Category Archives: Reviews

Ideal Pyramus and Thisbe

Posted on October 25, 2015 by barczablog

There are several ways to approach opera composition & opera production. I would like to propose that there might be a polarity we could imagine between extremes, given that at least one of those options is entirely in the mind. … Continue reading →

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Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Mahler 10

Posted on October 24, 2015 by barczablog

I will put aside the question of the new Orchestre Métropolitain recording of Mahler’s 10th Symphony (Deryck Cooke version) for the moment, to talk about Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who conducts. Is Nézet-Séguin the most successful conductor Canada has ever produced? That … Continue reading →

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The erotic agonies of Armide 2.0

Posted on October 23, 2015 by barczablog

Opera Atelier opened their 30th anniversary season with their latest take on Lully’s 17th century masterpiece Armide. They’ve done the work before, the greatest opera you’ve never seen.  Perhaps it isn’t performed as frequently as it deserves, but it is … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | 3 Comments

Tragic Canadians in Traviata

Posted on October 17, 2015 by barczablog

I had a second look at Arin Arbus’ production of Verdi’s La traviata for the Canadian Opera Company with a few cast changes. At the centre of this world is Joyce El-Khoury in the title role, opposite Andrew Haji as … Continue reading →

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COC traviata and the three faces of Violetta

Posted on October 9, 2015 by barczablog

I witnessed something rare and wonderful at the opening of the Canadian Opera Company’s la traviata at the Four Seasons Centre tonight. It’s almost impossible to do justice to the role of Violetta that Verdi created in his adaptation of … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | 6 Comments

Hannigan conducts the Toronto Symphony

Posted on October 8, 2015 by barczablog

Soprano Barbara Hannigan is also Conductor Barbara Hannigan.  We knew she could sing. Tonight she sang and conducted the Toronto Symphony, her first time conducting an orchestra in North America.  This wasn’t just a concert to enable her to plant the … Continue reading →

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

Still Alice’s Alzheimer’s

Posted on October 3, 2015 by barczablog

There’s a film from a few years ago called Away From Her, starring Gordon Pinsent & Julie Christie. IMDB tells me it was made in 2006. I waited quite awhile to see it because the subject was very close to … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Personal ruminations & essays, Psychology and perception, Reviews | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Soundstreams: Beyond the Aria but not beyond Virtuosity

Posted on September 30, 2015 by barczablog

Tonight in a Soundstreams concert titled “Adrianne Pieczonka: Beyond the Aria” we saw and heard two great operatic artists go beyond their usual boundaries, using their instruments in unexpected ways.  Soprano Pieczonka was joined by mezzo-soprano Kristina Szabó in a … Continue reading →

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Love Shards of Sappho at RBA

Posted on September 29, 2015 by barczablog

Today’s free noon-hour concert in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre (the upper lobby of the Four Seasons Centre) offered a rich pairing of matched works, presented by the Array Ensemble & a pair of sopranos.  Today feels especially like a preparation … Continue reading →

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

Thoughts of youth and mentorship open Toronto Symphony’s 2015-16 season

Posted on September 25, 2015 by barczablog

One of my favourite things about Toronto Symphony concerts is the steady stream of gratitude in the speeches that usually precede performances.  While opening night may be weighed down with ritual, the language was sincere, tonight’s season opener at Roy … Continue reading →

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