Tag Archives: Richard Wagner

Whose dream?

Posted on August 5, 2013 by barczablog

We’re in the summer of Wagner’s Bicentennial.  Frank Castorf’s new Ring cycle has opened at Bayreuth, which led to the inevitable boos from the audience. Inevitable?  Two of the greatest Bayreuth productions of the past few decades were booed at … Continue reading →

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Wagner and the animals

Posted on May 23, 2013 by barczablog

Don’t mistake me for an apologist for  Richard Wagner.  I am merely seeking balance. It’s the birthday of Wagner: the composer, the dramaturg, the musician, the pamphleteer, the communist, the racist… Yes, all of those and more. Was he also perhaps … Continue reading →

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Wagnerian Bicentennial

Posted on May 22, 2013 by barczablog

We’ve come to the first of the three important opera composer birthdays in 2013. May 22:  Richard Wagner’s bicentennial October 10:  Giuseppe Verdi’s bicentennial November 22: Benjamin Britten’s centennial You may prefer Britten’s operas. You may point to the box … Continue reading →

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Berlioz, Wagner, love

Posted on February 11, 2013 by barczablog

January 16th I promised to explore connections between Berlioz’s Les Troyens (an opera I’d been obsessing over) to Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, currently sharing the Canadian Opera Company stage with Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito.  When music stays inside your … Continue reading →

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Wagner and Adaptation: Linda’s Legacy

Posted on February 2, 2013 by barczablog

I use surnames in this blog.  Everyone calls him “Topher”, but when I wrote about him it was “Mokrzewski”.  Some aspects of the naming convention are absurdly obvious.  We call RW and RS “Wagner” and “Strauss not “Richard” and “Richard”, … Continue reading →

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Seven Liebestod questions for Christopher Mokrzewski

Posted on January 29, 2013 by barczablog

On Saturday February 2nd as part of the Opera Exchange colloquium on Richard Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, with a nod to the composer’s bicentennial, pianist Christopher Mokrzewski will be playing Franz Liszt’s transcription of the liebestod for piano solo. Mokrzewski … Continue reading →

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Heppner, Sellars & Viola: Tristan in Toronto

Posted on January 26, 2013 by barczablog

It’s really good. That’s all you need to know.  The Canadian Opera Company’s imported production of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde (originally presented in Paris in 2005), directed by Peter Sellars with video by Bill Viola is quite simply unforgettable.   And … 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 eternal question

Posted on September 30, 2012 by barczablog

Paper or plastic?  Shaken or stirred? How about Verdi or Wagner?  That was one big question tonight.  While some people chose to attend the opening of the COC’s Il trovatore, I opted for Wagner, namely Die Walküre.  Oh dear, …I’m … Continue reading →

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Fry and Wagner

Posted on September 28, 2012 by barczablog

It’s almost 2013, the bi-centennial for both Giuseppe Verdi & Richard Wagner (that is, a pair of composers born in 1813). Last night I watched the dress rehearsal of Il trovatore at the Canadian Opera Company’s Four Seasons Centre.  Tonight … Continue reading →

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