Tag Archives: opera

Interviewing versatile tenor Scott Rumble

Posted on December 7, 2025 by barczablog

I have heard tenor Scott Rumble a few times, a young artist who impressed both vocally and dramatically in Toronto Operetta Theatre’s Die Fledermaus in 2022. Ah how I wish I could have seen him take on the heroic role … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Opera | Tagged Ariadne auf Naxos, books, classical-music, Die Walküre, Guillermo Silva-Marin, Gwenlynn Little, Imre Kalman, James Patrick Raftery, Jon Vickers, opera, operetta, Orchestra Toronto, Peter Hofmann, Scott Rumble, Siegmund, theatre, Torin Chiles, Toronto Operetta Theatre | Leave a comment

Superb Orfeo revival

Posted on October 13, 2025 by barczablog

I was delighted by the Canadian Opera Company revival of Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice Saturday at the Four Seasons Centre. Although I thought I liked it well enough when I saw it in 2011 I never expected the gushing tears … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | Tagged Anna-Sophie Neher, Bernard Labadie, Canadian Opera Company, Catherine St-Arnaud, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Christophe Gayra, classical-music, Four Seasons Centre, Iestyn Davies, music, opera, Orfeo ed Euridice, Ranieri de' Calzabigi, reform opera, review, Robert Carsen, Sandra Horst | Leave a comment

William Shookhoff discusses political operas: Menotti’s The Consul from Opera By Request

Posted on October 10, 2025 by barczablog

Opera by Request will be presenting Giancarlo Menotti’s The Consul, an opera premiered in 1950 during the Red Scare, a time with significant parallels to our own. I asked William (Bill) Shookhoff, the Artistic Director of OBR, about the project. … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Opera, Politics, Press Releases and Announcements | Tagged Brigitte Bogar, Brittany Stewart, College Street United Church, Giancarlo Menotti, Human Rights organizations, Joshua Read, Julia MacVicar, Karina Bray, Kenneth Baker, Lucas Kuipers, Monica Zerbe, music, opera, Opera by Request, Politics, Red Scare, Sebastien Belcourt, Taylor Gibbs, The Consul, William Shookhoff | Leave a comment

COC’s highly original Roméo et Juliette

Posted on October 6, 2025 by barczablog

It might be the best-known of all Shakespeare stories, the star-crossed lovers, dying young for love. Romeo and Juliet becomes Roméo et Juliette when a French composer such as Charles Gounod (1867) is telling the story in music. The rental … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | Tagged Alex Hetherington, Amy Lane, Canadian Opera Company, Charles Gounod, Gordon Bintner, Jules Barbier, Kseniia Proshina, Megan Latham, Michel Carré, music, opera, Owen McCausland, Robert Lepage, Robert Pomakov, Roméo et Juliette, Romeo and Juliet, Sandra Horst, Stephen Costello, surtitles, theatre, Yves Abel | 2 Comments

Holly Chaplin and Ryan Hofman talk about their upcoming La Boheme On Tap

Posted on September 12, 2025 by barczablog

La Boheme is being presented at the Redwood Theatre on Friday September19th 8:00 p.m., a co-production with The Redwood Theatre including a silent auction in support of Daily Bread Food Bank. I talked to Holly Chaplin who sings the starring … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Opera | Tagged Canadian Opera Company, classical-music, Elmwood Spa, genre, Giacomo Puccini, Holly Chaplin, La boheme, La Boheme On Tap, Massey Hall, Moonstruck, music, National Ballet of Canada, opera, Opera Revue, Puccini, Redwood Theatre, Ryan Hofman, SOLO, Southern Ontario Lyric Opera, theatre, Toronto Symphony Orchestra | Leave a comment

Alexander Hajek talks about the upcoming La Boheme On Tap

Posted on September 10, 2025 by barczablog

La Boheme is being presented at the Redwood Theatre on Friday September19th 8:00 p.m., a co-production with The Redwood Theatre in Support of Daily Bread Food Bank. I talked to Alexander Hajek who sings the role of Marcello the painter. … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Opera, Personal ruminations & essays | Tagged Alexander Hajek, Carmina Burana, classical-music, Daily Bread Food Bank, genre, Giacomo Puccini, La boheme, La Boheme On Tap, music, opera, Opera Revue, Puccini, Redwood Theatre, theatre | Leave a comment

Toronto Vocal Showcase 2.0

Posted on August 28, 2025 by barczablog

Today I enjoyed the second Toronto Vocal Showcase. The first one was held almost exactly two years ago in late August 2023, the brainchild of Ryan Hofman. In 2023 he said “Today…I hope I changed the game going forward.“ The … Continue reading →

Posted in Music and musicology, Opera | Tagged Amy Moodie, Aria, audition, Cassandra Amorim, Chelsea Kolic, Christian Masucci Facchini, Hope United Church, Ivan Jovanovic, James Coole-Stevenson, Jeremy Scinocca, Joel Ricci, Johnathon Kirby, Joseph Adams, Kathryn Rose Johnston, Kcenia Koutorjevski, Lauren Estey Jovanovic, Lissy Meyerowitz, Nicole Whitney Dubinsky, Olivia Morton, opera, Ryan Hofman, Toronto Vocal Showcase | Leave a comment

Reflections from Stephen Bell, former COC chorister, Founder of Coffeeshop Film & Creative

Posted on June 16, 2025 by barczablog

Stephen Bell is an award winning filmmaker and visual designer based in Toronto. Videographer by day and opera singer by night, Stephen is the Founder of Coffeeshop Film & Creative. And on May 25th Stephen posted on Facebook that after … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Interviews, Opera | Tagged Angela Bell, Bardia Doust, Brahm Goldhamer, Canadian Opera Company, COC Chorus, Coffeeshop Film & Creative, digital content, Eric Moniz, Four Seasons Centre, La Maupin, Messiah/Complex, music, opera, OperaQ, passagio, Sandra Horst, Stephen Bell, Tenor, videographer, videography | Leave a comment

COC’s Wozzeck, a relatable opera

Posted on April 28, 2025 by barczablog

This spring season of the Canadian Opera Company feels a bit like the second coming of Alexander Neef, their former General Director. Next week we’ll be seeing the revival of Robert Carsen’s Eugene Onegin, a production that Neef brought to … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal ruminations & essays | Tagged Alban Berg, Alexander Cappellazzo, Alexander Neef, Alexander Pushkin, Ambur Braid, Canadian Opera Company, Catherine Meyburgh, Eugene Onegin, Greta Goiris, Johannes Debus, Karl Emil Franzos, Kim Gunning, Literaturoper, Luc De Wit, Michael Kupfer-Radecky, Michael Schade, Mikael Kangas, modernist, music, opera, review, Sabine Theunissen, theatre, Urs Schönebaum, William Kentridge, Wozzeck | 13 Comments

Alexandra Delle Donne discusses their Mozart – Menotti double bill

Posted on February 24, 2025 by barczablog

When I heard that soprano Alexandra Delle Donne was producing a twin-bill of one act operas, I wanted to know more. The night of Saturday March 8th and the afternoon of Sunday March 9th Alexandra will be singing in Menotti’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Opera | Tagged Alexandra Delle Donne, classical-music, Der Schauspieldirektor, East End United, Giancarlo Menotti, James Sandau, Joshua Clemenger, Katelyn Bird, Mehkriban Mamedova, music, opera, Out of the Cold, The Telephone, theatre, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Leave a comment