Tag Archives: Canadian Opera Company

Jane Archibald as Semele

Posted on May 12, 2012 by barczablog

You never can tell.  I would never have predicted which opera would be my favourite of the seven operas programmed this season by the Canadian Opera Company.  Both the adventurous staging and the consistently brilliant singing make Handel’s Semele by … Continue reading →

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Handel and Zhang: great minds thinking alike

Posted on April 28, 2012 by barczablog

I’m writing about two men who made some odd choices, showing a parallel brilliance even though separated by centuries. George Frederic Handel was simply trying to make a living, a composer whose works were sometimes welcomed, sometimes not.  Semele, with … Continue reading →

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Two from Florence

Posted on April 27, 2012 by barczablog

The double bill of Zemlinsky’s A Florentine Tragedy with Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, currently being presented by the Canadian Opera Company, is a marriage made in heaven, a pair of complementary opposites who seem to belong together. They’re alike in some … Continue reading →

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COC Parsifal

Posted on February 25, 2012 by barczablog

Richard Wagner figures prominently in the Canadian Opera Company’s plans.  Two Wagner operas, not one were announced for the future. You may have missed any mention of the second opera.  The announcement of the 2012-2013 season (a year of world-wide … Continue reading →

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Upwards

Posted on February 4, 2012 by barczablog

I’ve been trying to wrap my head around the images from Kaija Saariaho’s opera Amour de Loin in its Toronto production from the Canadian Opera Company as “Love from Afar“.  When I hit the publish button the other night to … 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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Operatic alchemy

Posted on January 19, 2012 by barczablog

The Canadian Opera Company announced its 2012-2013 season today, January 18th, a combination of works old and new.  I don’t pretend to understand how an opera company chooses their repertoire, although I think I understand some of the issues involved.  … Continue reading →

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Thank you, Rob Ford

Posted on January 14, 2012 by barczablog

I learned about gratitude in Martin Seligman’s book Authentic Happiness.  Dr. Seligman is a key figure in a new kind of psychology, called “Positive Psychology”, positive because it’s oriented not on disorders and dysfunctions, but on happiness.  I am not … Continue reading →

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Rigoletto, second cast

Posted on October 18, 2011 by barczablog

I had another look/listen to the Canadian Opera Company’s Rigoletto Oct 17th in a performance that was substantially different from the cast that opened earlier this autumn: a different tenor a different soprano a different baritone a different conductor Christopher … Continue reading →

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A Man’s World

Posted on September 30, 2011 by barczablog

I saw the new Canadian Opera Company production of Rigoletto directed by Christopher Alden tonight.  It makes a nice companion to the Robert Carsen Iphigenia in Tauris that premiered last week to such acclaim.  Both productions are like close analyses … Continue reading →

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