Category Archives: Reviews

Witnessing the birth of romanticism with young Werther

Posted on May 10, 2026 by barczablog

Excuse me as I gush. I love the new Canadian Opera Company production of Werther, featuring some of the best singing we’ve heard in years. I want people to come see this opera, so that the COC decides to do … Continue reading →

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Symbolist cicadas probing underneath

Posted on May 8, 2026 by barczablog

If you think the headline is cryptic, you should see the play. I saw the World Premiere of cicadas, a new work that I understand as an elaboration upon a radio play, a Tarragon Theatre and NAC English Theatre Co-Production … Continue reading →

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Best Toronto Symphony concert of the season

Posted on May 1, 2026 by barczablog

So far so good. I knew I was going to like this concert because they were playing pieces I liked. I did not expect this to be the best concert of the season. As we go into the month of … Continue reading →

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The ambiguous virtuosity of La Maupin

Posted on April 30, 2026 by barczablog

La Maupin is the title of a new opera produced on film concerning a mythological person of ambiguous gender who may have existed. The historical figure is so interesting, you’d have to invent someone like this if she were not … Continue reading →

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History captured in Toronto Beach Chorale’s Carmina Burana

Posted on April 28, 2026 by barczablog

My daughter and I joined an overflowing crowd eager to hear Toronto Beach Chorale with Mississauga Chamber Singers and their guests in a jam-packed Kingston Road United Church. The short pieces in the first half of the concert with introductory … Continue reading →

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Tragedy of Hamlet: Prince of Denmark from Shakespeare, Lepage, Côté and Gzowski

Posted on April 26, 2026 by barczablog

The run is so brief as to make this review seem pointless. Friday night I saw the opening of the Tragedy of Hamlet: Prince of Denmark. My blog may be done by Saturday, but anyone seeing a weekend showing already … Continue reading →

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She Holds up the Stars from Red Sky & Toronto Symphony

Posted on April 20, 2026 by barczablog

In a week of adaptations, the trip to Roy Thomson Hall to see & hear the world premiere of She Holds Up the Stars from the Toronto Symphony & Red Sky Performance on Sunday April 19th was a fabulous case … Continue reading →

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Opera Atelier present their new Pelléas et Mélisande

Posted on April 16, 2026 by barczablog

Wednesday night saw the premiere of Pelléas et Mélisande in a new orchestration by Christopher Bagan, conducted by David Fallis at Koerner Hall. Opera Atelier commissioned Bagan to reduce the scope of Debussy’s opera from a post-Wagnerian orchestra (70 + … Continue reading →

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Toronto Symphony play Béla Bartók’s Miraculous Mandarin

Posted on April 12, 2026 by barczablog

Toronto Symphony recently released their third Harmonia Mundi live recording, captured from performances 21-23 November 2024 at Roy Thomson Hall, featuring two works by Béla Bartók (1881-1945) plus a piece by Canadian Emilie Cecilia LeBel. Roy Thomson Hall’s acoustics seem … Continue reading →

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Tafelmusik present Influencers without shoehorns or pigeonholes

Posted on April 11, 2026 by barczablog

Influencers is the anachronistic title for Tafelmusik’s concert program this week at Jeanne Lamon Hall. I’m reminded of the way Richard Strauss put Viennese waltzes into Der Rosenkavalier, a modern dance-form that didn’t really fit the time of the story, … Continue reading →

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