Category Archives: Reviews

Divergent objectives from TSO

Posted on June 12, 2016 by barczablog

For awhile now the Toronto Symphony has been offering a series of concerts organized around ten-year periods of history, in other words, their Decades Project. Some have been more illuminating than others, but for me tonight’s pairing was especially powerful, … Continue reading →

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Good-time Fledermaus from Opera 5

Posted on June 10, 2016 by barczablog

Let’s set aside the yard-sticks of excellence that critics use.  I went to see Die Fledermaus tonight in its new immersive Opera 5 Production. Although I was the designated driver I was totally immersed. It was fun even though I … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | 1 Comment

Tapestry’s Winner

Posted on May 28, 2016 by barczablog

The DH Lawrence short story The Rocking Horse Winner is a recognizable image of modern life. I’m sad to say that I know people like this mother for whom no amount of money is ever enough, whose son’s mysterious gift … Continue reading →

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Popular genius: John Williams as seen by Steven Reineke

Posted on May 18, 2016 by barczablog

It shouldn’t surprise anyone to hear that tonight’s season-concluding Toronto Symphony Pops Concert, featuring the film music of John Williams conducted by Steven Reineke, played to a full house clamoring for more. And yet I was surprised.  Film music is … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Music and musicology, Reviews | 1 Comment

Cozy Fantastic

Posted on May 14, 2016 by barczablog

I knew how it was going to work. I resisted and was still swept away by the conceptual brilliance of A Little too Cozy, Against the Grain’s latest transladaptation. Don’t let the word scare you, it merely means something that … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Popular music & culture, Reviews | 4 Comments

Lisiecki’s pianism: Chopin plays Schumann

Posted on May 10, 2016 by barczablog

In the film Impromptu we get interesting close-up looks at the personal lives of Chopin, Georges Sand, Liszt, Delacroix and a host of others.  At one point we see Liszt & Chopin playing a Beethoven transcription together, a fascinating thought … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | 1 Comment

Braid or CASP at RBA

Posted on May 5, 2016 by barczablog

Art-song?  The concept didn’t immediately blow me away as a child growing up in the same house with an opera singer, craving the full-out commitment of opera.  The pleasures on record were sometimes esoteric and fleeting.  I think I grew … Continue reading →

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Ambitious TSO program

Posted on May 5, 2016 by barczablog

It wasn’t at all what I expected, this Toronto Symphony program of Beethoven, Brahms and Adams, to be taken on a Canadian tour this weekend (Ottawa Saturday and Montreal Sunday). Peter Oundjian did tell us that it’s unusual to program … Continue reading →

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Maometto II, Conquerer

Posted on May 2, 2016 by barczablog

That was a fast three hours and twenty minutes. While I expected Maometto II, the Rossini opera presented by the Canadian Opera Company at the Four Seasons Centre, to be full of spectacular singing, I did not expect to be … Continue reading →

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Lucretia’s Rape: “Is it all”?

Posted on May 1, 2016 by barczablog

If you go see a show and it mystifies you, thank God for the internet to answer questions. And that’s the last thing I’ll say in this review that sounds even a little bit reverent. When I was a young … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | 3 Comments