Category Archives: Reviews

Candide with the Toronto Symphony: using our imaginations

Posted on April 27, 2018 by barczablog

Tonight was the first of two concert performances of Candide presented by the Toronto Symphony at Roy Thomson Hall in the worldwide celebration of Leonard Bernstein’s centennial year. Earlier this week Joseph So was rapturous in his description of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Ulysses comes home

Posted on April 22, 2018 by barczablog

Opera Atelier’s Revival of Monteverdi’s The Return of Ulysses (1640) starts slowly but builds to a strong finish.  By intermission I had enjoyed a few moments (Kresimir Spicer in the title role and Mireille Lebel as Penelope, and Meghan Lindsay … Continue reading →

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I love dogs & The Post

Posted on April 21, 2018 by barczablog

Living through the daily assault upon one’s sensibility leads one to take protective measures.  Whatever does get you through the night? I vacillate between truth and escapism. Truth consists of various sorts of political content, whether on a news network … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, domestic & wild, Cinema, video & DVDs, Politics, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Nightingale is back

Posted on April 15, 2018 by barczablog

There’s another signature production for the Canadian Opera Company.  At one time it was Robert Lepage’s double bill of Bluebeard’s Castle & Erwartung but I think a more recent Lepage opus has at least joined it, if not taken its … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | 1 Comment

Yom HaShoah: Holocaust Remembrance at the RBA

Posted on April 11, 2018 by barczablog

It’s interesting that on consecutive days, the Canadian Opera Company gave their noon-hour concert in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre over to a performance resembling an act of remembrance. Yesterday was Jeremy Dutcher’s concert, in which he seemed to address the … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Politics, Reviews, Spirituality & Religion | 1 Comment

Mixie and the Halfbreeds

Posted on April 8, 2018 by barczablog

My visit to the eye doctor today reminds me that when all’s said and done I must look at the world through my own lens. I was at the theatre tonight to see Mixie and the Halfbreeds by Julie Tamiko … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Politics, Reviews | Leave a comment

Tafelmusik Bach Mass in B Minor

Posted on April 6, 2018 by barczablog

Tonight I heard the first of five performances to be given of JS Bach’s Mass in B Minor by Tafelmusik (four at Jeanne Lamon Hall in Trinity St Paul’s Centre, April 5-8 inclusive, and one more at the George Weston … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | 6 Comments

The Overcoat: a musical tailoring

Posted on March 30, 2018 by barczablog

I’ve just seen the premiere of a new opera from James Rolfe & Morris Panych adapting Gogol’s story “The Overcoat”. There’s much to admire, and frankly I feel like saying “it’s about time.” Opera is often bogged down in virtuoso … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | 2 Comments

Davies’ Ecstasy of Rita Joe

Posted on March 26, 2018 by barczablog

I’ve just seen Victor Davies’ adaptation of George Ryga’s 1967 play The Ecstasy of Rita Joe, a very faithful treatment of Ryga’s work, the world premiere production in Toronto. As a result we’re in a funny place culturally with this … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Politics, Reviews | 3 Comments

Jaws live with the TSO: not the same

Posted on March 24, 2018 by barczablog

Every time I’ve seen one of these live Toronto Symphony showings of a classic film + film-score, I’ve had some remarkable experiences complete with insights, and tonight’s showing of Jaws was no different. The phrase that keeps running through my … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Music and musicology, Reviews | Leave a comment