Tag Archives: Claude Debussy

#AtGdeathdesire: more desire than death

Posted on June 3, 2015 by barczablog

If yesterday’s Dora announcement is anything to go by the youthful Against the Grain crew are a force to be reckoned with, as they’re up for several awards. Tonight AtG opened their latest, Death & Desire. Reading the lists of … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Against the Grain Theatre, Christopher Mokrzewski, Claude Debussy | Leave a comment

AtG Pelléas et Mélisande

Posted on June 22, 2014 by barczablog

Against the Grain have done it again. Their outdoor production of Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande is highly original, illuminating the opera is several unforgettable ways. Joel Ivany’s director’s note in the program says “Upon getting to know this opera, it … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | Tagged Against the Grain Theatre, Claude Debussy, Etienne Dupuis, Gregory Dahl, Joel Ivany, Pelleas et Melisande | 4 Comments

Ideal Pelléas

Posted on June 15, 2014 by barczablog

It may be redundant to speak of an ideal Pelléas et Mélisande. The work is symbolist, which means it’s by definition a kind of ideal work. And notice I did not say “An” or “The” ideal Pelléas. It was “Ideal … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Architecture & Design, Music and musicology, Opera, Personal ruminations & essays | Tagged Against the Grain Theatre, Claude Debussy, Pelleas et Melisande | 4 Comments

Les Adieux

Posted on May 21, 2014 by barczablog

The Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio had their annual noon-hour concert to commemorate the departure of some of their members, titled “Les Adieux”. The three performers? Michael Shannon, piano Cameron McPhail, baritone Sasha Djihanian, soprano For most of the concert … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Cameron McPhail, Claude Debussy, Francis Poulenc, Franz Lehar, Lee Hoiby, Michael Shannon, Sasha Djihanian, Sayat Nova, Walt Whitman | 2 Comments

Thinking about snobs, with Baz Luhrmann and Jay Gatsby

Posted on December 8, 2013 by barczablog

I’m thinking about two competing narratives lately, as I alluded at the beginning of my review of Singing the Earth. Is transcendent activism possible? Nelson Mandela seems to say yes. Rob Ford would agree, although he sees himself as an … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Opera, Personal ruminations & essays, Politics, Reviews | Tagged Claude Debussy, Clemenza di Tito, criticism, F Scott Fitzgerald, Isla Fisher, Jay Gatsby, Joel Edgerton, Ken Russell, Leonardo Di Caprio, Rob Ford, The Great Gatsby, Tobey Maguire, Tom Buchanan | 3 Comments

Guggenheim’s Great Upheaval at the AGO

Posted on November 26, 2013 by barczablog

There’s a moment in Terry Gilliam’s Adventures of Baron Munchausen when Vulcan is pressing carbon into a diamond for his wife Venus, and of course she expresses her gratitude, a moment before handing the thing to a lady in waiting … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Architecture & Design, Reviews | Tagged Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Ai Weiwei, Art Gallery of Ontario, Branciusi, Cezanne, Chagall, Claude Debussy, David Bowie, Degas, Delaunay, discursive community, Duchamp, Frank Lloyd Wright, Franz Marc, Gaugin, Guggenheim Museum, Kandinsky, Kupka, manifesto, Maurice Denis, Mondrian, Pelleas et Melisande, Picasso, Seurat, Terry Gilliam, The Great Upheaval, Turner, van Gogh, Venus, Vulcan | 3 Comments

R.I.P.

Posted on October 28, 2013 by barczablog

“Requiescat in Pace” is the last line in the third of three operas presented by Opera 5, namely Cecilia Livingston’s The Masque of the Red Death, whereby we had the name for the evening’s program. I wonder if Poe’s story … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | Tagged Adrian Kramer, Aria Umezawa, Cask of Amontillado, Cecilia Livingston, Claude Debussy, Daniel Pinkham, Edgar Allan Poe, La chute de la maison Usher, Maika'i Nash, Opera 5, The Masque of the Red Death | 2 Comments

10 Questions for Cecilia Livingston

Posted on October 14, 2013 by barczablog

Known across Canada and the US for her vocal music, Cecilia Livingston is deeply involved in Toronto’s choral and opera communities, with a special focus on writing music for women’s voices. She looks forward to projects in 2014-2015 in collaboration … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Opera | Tagged Arts & Letters Club, Benjamin Britten, Cask of the Amontiallado, Cecilia Livingston, Christos Hatzis, Claude Debussy, Daniel Pinkham, Edgar Allan Poe, In Pace Requiescat, John Adams, La chute de la Maison d’Usher, Opera 5, Philip Glass, The Masque of the Red Death | 2 Comments

Symbolist horror

Posted on October 12, 2013 by barczablog

What’s in a name? Sometimes we grab onto something in a name, think we know what we have, and miss something else through our assumptions. We’re so enamoured for instance with the mystique of the rose, but we don’t usually … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Opera | Tagged Alfred Hitchcock, Bernard Herrmann, Cask of the Amontiallado, Cecilia Livingston, Claude Debussy, Daniel Pinkham, Edgar Allan Poe, Jerry Lewis, La chute de la Maison d’Usher, Mladen Dolar, Opera’s Second Death, Slavoj Zizek, Symbolist, The Masque of the Red Death | Leave a comment

Ready for Prime Time: Savitri & Sam

Posted on September 29, 2013 by barczablog

Okay, maybe the headline tells you what show i am about to watch on TV, coming home from a (hint hint) Saturday night opera. But i really mean it, they’re ready. Tonight I went to see a public presentation … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera | Tagged Canadian Rep Theatre, Claude Debussy, Giles Tomkins, Gregory Oh, John Mills-Cockell, Ken Gass, Marion Newman, Michael Barrett, Pelleas et Melisande, Savitry & Sam, Zorana Sadiq | 3 Comments