Category Archives: Popular music & culture

Maus in the haus: Art Spiegelman retrospective at AGO

Posted on December 19, 2014 by barczablog

I saw Art Spiegelman interviewed at the media preview for his retrospective at the Art Gallery of Ontario.  I suppose if I were like a typical critic I’d just start talking without a preamble, because (nervous cough) everyone knows his … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Personal ruminations & essays, Popular music & culture, Reviews | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Social media and performance: bane or boon?

Posted on November 19, 2014 by barczablog

To tweet or not to tweet: that is the question. Saturday night at the Tapestry Briefs performance, Artistic Director Michael Mori invited the audience to employ social media, to post to Facebook or to tweet.  He even gave us the … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Popular music & culture | 8 Comments

Stewart Goodyear and Czerny’s four boxes

Posted on November 13, 2014 by barczablog

Do you read liner notes?  I always begin to do so.  If there’s something of substance, not only do I read them but I cherish them, making them part of the big conversation that is the work of art.  Nothing … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Personal ruminations & essays, Popular music & culture | Leave a comment

Factory Theatre vs the critics

Posted on September 27, 2014 by barczablog

For the second consecutive year, Factory Theatre is in the news.  Last year it was the controversy around its leadership.   That’s ancient history now. This time it’s an announcement, that critics aren’t invited until the show has already been on … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Popular music & culture | 2 Comments

The Coffee Mill and old Yorkville: multiculturalism & a changing city

Posted on August 30, 2014 by barczablog

When I saw the piece earlier this week in the Toronto Star about the impending closure of The Coffee Mill, I knew I had to go one last time. Tonight four of us went for a last nostalgic whiff, even … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Architecture & Design, Food, Health and Nutrition, Popular music & culture, Reviews | 2 Comments

Autocorrected

Posted on August 23, 2014 by barczablog

Tonight I saw Love in the Age of AutoCorrect, a Loose TEA Music Theatre adaptation of Stravinsky’s Mavra and Mozart’s Bastien and Bastienne on the Terrace of Atelier Rosemarie Umetsu. I’m trying to catch up (the world is changing, right?  … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Popular music & culture, Reviews | 1 Comment

My eyes are bigger than my stomach

Posted on August 9, 2014 by barczablog

I have reading to do. Do you ever go to a bookstore and get carried away with what you see? Of course with a bookstore there’s no time-limit. You can buy books that you read this week, or this year, … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Cinema, video & DVDs, Music and musicology, Opera, Popular music & culture, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Ten Questions for Hugh Ritchie

Posted on July 10, 2014 by barczablog

I first met Hugh Ritchie at Ryerson this winter, where we worked together on an adaptation of Dickens’ Martin Chuzzlewit. At one point in the show he was all pastoral Americana, singing a down-home “Little Brown Jug”, even though he … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Interviews, Music and musicology, Politics, Popular music & culture | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

From the Closet

Posted on June 29, 2014 by barczablog

We were planning to watch the HBO production Behind The Candelabra (2013), the film about Liberace’s love affair that stars Michael Douglas & Matt Damon.  It’s not just a coincidence that it’s Pride Weekend.  I was so captivated by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Politics, Popular music & culture, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Yapping dog

Posted on June 6, 2014 by barczablog

I m far away. Far from home. Far from work.  I’m on vacation, musing about where this compulsive blogging fits in. Everything in a blog is necessarily about the person writing. Sure, the topic may be foreign cars or foreign … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, domestic & wild, Music and musicology, Opera, Popular music & culture, Psychology and perception | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment