Category Archives: Reviews

Body of work: Aronofsky wrestles with an idea

Posted on January 24, 2011 by barczablog

Sometimes a superficial resemblance between two films by the same director is nothing more than coincidence; sometimes similarities are indications of important preoccupations. Darren Aronofsky has recently been fascinated with bodily matters.  His last two films can be read as … Continue reading →

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Mendelssohn, the Nazis and Me (and them)

Posted on January 19, 2011 by barczablog

I was fortunate to stumble upon the documentary Mendelssohn, the Nazis and Me recently on TV Ontario (a public television network) in its first North American broadcast. Originally seen on BBC, the doc is a curious mixture of music, history, … Continue reading →

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Assassins and history

Posted on January 12, 2011 by barczablog

Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins is a musical with history.  The play happens in an abstract space where characters from different centuries meet one another, converse, sing and dance together.  At first glance it resembles a review, a series of numbers where … Continue reading →

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Lotfi Mansouri: An Operatic Journey

Posted on January 6, 2011 by barczablog

This is a book review I wrote for the newsletter of the Toronto Wagner Society. Lotfi Mansouri: An Operatic Journey Lotfi Mansouri with Donald Arthur The grin on the cover looks the same as ever.  Can this familiar figure really … Continue reading →

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The King’s Speech

Posted on January 3, 2011 by barczablog

We’re always hearing about the impact of media upon our world. As anyone who has seen Singin’ in the Rain can tell you, new media –such as talking pictures in the late 1920s—can cause a complete upheaval not just within … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Essays, Reviews | 1 Comment

Mad Swan

Posted on December 19, 2010 by barczablog

After a post earlier this week concerning ballet, I had to go see Black Swan, a film that appears to go right to the heart of the artform or at least the concerns I spoke of the other day. I … Continue reading →

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A new Messiah

Posted on December 12, 2010 by barczablog

It might seem to be a conundrum worthy of a religious scholar: how do we know the real Messiah?  And even though we’re not speaking of a saviour but rather about Handel’s oratorio, the topic may as well be a … Continue reading →

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Levesque in Leslieville

Posted on December 9, 2010 by barczablog

It’s midweek at Edward Levesque’s Kitchen with my friend Brian, catching up.  This is my second visit.  The first in 2009, was my daughter’s idea.  Zoe has an expat’s appreciation of Toronto and a great network of arty friends telling … Continue reading →

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Studies in Motion decidedly Electric

Posted on December 4, 2010 by barczablog

The presentation of Electric Company Theatre’s Studies in Motion is superficially important as part of the reinvention of the Canadian Stage brand in Toronto.  I’m grateful to CanStage for giving us another look at one of the important companies working … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Reviews | 2 Comments

Genoveva November 17th

Posted on November 22, 2010 by barczablog

How good is Robert Schumann’s Genoveva?  It depends who you ask.  Conventional musicological wisdom from a generation ago consigns Schumann to the same kind of niche as other virtuosi such as Chopin and Liszt.  Their solo piano works are brilliant … Continue reading →

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