Tag Archives: Giuseppe Verdi

TOT Gypsy Baron

Posted on December 29, 2019 by barczablog

The Toronto Operetta Theatre opened their new production of Johann Strauss Jr’s The Gypsy Baron tonight at the Jane Mallett Theatre with a full house in attendance for the first of five performances. It’s a very uneven production of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Politics, Reviews | Tagged A night at the opera, Beste Kalender, Daniela Agostino, Derek Bate, Giuseppe Verdi, Il Trovatore, Jane Mallett Theatre, Johann Strauss, Karen Bojti, Meghan Lindsay, Michael Barrett, Roma, The Gypsy Baron, The Marx Brothers, Toronto Operetta Theatre | Leave a comment

COC Otello

Posted on May 1, 2019 by barczablog

On paper the Canadian Opera Company’s new offering, an English National Opera production of Verdi’s Otello directed by David Alden and starring Russell Thomas, Gerald Finley & Tamara Wilson is as good as it gets. It’s an incredible luxury to … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Personal ruminations & essays, Reviews | Tagged Andrew Haji, Canadian Opera Company, Carolyn Sproule, David Alden, Gerald Finley, Giuseppe Verdi, Onay Kose, Otello, Owen McCausland, Russell Thomas, Tamara Wilson | Leave a comment

TCO Traviata

Posted on March 29, 2019 by barczablog

Toronto City Opera? While the name is new to me, reading the history I see the lineage, going back over forty years to the legacy of Giuseppe Macina’s Toronto Opera Repertoire. You can read more of their history here. This … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Opera | Tagged Alaina Viau, Giuseppe Macina, Giuseppe Verdi, Ivan Jovanovic, Jennifer Tung, La Traviata, Toronto City Opera | Leave a comment

Hadrian’s Dramaturg: Questions for Cori Ellison

Posted on October 6, 2018 by barczablog

Cori Ellison is the Dramaturg for the Canadian Opera Company’s world premiere production of Hadrian¸composed by Rufus Wainwright and with libretto by Daniel MacIvor. Cori Ellison, a leading creative figure in the opera world, was recently appointed staff Dramaturg at … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Interviews, Opera | Tagged Aida, Anthony Everitt, Canadian Opera Company, Cori Ellison, Cosi fan tutte, Daniel MacIvor, Don Carlo, dramaturg, Giuseppe Verdi, Hadrian, Hadrian and the Triumph of Rome, Karita Mattila, Marguerite Yourcenar, Memoirs of Hadrian, Mozart, Peter Hinton, Rufus Wainwright, Thomas Hampson | 1 Comment

Ermanno Mauro: “Great Tenor Arias”

Posted on June 21, 2018 by barczablog

Sometimes recordings can open a window on the past. I’ve got a “new” CD, actually an old one that’s only new to me. Forgive me if I choose to write about something that’s not easily available but the CD immediately … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Canadian Opera Company, Carl Morey, Don Carlos, Ermanno Mauro, Ezra Schabas, Giuseppe Di Stefano, Giuseppe Verdi, James McCracken, Lotfi Mansouri, O'Keefe Centre, Otello, Peter Barcza | 2 Comments

Opera: Passion, Power, and Politics

Posted on June 1, 2018 by barczablog

There it all is, everything a boy or girl could want in one headline. Now in fact that’s the title of a big beautiful book that I’ve been reading. And what good is a book if it doesn’t push your … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Architecture & Design, Books & Literature, Music and musicology, Opera, Politics, Popular music & culture, Reviews | Tagged Antonio Pappano, Aubrey Beardsley, Claudio Monteverdi, Dresden, Giuseppe Verdi, Michael Levine, Peter Brook, Placido Domingo, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Rinaldo, Robert Carsen, Roger Parker, Salome, Simone Young, Tannhäuser | Leave a comment

Keri Alkema: A Journey of Transformation

Posted on May 22, 2018 by barczablog

Today’s noon-hour recital at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre aka the foyer of the Four Seasons Centre was unlike any we’ve seen before. Readers of this blog may recall that I’ve expressed my admiration for Keri Alkema in my reviews of … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Desdemona, Don Giovanni, Donizetti, Donna Elvira, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Keri Alkema, madama butterfly, mezzo-soprano, Otello, Rachel Andrist, Sondra Radvanovsky, Un ballo in maschera, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | 1 Comment

Four Last Songs: aging, creativity and the meaning of life

Posted on May 18, 2015 by barczablog

The cover picture shows Giuseppe Verdi sitting with a reflective expression on his face while he plays the piano. The book’s title is Four Last Songs: Aging and Creativity in Verdi, Strauss, Messiaen and Britten, the latest collaboration between Linda … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Music and musicology, Opera, Reviews | Tagged Benjamin Britten, Giuseppe Verdi, Linda and Michael Hutcheon, Olivier Messiaen, Richard Strauss | 2 Comments

Verdi’s Many Masks

Posted on January 25, 2014 by barczablog

The Canadian Opera Company open a production of Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Un ballo in maschera next week. It’s placed in a modern setting, one that might have you wondering whether Verdi’s instructions are being flouted by a directorial intervention. But … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Politics | Tagged Don Carlos, Giuseppe Verdi, Il Trovatore, Melodrama, Rigoletto, Stephen Lord, Un ballo in maschera | 7 Comments

10 questions for Stephen Lord

Posted on December 31, 2013 by barczablog

Identified by Opera News as one of the “25 Most Powerful Names in US Opera”, Stephen Lord is a conductor known for his sensitive handling of singers. In my review of April’s Canadian Opera Company production of Lucia di Lammermoor … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Music and musicology, Opera | Tagged Aida, Antonino Votto, Canadian Opera Company, Carlos Kleiber, Dimitri Mitropoulos, Giuseppe Verdi, Glenn Gould, Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, La Traviata, Regietheater, Sandra Horst, Stephen Lord, Tullio Serafin, Un ballo in maschera | 15 Comments