Category Archives: Reviews

Mind-boggling Mother of Us All

Posted on May 23, 2022 by barczablog

It was excellent, this Canadian premiere of The Mother of Us All, Virgil Thomson’s setting of Gertrude Stein’s poetic libretto. The opera tells us about Susan B Anthony starring Meghan Lindsay in the title role, presented under the auspices of … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Alfred Hitchcock, Daniel Webster, Dion Mazerolle, Evan Korbut, Gertrude Stein, Guillermo Silva-Marin, Holly Chaplin, Joshua Clemenger, Kate Carver, Madeline Cooper, Meghan Lindsay, Robert Cooper, Stewart Hamilton, Susan B Anthony, Virgil Thomson, Voicebox Opera in Concert | 2 Comments

Gimeno + Hannigan = Ear-candy

Posted on May 20, 2022 by barczablog

It was a splendid formula. Far be it from me to propose something as reductive as math in the headline, only that the concert is titled “Gimeno + Hannigan”, which is certainly a quick overview. Between them Gustavo Gimeno and … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged Barbara Hannigan, Gustavo Gimeno, Igor Stravinsky, Julia Mermelstein, Tash Aw, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Zosha Di Castri | 1 Comment

Kyle’s Campy Conan

Posted on May 14, 2022 by barczablog

Erika and I went to see Conan and the Stone of Kelior tonight. It’s the last night of the run of the pasticcio opera from Kyle McDonald at Alumnae Theatre. There’s a final matinee Sunday that I would have attended … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Reviews | 3 Comments

Magic Flute revival

Posted on May 12, 2022 by barczablog

This is the third time in roughly a decade for the Canadian Opera Company to offer the Diane Paulus Magic Flute, with its meta-theatrical approach employing flamboyant visuals, from set and costume designer Myung Hee Cho. I hope I can … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | Tagged Anna-Sophie Neher, Caroline Wettergreen, David Leigh, Diane Paulus, Gordon Bintner, Michael Colvin, Midori Marsh, Patrick Lange, Russell Braun, The Magic Flute | Leave a comment

Good news COC Traviata

Posted on May 8, 2022 by barczablog

When Perryn Leech the Canadian Opera Company general director came out before the performance of La Traviata last night, it was the first time I’d seen him in person, after several messages in the virtual world. He spoke briefly to … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Arin Arbus, Cait O'Connor, Canadian Opera Company, Giuseppe Verdi, Johannes Debus, Perryn Leech | Leave a comment

Virtual Bach

Posted on May 7, 2022 by barczablog

While I hoped to go to Tafelmusik’s presentation of the Bach B-minor Mass Thursday night in Massey Hall it was not to be. I was still testing positive for COVID. Instead Friday night I chose to watch a live concert … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged Joanne Lunn, Jonathan Adams, JS Bach, Masaaki Suzuki, Massey Hall, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Tafelmusik Chamber Choir, Thomas Hobbs, Tim Mead | Leave a comment

Italian Mime Preview

Posted on April 22, 2022 by barczablog

I was at the preview of Italian Mime Suicide from Bad New Days, co-directed by Kari Pederson and Adam Paolozza. It’s short but intense, part lecture, part performance, sometimes serious sometimes funny. No question about it, I’m out of practice, … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, domestic & wild, Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Popular music & culture, Reviews | Tagged Adam Paolozza, Arif Mirabdolbaghi, Bad New Days, CAMH, Cheldon Paterson, Domenick Argento, Electric Messiah, Ericka Leobrera, Federico Fellini, Georges Melies, Italian Mime Suicide, Mime, mimesis, My Favorite Year, Nicholas Eddie, Postcard from Morocco, Rob Feetham, SlowPitchSound, Wim Wenders, Wings of Desire | Leave a comment

Truth in our Time—NACO

Posted on March 31, 2022 by barczablog

It’s an ambitious package, this National Arts Centre Orchestra Tour. There’s a world premiere of a Philip Glass symphony, commissioned by the family of newsman Peter Jennings, and three other works collected around the idea of “truth in our time”, … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Alexander Shelley, Blake Pouliot, Dimitri Shostakovich, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Nicole Lizée, Peter Jennings, Philip Glass, Roy Thomson Hall, Zeiss After Dark | 2 Comments

Florence: The Lady with The Lamp

Posted on March 28, 2022 by barczablog

Opera in Concert resumed live performance Sunday afternoon with their first of Three Extraordinary Women, namely Florence: the Lady with the Lamp, composed by Timothy Sullivan and with libretto by Anne Mcpherson, an interesting balance between the contemporary and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | Tagged Crimean War, Danlie Rae Acebuque, Florence Nightingale, Guillermo Silva-Marin, Lauren Pearl, Opera in Concert, Robert Cooper, Ryan Downey, Sandra Horst | Leave a comment

Composers dissing composers

Posted on March 21, 2022 by barczablog

Earlier today I commented on John Gilks’ post about The Lion Heart a new opera by Corey Arnold and Kyle McDonald that received its world premiere in a semi-staged production this past weekend. Near the end of his review John … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Conversations with Tom Service, Corey Arnold, Elektra, Felix Mendelssohn, Giacomo Meyerbeer, John Gilks, Kyle McDonald, Opera and Drama, operaramblings, Pelleas et Melisande, Richard Wagner, The Lion Heart, Thomas Ades | 6 Comments