Category Archives: Reviews

Tosca tonight

Posted on February 1, 2012 by barczablog

Puccini’s Tosca can take one of at least a few possible shapes: It can be a riveting thriller of a story, at times keeping you glued to the action It can be a virtuoso vehicle, an opportunity for any one … Continue reading →

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Lepage and The End

Posted on January 28, 2012 by barczablog

As I listen to the Metropolitan Opera premiere the last of the four operas in Wagner’s Ring Cycle –streamed for free to an eager audience worldwide—I have to say, the natives are restless.  While Canadians are just fine with Robert … Continue reading →

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Cruel and Tender

Posted on January 26, 2012 by barczablog

I feel very fortunate to have seen the story of the Women of Trachis portrayed twice within a week.  I don’t mean two performances of the same production, but two different works in wildly different media.  The comparisons are unavoidable. … Continue reading →

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Herculean

Posted on January 20, 2012 by barczablog

Tonight’s premiere of Tafelmusik’s semi-staged version of Handel’s Hercules was dramatic in more ways than one. We came to honour Jeanne Lamon, to celebrate her thirty years leading the baroque orchestra.  While it was a commemoration of past achievements in … Continue reading →

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L’Amour de loin DVD

Posted on January 4, 2012 by barczablog

As the Canada Opera Company’s February production of Kaija Saariaho’s Love From Afar gets closer my curiosity grows.  I’ve seen several new operas in my time, both the ones that vanished, and the ones that have stayed in the repertoire. … Continue reading →

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Super 8

Posted on December 23, 2011 by barczablog

I just saw Super 8, a film with Steven Spielberg’s name on it as producer, written and directed by JJ Abrams.  While Abrams has amassed an impressive resume (as a writer, producer, director or combination thereof for Armageddon, Regarding Henry, … Continue reading →

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Dublin Messiah

Posted on December 18, 2011 by barczablog

The second annual Dublin Messiah presented by Aradia Ensemble was not sold out.  I wish I could comfort Aradia conductor & Artistic Director Kevin Mallon, considering that the competition — Toronto Symphony who are 90 years old, and Tafelmusik more … Continue reading →

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Bed and Breakfast

Posted on December 18, 2011 by barczablog

While the audience for Puppetmongers’ Bed & Breakfast includes children, the play contains plenty of adult laughs of which the kids are blissfully unaware.  Originally a one-person show written by and for Ann Powell (if it’s accurate to call something … Continue reading →

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Christmas Messiah

Posted on December 13, 2011 by barczablog

If it’s Advent season–the time immediately preceding Christmas–then it’s time for ballet companies to erase their deficits with the help of Tschaikowsky and The Nutcracker.   It’s time to shop for presents, time to eat drink and be merry. And –in … Continue reading →

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Boheme Against the Grain again

Posted on December 2, 2011 by barczablog

You can only be shocked that way once. When I attended the opening night of Against the Grain’s La bohème in June, it was thrilling to experience a modern adaptation of this well-worn opera in a downtown Toronto bar, in … Continue reading →

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