Category Archives: Reviews

Wallis Giunta Sins

Posted on March 24, 2013 by barczablog

When is a recital not a recital?  Perhaps when its materials and its assembly begin to outgrow that narrow definition, to resemble something bigger and more exciting; so it would seem on the basis of Wallis Giunta’s program Sunday March … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Serendipitous Poulenc

Posted on March 23, 2013 by barczablog

The mind sometimes makes patterns out of the chaos of the programming around us.  Lately it’s been Francis Poulenc: March 1st Isabel Bayrakdarian programmed the boisterous Le bal masqué, a work I’d studied a very long time ago  …look at Poulenc’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

So far so Cracked

Posted on March 20, 2013 by barczablog

CBC has a new television series called Cracked.  “Cherry Blossoms”, the ninth episode of the new series aired last night, while “The Thump Parade”, episode #8 aired last week. Over the years, CBC have had regular TV series, some identified as … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Two Weddings & a Funeral

Posted on March 16, 2013 by barczablog

2013 is not even one quarter gone yet already I’m sure we’ve seen the cleverest title to promote a pair of one-act operas (partly because they don’t exactly grow on trees).  Essential Opera’s  program is called Two Weddings and a Funeral. … Continue reading →

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

Inside the box: fu-Gen’s Ching Chong Chinaman

Posted on March 14, 2013 by barczablog

Lauren Yee’s Ching Chong Chinaman is the latest offering from Toronto’s fu-Gen Theatre, a satirical  expose of the hypocrisy at the heart of the American Dream.  While there are some differences between the US & Canada, it’s a tale that could … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Early Renaissance

Posted on March 12, 2013 by barczablog

There’s something magical about getting a glimpse of someone famous in their youth.  Seeing a great leader or film-star as a child, we recognize some of the qualities that will emerge, even as we see a version of that person … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Architecture & Design, Reviews | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Time and Tide

Posted on March 6, 2013 by barczablog

Talisker Players offer the latest in a series  of investigations of the meaning of life.  What is it about this time of year?  I pondered it a bit the other day, musing on February-phobia.  In this country we’re driven in … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Erlösung dem Erlöser

Posted on March 3, 2013 by barczablog

There have been many reviews published already, some in exquisite detail, so I assume that if you want to know about the new Metropolitan Opera Parsifal, the François Girard co-production with Opera Lyon (2012) & the Canadian Opera Company (TBA), … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews, Spirituality & Religion | 4 Comments

Lost in the East

Posted on March 3, 2013 by barczablog

We always know our spatio-temporal co-ordinates with the help of satellite surveillance and assorted electronic devices.  When was the last time you were lost? Those of us with regular jobs go back and forth along the same streets.  From time … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Akhnaten in Indiana

Posted on February 24, 2013 by barczablog

It’s late at night.  It’s intermission, as I watch Philip Glass’s opera Akhnaten from Jacobs School of Music, at Indiana University, Bloomington, conducted by Arthur Fagen, directed by Candace Evans, and live-streamed on my laptop.  This student production is very … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews, University life | 7 Comments