Tag Archives: Against the Grain Theatre

Questions for Neil Craighead

Posted on February 15, 2024 by barczablog

I miss Neil Craighead, who’s currently studying, working and living out west. You may know him as a Dora Award nominee in 2015 for his Leporello in #UncleJohn with Against the Grain Theatre. Time flies, look at how young he is in … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Opera | Tagged #UncleJohn, Against the Grain Theatre, Ainadamar, Cunning Little Vixen, Das Rheingold, Edmonton Opera, Federico Garcia Lorca, Golijov, Joel Ivany, Miriam Khalil, Neil Craighead, Pacific Opera Victoria, Patrick Raftery, Peter Barcza | Leave a comment

A Tale for Two Cities: the Battle of Alberta

Posted on December 19, 2023 by barczablog

It’s not the first time I’m jealous of Alberta. The Leafs never win The Cup, while Calgary and Edmonton have each had their moments. Joel Ivany has relocated out west, Miriam Khalil singing and teaching alongside him as they raise … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera | Tagged Against the Grain Theatre, Alberta, Birmingham Opera, Calgary Opera, Calgary Stampede, Das Rheingold, Edmonton Opera, Graham Vick, Joel Ivany, Jonathan Dove, Miriam Khalil, opera, Richard Wagner | Leave a comment

Best of 2022

Posted on January 9, 2023 by barczablog

I enjoy recalling the best moments of the past 12 months. There’s a fork in the road, however. One pathway leads towards that which is truly “new”, while the other relies on what we’ve seen before. Need I mention, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera | Tagged Against the Grain Theatre, Alexander Neef, ARC Ensemble, Arkady Spivak, Canadian Opera Company, CERB, Chris Abraham, Conan and the Stone of Kelior, Corey Arnold, Crow's Theatre, Eldritch Theatre, Elisa Citterio, Eric Woolfe, Gay for Pay, Gould's Wall, Gustavo Gimeno, Joel Ivany, Kyle McDonald, Lauren Pearl, Michael Hidetoshi Mori, Nicole Lizée, OCADU, Perryn Leech, RCM, Royal Conservatory of Music, RUR A Torrent of Light, Simon Wynberg, Sweeney Todd, Tafelmusik, Talk is Free Theatre, Tapestry Opera, The Lion Heart, TIFT, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, TSO, Wajdi Mouawad, Yuja Wang | Leave a comment

Missing Greg

Posted on December 26, 2021 by barczablog

In the final week of 2021 I ponder the year that’s passed and contemplate the one that lies ahead. We all may have something we miss doing, something or someone that we wish we could see or hear. Re-reading Dickens’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Personal ruminations & essays, Spirituality & Religion, Sports | Tagged Against the Grain Theatre, David Warrack, Greg Finney, Gregory Finney, Guy Lafleur, Loose Tea Music Theatre | 3 Comments

Confronting mortality: AtG /COC Mozart Requiem

Posted on December 4, 2021 by barczablog

The pandemic is simultaneously new in its requirements and yet old in once again reminding us of our ultimate destiny. Modern science may blind us to history’s lessons. The images on the tray in this picture come from Täby kyrka, … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews, Spirituality & Religion | Tagged Against the Grain Theatre, Andrew Haji, Canadian Opera Company, Ensemble Studio, Joel Ivany, Johannes Debus, Marion Newman, Midori Marsh, Scarborough Bluffs, Vartan Gabrielian, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Leave a comment

Savitri

Posted on July 5, 2021 by barczablog

Gustav Holst’s one act chamber opera Savitri is available from Against the Grain theatre (aka “AtG”) as an online film. They offer it free of charge from their website, while inviting you to make an optional contribution to the company. … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Cinema, video & DVDs, Opera, Reviews, Spirituality & Religion | Tagged Against the Grain Theatre, Andrew Haji, Gustav Holst, Meher Pavri, Miriam Khalil, Savitri, Simran Claire, The Planets, Vartan Gabrielian, wordless chorus | Leave a comment

Messiah / Complex

Posted on December 20, 2020 by barczablog

There’s nothing simple about Messiah/Complex, a new film that’s currently available for streaming from the Against the Grain Theatre website until January 7th. Complex? It’s an adaptation of Handel’s popular oratorio, a co-production of Against the Grain Theatre and Against … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Personal ruminations & essays, Politics, Popular music & culture, Reviews, Spirituality & Religion | Tagged Against the Grain Theatre, Diyet, Diyet & The Love Soldiers, George Frideric Handel, Joel Ivany, Johannes Debus, Messiah, Toronto Symphony Orchestra | 1 Comment

Parenthood, poverty, Hansel & Gretel: a conversation with Joel Ivany

Posted on January 26, 2020 by barczablog

In a few days Joel Ivany, Artistic Director of Against the Grain Theatre, will be premiering his new Hansel and Gretel at the Four Seasons Centre, in a Canadian Opera Company production. Singled out for last year’s Against the Grain … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Interviews, Opera | Tagged Adelheid Wette, Against the Grain Theatre, Alexander Neef, Brothers Grimm, Curious George, Emily Fons, Engelbert Humperdinck, Hansel and Gretel, Home Alone, Joel Ivany, Johannes Debus, Krisztina Szabo, Michael Colvin, Russell Braun, Simone Osborne, Where the Wilds Things Are | 2 Comments

Framing the Pollyanna proposition

Posted on January 9, 2020 by barczablog

January is named for that two-headed god who is able to look ahead and back. As I ponder the wreckage of 2019 I wonder if Janus was too busy looking down at his phone and not watching where he was … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Personal ruminations & essays | Tagged 887, Against the Grain Theatre, Alaina Viau, Amplified Opera, Aria Umezawa, Book of my shames, crystal pite, Dawn Jani Birley, Elisa Citterio, Gustavo Gimeno, Isaiah Bell, Joel Ivany, Johannes Debus, Jonathan Crow, Jonathan Young, Kiviuq Returns, Kopernikus, Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory, Masaaki Suzuki, Musique 3 Femmes, Revisor, Robert Lepage, Rusalka, Sondra Radvanovsky, Tamara Wilson, Teiya Kasahara, The St Matthew Passion, Toronto City Opera, Wajdi Mouawad | 1 Comment

Figaro’s Wedding 2019

Posted on December 4, 2019 by barczablog

In 2013 Against the Grain offered the first of their “transladaptations” of one of the trilogy of da Ponte-Mozart operas, Figaro’s Wedding. Tonight AtG premiered something we might call a revival of the work, with a number of intriguing differences, … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Against the Grain Theatre, Alexandra Smither, Bruno Roy, Da Ponte, Enoch Turner Schoolhouse, Gregory Finney, Jacques Arsenault, Joel Ivany, Lauren Eberwein, Maria Soulis, Miriam Khalil, Mozart, Phillip Addis, Topher Mokrzewski, transladaptation | Leave a comment