Tag Archives: Canadian Opera Company

After last performance of Don Pasquale, looking back and ahead plus two anonymous voices

Posted on May 19, 2024 by barczablog

This afternoon we watched the Canadian Opera Company’s closing performance of the Renaud Doucet–André Barbe Don Pasquale at the Four Seasons Centre, bringing their spring season to a boisterous close. The unexpected adjective I’d apply to the colourful production is … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera | Tagged Aisling Murphy, André Barbe, Canadian Opera Company, Canadian talent, Crow's Theatre, Don Pasquale, Jacques Lacombe, Joshua Hopkins, Misha Kiria, Paolo Santalucia, Perryn Leech, Renaud Doucet, Santiago Ballerini, Simone Osborne | Leave a comment

COC Medea explores truth

Posted on May 6, 2024 by barczablog

Yesterday I attended the Canadian Opera Company’s Sunday matinee of Luigi Cherubini’s Medea. The main character may tell a lot of lies but that didn’t stop the audience from cheering her on in one of the darkest operas imaginable, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera | Tagged Alfred Walker, Canadian Opera Company, Chiara Isotton, Lorenzo Passerini, Luigi Cherubini, Matthew Polenzani, Medea, Sir David McVicar, Sondra Radvanovsky, Zoie Reams | 5 Comments

Scary Don Giovanni at the COC

Posted on February 5, 2024 by barczablog

Well it’s about time! I’ve been watching productions of Mozart’s Don Giovanni all my life that end with some sort of ludicrous & unbelievable encounter between the anti-hero and his fake stone guest, who comes to drag him to hell. … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | Tagged Ben Bliss, Canadian Opera Company, Don Giovanni, English National Opera, Es Devlin, Four Seasons Centre, Gordon Bintner, Joel Allison, Johannes Debus, Kasper Holten, Lorenzo Da Ponte, Luke Halls, Mane Galovan, Paolo Bordogna, Perryn Leech, Simone McIntosh, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Leave a comment

Stunning Vixen from Canadian Opera Company

Posted on January 29, 2024 by barczablog

The Canadian Opera Company are currently presenting Leos Janacek’s opera The Cunning Little Vixen. This flamboyantly theatrical production is among the most colourful things I’ve ever seen on a stage. Vixen is suitable for children and makes a terrific first … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, domestic & wild, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Adam Luther, Alex Halliday, Brechtian, Canadian Children’s Opera Company, Canadian Opera Company, Carolyn Sproule, Christopher Purves, Cunning Little Vixen, Czech Music, Ema Nikolovska, English National Opera, Jamie Manton, Jane Archibald, Johannes Debus, Leos Janacek, Tom Scutt | Leave a comment

Varieties of inclusivity in COC Boheme

Posted on October 29, 2023 by barczablog

Erika and I watched the Canadian Opera Company’s la bohème today at the Four Seasons Centre using our subscription tickets, a revival of John Caird’s production that we saw in 2013 and again in 2019. As it was the closing … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Personal ruminations & essays, Reviews | Tagged Against the Grain, Canadian Opera Company, Charlotte Siegel, COC, COC charter, Giacomo Puccini, John Gilks, Jordan de Souza, Justin Welsh, La boheme, Lotfi Mansouri, Opera Ramblings | 8 Comments

A post-truth Fidelio

Posted on September 30, 2023 by barczablog

Last night the Canadian Opera Company had their opening night of Fidelio in a recent San Francisco Opera production directed by Matthew Ozawa, with set and projections designed by Alexander Nichols and costumes by Jessica Jahn. Their design concept is … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Politics, Reviews | Tagged Alexander Nichols, Anna-Sophie Neher, Canadian Opera Company, Clay Hilley, Dimitry Ivashchenko, Fidelio, Four Seasons Centre, Jessica Jahn, Johannes Debus, Johannes Martin Kränzle, Josh Lovell, Ludwig van Beethoven, Matthew Ozawa, Miina-Liisa Värelä, Sava Vemic | Leave a comment

Tosca on my mind

Posted on May 29, 2023 by barczablog

Tosca is on my mind after the final performance yesterday. Several of Puccini’s melodies are having their way with me, stuck in my head. I’m not complaining. But I can’t stop thinking about the opera and the Canadian Opera Company’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Personal ruminations & essays | Tagged Canadian Opera Company, Giacomo Puccini, Joseph Kerman, Opera as Drama, Paul Curran, Roland Wood, Tosca | 4 Comments

Macbeth closing performance: women have it harder

Posted on May 21, 2023 by barczablog

Three weeks ago I reviewed the powerful opening night of the new Sir David McVicar production of Verdi’s Macbeth from the Canadian Opera Company. Today I came full circle watching the last show of the run including exciting changes in … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Adam Luther, Canadian Opera Company, Charlotte Siegel, Elinor Ross, Four Seasons Centre, Giuseppe Verdi, Lady Macbeth, Louis Quilico, Macbeth, Matthew Cairns, Quinn Kelsey, Sir David McVicar, Speranza Scappucci, Tosca, Tracy Cantin | Leave a comment

Creepy COC Macbeth

Posted on May 1, 2023 by barczablog

On a dark rainy day in the midst of Toronto’s traffic chaos I was rendered speechless by the new Canadian Opera Company production of Verdi’s Macbeth directed by Sir David McVicar. I never knew this opera could move me so … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Adam Luther, Alexandrina Pendatchanska, Canadian Opera Company, Clarence Frazer, Four Seasons Centre, Giuseppe Verdi, Louis Quilico, Macbeth, Matthew Cairns, Quinn Kelsey, Tracy Cantin, Vartan Gabrielian, William Shakespeare | 7 Comments

Excited by Canadian Opera Company 2023-24 season announcement

Posted on February 26, 2023 by barczablog

When I saw the email on Thursday from the Canadian Opera Company announcing their 2023-2024 season it moved me to say this on Facebook: That’s more like it! COC’s 2023-24 season: Fidelio, La Boheme, Cunning Little Vixen, Don Pasquale, Don … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Press Releases and Announcements | Tagged Alexander Neef, Canadian Opera Company, Perryn Leech | Leave a comment