Category Archives: Reviews

Beckett: Feck It!

Posted on February 23, 2012 by barczablog

I just saw Queen of Puddings Music Theatre’s production, in association with Canadian Stage, of Beckett: Feck It!  You hear a title like that and you may well wonder what they were thinking, what they were trying to say. I … Continue reading →

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Tryst with Liszt

Posted on February 20, 2012 by barczablog

Neapolitan Connection presented “A Romantic Music Tryst with Liszt,” as a much a playful exploration as a concert, presented in the intimate Studio Theatre at the Toronto Centre for the Arts. The piano was not set up for a recital, … Continue reading →

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Dani Girl

Posted on February 19, 2012 by barczablog

Dani Girl is an original musical from the young team of Michael Kooman (music) and Christopher Dimond (book & lyrics), now at the beginning of a Toronto run co-produced by Talk is Free Theatre and Show One Productions. Watching this … Continue reading →

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Unexpected Tosca

Posted on February 17, 2012 by barczablog

Just when you think you know how a story will turn out –because it’s such a well-known opera—they throw you a curve.  There’s no drama quite like experiencing a work you think you know, where they’ve changed the usual ending. … Continue reading →

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Dowland in Dublin

Posted on February 16, 2012 by barczablog

A professor I once had claimed that art could be understood as a kind of research.  Something newly created is a proposition to be tested against the taste of every new audience, seeking a fair hearing and possibly a genuine … Continue reading →

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Closing the Ring

Posted on February 12, 2012 by barczablog

I love it. When you’re writing about a great massive project it’s easy to be verbose, a lot harder to say something meaningful that’s brief, so let me get the most important part out of the way.  As I said: … Continue reading →

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From Afar

Posted on February 3, 2012 by barczablog

The love one encounters in Saariaho’s opera Love from Afar is not at all like the love most people think of when they use the word in the 21st century.  And while the work was composed recently employing very modern … Continue reading →

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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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