Category Archives: Reviews

Tapestry Briefs

Posted on September 21, 2013 by barczablog

Back i go to the laboratory. A couple of nights ago I wrote about YouTopia and spoke of the virtues of experimentation. The Tapestry Briefs are a dozen short works from a handful of collaborators who were paired off for … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Tafelmusik Beethoven 1 & 2

Posted on September 20, 2013 by barczablog

Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra could drop the word “baroque” if they wanted.  Tonight I heard more evidence that they can play just about anything. Their program was all Beethoven, namely the first and second symphonies, plus the overture to Creatures of … Continue reading →

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YouTopia

Posted on September 13, 2013 by barczablog

Tonight at a performance of Bruce Barton’s YouTopia I was reminded of the difference between the mandate of University of Toronto’s “Drama Centre” (recently renamed “Centre for Drama, Theatre & Performance Studies”) and various theatre schools such as Ryerson or … Continue reading →

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

Believe It

Posted on September 8, 2013 by barczablog

In The Greatest Story Ever Told, an assortment of Hollywood icons share the screen with lesser known talent, to give the audience a well-known tale.  Some of the film works, while other parts are wooden, especially because we’re so busy … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Filet of Carmen

Posted on September 7, 2013 by barczablog

Considering that the heroine of Bizet’s opera usually ends up stabbed, I want to make clear that the headline refers to Peter Brook’s La Tragédie de Carmen, a much shorter version of the original, and not the violence meted out … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Histories

Posted on September 5, 2013 by barczablog

As I revised the outline for “The Most Popular Operas” (a course I teach here at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies, beginning September 18th), I was asked as usual to recommend books. I used to suggest Roger … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Opera, Personal ruminations & essays, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Adam Klein – Winterreise

Posted on August 26, 2013 by barczablog

On his Vimeo webpage Eric Solstein says  “This amazing performance by Adam Klein & Craig Ketter of the Schubert song cycle will be the soundtrack to a film I’m just finishing. It’s too powerful not to be available on its … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Dark Blue Jasmine

Posted on August 25, 2013 by barczablog

I went into a theatre expecting brilliance from Cate Blanchett, and was blind-sided by Woody Allen’s politics.  But maybe that was to be expected. I keep finding politics everywhere I turn.  Maybe it’s me (and the political focus of what … Continue reading →

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Jobs

Posted on August 18, 2013 by barczablog

Jobs is Steve Jobs, one of the founders of Apple.  While Steve Wozniak may have been the better programmer/designer, Jobs was a visionary. I can’t help recalling The Social Network, the film that told us about Mark Zuckerberg’s brainchild Facebook.  … Continue reading →

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Elysium

Posted on August 17, 2013 by barczablog

Neill Blomkamp’s District 9 (2009) is the most original film I’ve seen in a long time, a mash-up of science fiction tropes and some very political elements.  I wrote about it in passing in a long rambling essay (long even … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Personal ruminations & essays, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment