Tag Archives: COC

Opera York: True to Verdi

Posted on November 10, 2013 by barczablog

It’s exciting when you get a chance to test an offbeat theory, and even more exciting when you prove it. Giuseppe Verdi’s Il trovatore was at one time –perhaps at the end of the 19th century—the most popular opera in … Continue reading →

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Canadian Pride

Posted on February 24, 2013 by barczablog

It’s the day before the Academy Awards, which means Canadians can indulge in our favourite sport.  No I don’t mean hockey, which is more of an obsession than something you could dismiss as mere fun.  It’s too much of a … Continue reading →

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Inclemenza

Posted on February 7, 2013 by barczablog

We’re expecting snow here in Toronto, but it’s already somewhat inclement, if we think chilly or unmerciful. I am expanding on the experience of La Clemenza di Tito Sunday in Toronto.  I was enraptured, as were the audience: until the … Continue reading →

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Sellars market

Posted on January 27, 2013 by barczablog

At the intermissions of Tristan und Isolde Friday (dress rehearsal) there was madness in the air, a place rife with miscommunication.  Wagner himself said that good performances would make people mad (or crazy), so perhaps that was the problem.  A … Continue reading →

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Creative ecology

Posted on January 19, 2013 by barczablog

As I examined the choices for music in a play, I thought of a great scene in a film.  Now I am not talking about the music in that film, oh no.  I am talking about that classic scene in … Continue reading →

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From Troyens to Tristan

Posted on January 16, 2013 by barczablog

December seemed to be a month obsessively occupied by Hector Berlioz, particularly Les Troyens in versions onstage at the Met, the High Definition transmission, DVDs, plus the score at home.  It’s January, and Berlioz is still echoing through the corridors … Continue reading →

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The prettiest love duet

Posted on November 30, 2012 by barczablog

During the COC Ensemble Studio competition, I discovered that someone else –John Gilks of operaramblings and I share similar views about a particular piece of music. Saturday the Met High Definition broadcast will be Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito, and … Continue reading →

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10 Questions for Mireille Asselin

Posted on May 19, 2012 by barczablog

A singer deemed “Superb” by the Los Angeles Times, praised by Opera Canada for her “vivacious stage presence” and “soprano that charms and brightens a room”, the grateful recipient of Opera Hamilton’s Sheila Zack Scholarship for Emerging Artists, Mireille Asselin … Continue reading →

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Che faro senza COC?

Posted on May 27, 2011 by barczablog

Tonight, my last opera of the Canadian Opera Company 2010-2011 season, was my second trip into the special world of Robert Carsen’s Orfeo ed Euridice. I didn’t talk about the visuals in my review (awhile ago) because I strive to … Continue reading →

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Lotfi Mansouri: An Operatic Journey

Posted on January 6, 2011 by barczablog

This is a book review I wrote for the newsletter of the Toronto Wagner Society. Lotfi Mansouri: An Operatic Journey Lotfi Mansouri with Donald Arthur The grin on the cover looks the same as ever.  Can this familiar figure really … Continue reading →

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