Category Archives: Reviews

Tafelmusik Brandenburgs

Posted on January 30, 2026 by barczablog

I saw & heard an astonishing concert last night at Jeanne Lamon Hall from Tafelmusik playing a program of well-known music by Johann Sebastian Bach. I heard four of the six Brandenburg concertos and a version of his majestic E-flat … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged Arnold Schoenberg, Brandenburg Concertos, Carl Morey, Dominic Teresi, Ferruccio Busoni, Genevieve Gilardeau, Helmut Walcha, Jeanne Lamon Hall, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johanna Novom, JS Bach, Kathryn Montoya, Keiran Campbell, Margaret Day, Micajah Sturgess, Michael Unterman, piccolo violin, Rachel Podger, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Todd Williams, transcription, Voyager | Leave a comment

A Rigoletto for our time

Posted on January 29, 2026 by barczablog

The Canadian Opera Company are reviving the Christopher Alden Rigoletto, last seen in 2018 and first seen here in 2011. I have always been conflicted about it, a production that in some ways shows the real story that composer Giuseppe … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | Tagged Ben Bliss, Canadian Opera Company, Christopher Alden, Four Seasons Centre, Franceso Maria Piave, Giuseppe Verdi, Johannes Debus, Quinn Kelsey, Rigoletto, Sarah Dufresne, Simone Genga, Zoie Reams | Leave a comment

Toronto Operetta Theatre’s Czardas Princess starts the New Year

Posted on January 5, 2026 by barczablog

Toronto Operetta Theatre began the new year of 2026 looking over their shoulders with a romance that had its premiere over a century ago in Vienna: Imre Kálmán’s Czardas Princess. We went on the weekend sitting among a boisterously enthusiastic … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Czardas Princess, Derek Bate, Guillermo Silva-Marin, Imre Kalman, Janus, Johann Strauss Jr, Maeve Palmer, Patricia Wrigglesworth, Scott Rumble, Sebastien Belcourt, Toronto Operetta Theatre, TOT | Leave a comment

Tafelmusik Messiah sounds new through the drama of live performance

Posted on December 20, 2025 by barczablog

While there’s something comforting in being able to return to a classic text year after year, I always hope to find ways to make it a fresh experience. Tafelmusik’s first 2025 Messiah on Thursday December 18th at Koerner Hall had … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged Baroque, Benjamin Done, classical-music, George Frideric Handel, Handel, Ivars Taurins, Jonathan Woody, Kathryn James Adduci, Koerner Hall, Krisztina Szabó, Massey Hall, Messiah, music, Nicholas Scott, opera, Singalong, Stefanie True, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Tafelmusik Chamber Choir | 2 Comments

Double Dixit delivers

Posted on November 29, 2025 by barczablog

This week Tafelmusik’s Chamber Choir began their season with a concert titled Double Dixit, a wonderful warm-up for the Messiah, coming in three weeks. The singers in that choir are professionals at the highest level, among the best soloists collected … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged adaptation, Agostino Steffani, Antonio Lotti, Dixit Dominus, Double Dixit, George Frideric Handel, Ivars Taurins, Kate Helsen, Messiah, Tafelmusik Chamber Choir, Turner Classic Movies | 1 Comment

Discovering the brilliant virtuoso Tony Siqi Yun

Posted on November 24, 2025 by barczablog

“I am a lucky guy.” That’s my mantra as a person seeking to live a life of gratitude: and sometimes it has proven to be true. My friends Gary & Bill left town for a family bris, giving me tickets … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged classical-music, Ferruccio Busoni, Franz Liszt, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, JS Bach, Koerner Hall, Luciano Berio, piano, Tony Siqi Yun, Tony Yun, Wasserklavier | Leave a comment

Voicebox Opera in Concert’s Canadian premiere of Richard Coeur-de-Lion

Posted on November 16, 2025 by barczablog

Today I witnessed the Canadian premiere of André Grétry’s Richard Coeur-de-Lion, presented by Voicebox: Opera in Concert at the Jeanne Lamon Hall. Colin Ainsworth was singing the title role, but was indisposed, courageously singing the role but often dropping to … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | Tagged Alice Macgregor, André Grétry, classical-music, Colin Ainsworth, Diane Loeb, Fidelio, Guillermo Silva-Marin, Jeanne Lamon Hall, Madeline Cooper, music, Nicole Katerberg, Opera in Concert Chorus, rescue opera, Richard Coeur-de-Lion, Robert Cooper, Suzy Smith, Taylor Gibbs, Voicebox Opera in Concert, Yannik Gosselin | Leave a comment

Mendelssohn Choir — Brahms German Requiem

Posted on November 9, 2025 by barczablog

Friday night Toronto Mendelssohn Choir & Musicians of Kitchener – Waterloo Symphony presented Brahms German Requiem in a sold out Koerner Hall to rapturous applause. I had been initially concerned that this massive work employing a big choir & orchestra … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Architecture & Design, Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged A German Requiem, As I Lay Sleeping, chamber orchestra, Charlotte Siegel, classical-music, composition, Ein deutsches Requiem, Jean-Sébastien Vallée, Joachim Linckelmann, Johannes Brahms, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Koerner Hall, orchestration, R Murray Schafer, Russell Braun, Stephanie Martin, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Vanessa McKernan | Leave a comment

The Far Side of the Moon takes us into Robert Lepage

Posted on November 2, 2025 by barczablog

If you are a fan of theatrical presentations, brilliant design and innovative stage techniques you must get a ticket to see Far Side of the Moon by Robert Lepage / Ex Machina at the Bluma Appel Theatre until November 16th. … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Reviews | Tagged Bluma Appel Theatre, Ex Machina, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Laurie Anderson, Olivier Normand, Robert Lepage, space elevator, space flight, The Far Side of the Moon | 5 Comments

Mikado worthy of revisit

Posted on October 27, 2025 by barczablog

I took Erika to see the Toronto Operetta Theatre’s The Mikado Revisited at the Jane Mallett Sunday afternoon, wanting to escape from the world. Other than the usual topical jokes (and what’s Gilbert & Sullivan without references to current events) … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Gilbert and Sullivan, Gregory Finney, Guillermo Silva-Marin, Jane Mallett Theatre, Karen Bojti, Madeline Cooper, Marcus Tranquilli, Narmina Afandiyeva, Stuart Graham, Toronto Operetta Theatre | 1 Comment