Category Archives: Reviews

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

The Batman commodity

Posted on March 13, 2022 by barczablog

The other night when I saw Cyrano at my local Scarborough CINEPLEX, I made it a double feature, because they had only one showing that was to begin at 10:45 p.m. I filled the time before Cyrano watching The Batman, … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Reviews | Tagged Batman Returns, Christopher Nolan, Cineplex, commodity, Frank Zappa, IMAX, Joel Schumacher, Matt Reeves, popularity, The Batman, Tim Burton | Leave a comment

Kindred Spirits Orchestra– Enigma Variations

Posted on March 13, 2022 by barczablog

Last night I heard Kindred Spirits Orchestra playing at the Richmond Hill Centre, led by their conductor Kristian Alexander with piano soloist Naomi Wong. From outside it looks nice enough.. I forget the beauty of this space, until I enter. … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged Edward Elgar, Frederic Chopin, Kindred Spirits Orchestra, Kristian Alexander, Lieutenant Kije Suite, Naomi Wong, Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts, Sergei Prokofiev | Leave a comment

The Cyrano you’re unlikely to see

Posted on March 9, 2022 by barczablog

Cyrano de Bergerac is the name of Edmond Rostand’s play directed by Chris Abraham, set to open at the Shaw Festival in a couple of weeks. But that same 19th century play is the basis for a new film named … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Cinema, video & DVDs, Dance, theatre & musicals, Press Releases and Announcements, Reviews | Tagged Chris Abraham, Cineplex, Claude Debussy, Cyrano, Cyrano de Bergerac, Edmond Rostand, Erica Schmidt, Haley Bennett, Joe Wright, Le tombeau de Couperin, Maurice Ravel, Peter Dinklage, Project Gutenberg, Roxanne, Shaw Festival | Leave a comment

The Princess Bride at the TSO

Posted on March 5, 2022 by barczablog

The Princess Bride is showing at Roy Thomson Hall, accompanied by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra who play the accompaniment live. It’s the perfect film for 2022. How? It features a tyrannical villain who lies shamelessly, just like certain people we … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged Fred Savage, Lucas Waldin, Mark Knopfler, Maurice Ravel, Modest Mussorgsky, Peter Falk, The Princess Bride, Toronto Symphony Orchestra | Leave a comment

Gimeno, Schumann’s Spring, Pal’s Scylla at the TSO

Posted on February 6, 2022 by barczablog

What an unusual night for the Toronto Symphony. It’s 11:20 pm as I begin to write this, recalling the headline on CP24 (a picture I snapped at 4:33 pm) about Toronto’s downtown, that says “BREAKING: Traffic is gridlocked in much … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Music and musicology, Reviews | Tagged CP24, Gordon Wolfe, Gustavo Gimeno, Harold in Italy, Hector Berlioz, Jordan Pal, Ludwig van Beethoven, Robert Schumann, Roy Thomson Hall, Scylla, Toronto Symphony Orchestra | Leave a comment

A gift from Mel Brooks

Posted on December 21, 2021 by barczablog

It’s been a brutal week of artistic companies facing eviction, shows postponed or cancelled on both side of the Atlantic, an upward spiral of statistics inspiring the panicky pursuit of boosters, masks and safety. It’s not what you expect in … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Cinema, video & DVDs, Popular music & culture, Reviews | Tagged Mel Brooks | Leave a comment

2021 TSO Messiah

Posted on December 16, 2021 by barczablog

As Kevin Bazzana observes in his Toronto Symphony Orchestra program note, “there is no one definitive Messiah.” It’s an ironic turn of phrase considering the religious implications one might give that phrase. Indeed when I look at the bizarre mockeries … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews, Spirituality & Religion | Tagged Anna-Sophie Neher, George Frideric Handel, Messiah, Rihab Chaieb, Roy Thomson Hall, Simon Rivard, Spencer Britten, Stephen Hegedus, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Toronto Symphony Orchestra | 2 Comments

Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun

Posted on December 12, 2021 by barczablog

This is more appreciation than review. If you’ve never seen a Wes Anderson film this will read differently than to those familiar with his style. The title, subject and structure of Wes Anderson’s film The French Dispatch of the Liberty, … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Architecture & Design, Cinema, video & DVDs, Popular music & culture, Reviews | Tagged Asteroid City, Bottle Rocket, Fantastic Mr Fox, Grand Budapest Hotel, Isle of Dogs, Moonrise Kingdom, Rushmore, The Darjeeling Limited, The French Dispatch, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Royal Tenenbaums, Wes Anderson | 1 Comment