Category Archives: University life

Vanderdecken among the zombies: Wajdi Mouawad’s Abduction

Posted on February 25, 2018 by barczablog

I had a second look & listen to Wajdi Mouawad’s Abduction from the Seraglio,  my second time coming in the closing performance of the run with the Canadian Opera Company at the Four Seasons Centre. I wanted to reflect on what … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Personal ruminations & essays, Reviews, University life | 5 Comments

Memory Lane

Posted on July 29, 2017 by barczablog

I posted a few pictures to Facebook at the opening of SOLT’s all-Canadian program of two operas at the Robert Gill Theatre, one by John Beckwith who turned 90 earlier this year, one by a later generation in the person … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Personal ruminations & essays, University life | Leave a comment

Forensic Composition, or when the script is like a CSI

Posted on July 25, 2017 by barczablog

That headline is dead serious and no joke.  I was brought in twice way back in the 1970s as a composer by directors looking with puzzlement at play scripts.  It would happen again later.  These formative projects changed the way … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Popular music & culture, University life | 1 Comment

Dr Ryhana Dawood’s Martial Smarts: FIGHT LIKE A GIRL

Posted on April 24, 2017 by barczablog

The words on the poster caught my eye. “FIGHT LIKE A GIRL”, all in capitals. When I inquired further I discovered Martial Smarts and then its founder Dr Ryhana Dawood: a strong advocate for women’s health and female empowerment through self-defense. … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Politics, Psychology and perception, Spirituality & Religion, Sports, University life | Leave a comment

Nutty professors

Posted on September 18, 2016 by barczablog

A friend of mine who teaches at a Canadian university asked me to suggest a good text to explain Leitmotifs. I was stopped short, because it’s a tricky subject.  While Wagner’s mature operas are regularly spoken of using the word … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, University life | 2 Comments

The Coronation of King George II

Posted on July 27, 2016 by barczablog

This was the most fun I’ve had at a concert since the epic minimalist concert (oxymoron?) in August 1st 2013. Then as now I believe we were seeing Toronto Summer Music Artistic Director Douglas McNabney pushing the envelope of what’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Popular music & culture, Reviews, Spirituality & Religion, University life | 1 Comment

Life is a social media exercise

Posted on March 12, 2016 by barczablog

Life is many things. It might be a dream – as in the title of the classic play Life is a Dream by Pedro Calderon de la Barca (no relation)—but in the collective adaptation of that play that I experienced … Continue reading →

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Questions about Life Is a Dream

Posted on March 7, 2016 by barczablog

Aleksandar Lukac aka Sasha Lukac is a director known on both sides of the Atlantic, a former Artistic Director of the National Theatre of Serbia who now teaches and directs in his own inimitable style at York University. I’ve had … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Popular music & culture, University life | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Opera as blood sport: the Hutcheons contra Regietheater

Posted on March 5, 2016 by barczablog

I raced at top speed, not from jungle to city but from one end of the U of T campus to the other after work, afraid I’d be late for the (lecture about) opera, somewhat like the hero of Werner … Continue reading →

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Questions for Stephanie Martin: Babel

Posted on March 2, 2016 by barczablog

Stephanie Martin is a composer & conductor, associate professor of music at York University. I heard about her because of a brief controversy that has already been settled, concerning her choral symphony Babel to be premiered at Wilfrid Laurier University … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Music and musicology, Spirituality & Religion, University life | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments