Tag Archives: Jane Archibald

TSO – TMC Mozart Requiem: Best Concert of the Year

Posted on January 12, 2023 by barczablog

The headline is only partly in jest. Yes it was the best concert so far in 2023, as of January 11th. Many are still saying “Happy New Year” and writing the wrong date on cheques (if they even write cheques … Continue reading →

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TSO Messiah via Mozart

Posted on December 21, 2019 by barczablog

Tonight I heard something different from the Toronto Symphony. The TSO’s annual Messiah in Roy Thomson Hall with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir may seem like a ritual, but it actually varies from year to year. Every time we get different … Continue reading →

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Questions for Bruno Roy

Posted on May 18, 2018 by barczablog

Time flies. It seems like it was only yesterday that baritone Bruno Roy was a finalist in Centre Stage, the 2015 Ensemble Studio competition. The new voice that we had never heard before? He is now about to make his … Continue reading →

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Night before…

Posted on January 23, 2013 by barczablog

The child who goes to bed on Christmas Eve awaiting a visit from Santa Claus may have given clues.  Sometimes Santa gets a letter.  Sometimes he gets a visit in the department store. I’m just like that kid, awaiting the … Continue reading →

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Pollyanna’s picks for 2012

Posted on December 23, 2012 by barczablog

This is a look back at 2012 through the rose-coloured glasses of someone who prefers to avoid negativity. Most impressive singer: Jane Archibald.  I’d already been persuaded by her Zerbinetta in the recent COC Ariadne, then I heard her Haydn CD … Continue reading →

Posted in Essays | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

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 →

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Seek Haydn

Posted on April 23, 2012 by barczablog

At one time, the pathway to success for a virtuoso was simple. Sing what everyone else sings Sing it better than anyone …and by doing so, prove that you’re the best The game has changed.  I own several CDs that … Continue reading →

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Adrianne’s Ariadne

Posted on May 13, 2011 by barczablog

You know you’re an opera fan when___ .  There are lots of ways to complete the sentence, but how about this one(….?): you know you’re an opera fan when you come out of the Lion King, humming Ariadne auf Naxos.  … Continue reading →

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