Canadian Opera Company, Carolyn Maule, Chou En-lai, James Maddalena, Janis Kelly, John Adams, Karl Marx, Kathleen Kim, Mao Tse-tung, Metropolitan Opera High Definition Broadcast, Nixon in China, Peter Sellars, Richard Paul Fink, Robert Brubaker, Russell Braun | Leave a comment

The Mission in 2021

Posted on June 21, 2021 by barczablog

It’s been a month of reflection for Canadians following the discovery of the remains of 215 children buried on the grounds of the Kamloops residential school, another discovery near Brandon residential school, and the possibility of more to come. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Architecture & Design, Cinema, video & DVDs, Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Personal ruminations & essays, Politics, Spirituality & Religion, University life | Tagged Christianity, Ennio Morricone, Going Home Star, Gone With the Wind, Indigenous Genocide, Jesuit, Kent Monkman, Max Steiner, National Indigenous Peoples Day, Roland Joffe, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, The Mission, The Scream, Truth and Reconciliation Commission | 2 Comments

Hermione Lee: Tom Stoppard A Life

Posted on May 16, 2021 by barczablog

I’m humbled reading Hermione Lee’s biography of Tom Stoppard. I was exalted by Alex Ross’s colossal Wagnerism study because I’m a typical grandiose Wagnerian, thinking I know something about the topic. Its 784 pages flew by, the book flattering my … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Cinema, video & DVDs, Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Politics, Popular music & culture, Reviews, University life | Tagged Alex Ross, Empire of the Sun, Hermione Lee, JG Ballard, Rosenkrantz & Guildenstern are Dead, Tom Stoppard, Tom Stoppard A Life, Wagnerism: Art and Politics in the Shadow of Music | Leave a comment

American Idol and popularity

Posted on April 13, 2021 by barczablog

Do you ever watch American Idol? I’d say it’s the best reality tv that you can find, unless you prefer one of the other performance shows where people sing or dance. There are really two parts to it. At the … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Politics, Popular music & culture | Tagged :Lionel Ritchie, American Idol, Angel Blue, Chilina Kennedy, Eric McCormack, Eric Owens, Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, Paula Abdul | Leave a comment

Mr Smith wasn’t Born Yesterday

Posted on April 4, 2021 by barczablog

TV programming sometimes brings us serendipitous discoveries. TCM’s Good Friday offering was Mr Smith Goes to Washington. This morning we watched Born Yesterday. I never noticed how many similarities there are between the two films. An innocent recently come to … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Personal ruminations & essays, Politics, Popular music & culture, Spirituality & Religion | Tagged Born Yesterday, Erin O'Toole, Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, Mr Smith Goes to Washington, The Simpsons | Leave a comment