Category Archives: Reviews

La Scala Lohengrin 2012

Posted on December 11, 2012 by barczablog

Wagner’s Lohengrin opened the season at La Scala, Milan in a new production directed by Claus Guth.  That it was Wagner rather than Verdi in this season of centennials—both Guiseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner were born in 1813—is the least … Continue reading →

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$5.99 or $4000.00?

Posted on December 9, 2012 by barczablog

Psycho-therapists in films can be very funny, very painful, and yes, painfully funny.   Sometimes what we’re given is patently false & artificial, but occasionally we see something with more than a grain of truth. Hollywood knows psychiatry the way it … Continue reading →

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Opera Eats

Posted on December 5, 2012 by barczablog

There are more talented artists graduating from the programs training them than there are possible jobs.  It’s one reason we have Fringe Festivals: because we’ve trained so many good young actors, directors & playwrights, that they can create their own … Continue reading →

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Pina Bausch: Orpheus und Eurydike

Posted on December 3, 2012 by barczablog

I saw Pina Bausch’s Orpheus und Eurydike on TFO tonight, a dance piece based on the Gluck opera, in a respectful production of a work originally created in the mid-1970s, conducted by Thomas Hengelbrock.  This live production dates from 2008, … Continue reading →

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COC Ensemble Studio Competition

Posted on November 30, 2012 by barczablog

As I drove downtown this morning, one track seemed very apt for an evening featuring the Canadian Opera Company’s second annual studio competition. Michael Slattery’s CD of Dowland songs –reimagined to explore his alleged Irish connection—concludes with a melancholy song … Continue reading →

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Roméo et Juliette 2008

Posted on November 26, 2012 by barczablog

I watched TFO’s broadcast of a live performance of Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, from a 2008 Salzburg production. There was a bit of drama backstage, with Anna Netrebko’s cancellation, replaced by the unknown Georgian soprano Nino Machaidze.  Machaidze was only … Continue reading →

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Mrs Lincoln

Posted on November 25, 2012 by barczablog

In the latest Canadian Opera Company podcast, we were asked about the way women are used and abused in opera. As soon as the question was posed, and no one else started to speak, I seized the opportunity, to launch … Continue reading →

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Quilico’s Rigoletto

Posted on November 24, 2012 by barczablog

Some artists have an abundant recorded legacy, while others are curiously under-represented.  At times I find this irritating, because I suspect it’s more a reflection of market forces than an indication of real quality. I believe if Louis Quilico had … Continue reading →

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Perović’s Incidental Music

Posted on November 21, 2012 by barczablog

There’s a line in Lydia Perović’s new novel Incidental Music that has so far stayed with me like a motif. Roughly a quarter of the way into the book, Petra & Martha, two of the main characters start chatting, having … Continue reading →

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Classical Quartets from a trio of teenagers

Posted on November 19, 2012 by barczablog

Windermere String Quartet (“WSQ”), an ensemble playing classical repertoire on period instruments, offered a remarkable concert this afternoon.   WSQ are comprised of Rona Goldensher– violin, Elizabeth Loewen Andrews– violin, Anthony Rapoport– viola, and Laura Jones– cello. It’s such a simple … Continue reading →

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