Tag Archives: Handel

BOUND v. 2: power struggles

Posted on November 20, 2018 by barczablog

Against the Grain Theatre premiered version two of BOUND at The Great Hall on Queen St W or as Joel Ivany called it “an ongoing process”.  I didn’t see version 1, and perhaps this summer or next year there will … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Architecture & Design, Opera, Personal ruminations & essays, Politics, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Alcina preview at RBA

Posted on October 14, 2014 by barczablog

The season of Thanksgiving continues, as I feel extraordinarily blessed for the wonderful day I am having. Not only did I have my three best nights in the theatre since the beginning of October (two performances of Falstaff and one … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

AtG Messiah: without a net

Posted on December 15, 2013 by barczablog

We were promised something different, and they delivered. Against the Grain Theatre’s Messiah took a familiar piece and added something without disturbing the essential gold.  Handel, Isaiah, Revelation (etc) are well served, in a piece entirely true to the  name … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

10 Questions for Rufus Müller

Posted on April 15, 2013 by barczablog

Rufus Müller was acclaimed by The New York Times following a performance in Carnegie Hall as “…easily the best tenor I have heard in a live Messiah.”  The British/German tenor is celebrated as the Evangelist in Bach’s Passions,  and his … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Body Language

Posted on December 22, 2012 by barczablog

I was having a crabby episode this Friday morning. I was running late.  It’s ridiculous to admit. I didn’t have any appointments, but I just had hoped to be downtown already, and everything about the morning seemed to add to … Continue reading →

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Apocalypso

Posted on December 21, 2012 by barczablog

What music accompanies the end of the world?  I suppose it depends whether you’re cowering or celebrating, sitting, dancing or running for cover. I ask ironically, of course, because the whole Mayan thing is silly.  It’s a finite calendar, limited … Continue reading →

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10 Questions for Allyson McHardy

Posted on December 9, 2012 by barczablog

Mezzo-soprano Allyson McHardy has a voice that invites sensuous adjectives.  Radiant?  Dusky? Sumptuous?  You be the judge. In the past year I wrote about her participation in two very different productions by the same composer, namely Händel: Hercules semi-staged by … Continue reading →

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Semele in my nose

Posted on May 25, 2012 by barczablog

I had another chance to see & hear and even smell Zhang Huan’s production of Semele at the Canadian Opera Company. Yes, Semele also smells good (and I’m not just saying that to make a feeble joke).  Before the curtain … Continue reading →

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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 →

Posted in Essays | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments