Category Archives: Reviews

Nuts for Stewart Goodyear’s Nutcracker

Posted on December 2, 2015 by barczablog

I was never koo-koo for Coco-puffs, but the headline ambushed me as I sat listening, enthralled.  If it sounds childish, that might give you some idea of how this recording moves me.  I associate Nutcracker –the ballet, and the score– … Continue reading →

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Two Peters and The Wolf, with a little help from Rick Mercer

Posted on November 27, 2015 by barczablog

Over $50,000 was raised at the first Toronto Symphony benefit for Sick Kids Hospital, likely to be an annual affair. The TSO put on a brilliant show.  There were two Peters, both the fictional one in the Prokofiev story and … Continue reading →

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OSM: was it good for you?

Posted on November 26, 2015 by barczablog

I could use technical jargon, I could be very polite, OR I can simply tell the story as my viscera understood it. L’Orchestra Symphonique de Montréal—aka “OSM”—came to Toronto led by their music director Kent Nagano to play at Roy … Continue reading →

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Tap: Ex METALLURGY: Visigoths in the Cathedral

Posted on November 20, 2015 by barczablog

While all roads may once have led to Rome, in the Canadian opera world, all roads seem to begin with Tapestry and artistic director Michael Hidetoshi Mori, whose visionary ideas are like seeds sown onto the blank staff paper of … Continue reading →

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CanStage / Soundstreams Julie: so old yet so new

Posted on November 18, 2015 by barczablog

Tonight I saw the North American debut of Philippe Boesmans’ opera Julie in a joint production of Soundstreams and Canadian Stage, at the Bluma Appel Theatre, a triumphant opening in front of a full house.  You might want to attribute … Continue reading →

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Mahler’s decade

Posted on November 13, 2015 by barczablog

Michael Sanderling led the Toronto Symphony in a program of works from the first decade of the twentieth century featuring soprano Simone Osborne. We heard a diverse assortment of musical styles represented even though the works have a few things … Continue reading →

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CASP: The Living Spectacle

Posted on November 8, 2015 by barczablog

(The) Canadian Art Song Project aim to explore the art song in all its manifestations.  Tonight CASP took a bold new step in the first in a new series of recitals.  “The Living Spectacle”, the first work on tonight’s program, … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Reviews | 5 Comments

Mr Turner: painter, paintings, movie

Posted on November 7, 2015 by barczablog

There is a scene in the first half hour of Mike Leigh’s recent film Mr Turner, juxtaposing the creative ambitions of amateurs and professionals. We see Timothy Spall as Turner, greeting a noble on his estate. Another person –likely another … Continue reading →

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Hart House Hamlet

Posted on November 5, 2015 by barczablog

I’ve been going to Hart House Theatre for a very long time, going back to my own participation as an undergrad in another century, a place for ambitious productions, a less-than-ideal space built in a lovely old building full of … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Reviews, University life | 2 Comments

Explosive Trouble with Mr. Adams

Posted on October 31, 2015 by barczablog

What is the trouble with Mr. Adams? Nothing we haven’t seen before. As it’s summarized on the Tarragon Theatre website “The Trouble With Mr Adams is a “brand new play from Tarragon Playwright-in-Residence Gord Rand’ [that] exposes the male mid-life … Continue reading →

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