Tag Archives: Robert Carsen

Closing matinée for Onegin

Posted on November 4, 2018 by barczablog

This afternoon’s late matinée at 4:30 pm was the final performance for Eugene Onegin in the Canadian Opera Company’s fall season. Weekend audiences can be a bit of a challenge especially in the afternoon. Oh sure, we’re all relaxed in … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Personal ruminations & essays, Politics | Tagged Christine Goerke, Eugene Onegin, gender, Hadrian, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Robert Carsen, Sandra Horst, Tchaikovsky | 3 Comments

Homecoming for Carsen’s Eugene Onegin

Posted on October 1, 2018 by barczablog

Better late than never, the Canadian Opera Company have premiered Robert Carsen’s Eugene Onegin, a production originally premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in 1997. It’s a triumph of Canadian talent on all sides, from the sets & costumes by Michael … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Personal ruminations & essays, Reviews | Tagged Berlioz, Byron, Canadian Opera Company, Childe Harold, Christine Binder, Eugene Onegin, Gordon Bintner, Jean Kalman, Johannes Debus, Joseph Kaiser, Joyce El-Khoury, Michael Levine, Pushkin, Robert Carsen, Serge Bennathan, Tchaikovsky, Varduhl Abrahamyan | Leave a comment

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

Against the Grain Orphée+

Posted on April 28, 2018 by barczablog

Orphée+? That plus sign might signify an opera updated, enlarged, perhaps even reformed(?). The “+” means some remarkable additions and changes from Gluck’s original, Orphée et Eurydice (or the Italian version aka Orfeo ed Euridice). Gluck created more than one … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Music and musicology, Opera, Popular music & culture, Reviews | Tagged aerials, Against the Grain Theatre, Barbara Hannigan, burlesque, John Gzowski, Marcy Richardson, Mireille Asselin, Opera Columbus, Robert Carsen, S Katy Tucker, Siman Chung, Topher Mokrzewski | 2 Comments

10 Questions for Joel Ivany

Posted on November 27, 2013 by barczablog

Joel Ivany’s career seems to be taking off. His work with Against the Grain Theatre here in Toronto is impressive enough, but in addition he directed the recent World premiere of Gavin Bryars chamber opera Marilyn Forever with the Aventa … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Interviews, Opera | Tagged Against the Grain Theatre, Albert Herring, AtG, Aventa Ensemble, Christopher Mokrzewski, Debussy, Edmonton Opera, Figaro's Wedding, Gavin Bryars, Joel Ivany, Korngold, Le Nozze di Figaro, Les Contes D’Hoffmann, Macbeth, Marilyn Forever, Messiah, Minnesota Opera, Miriam Khalil, Nabucco, Pelleas et Melisande, Robert Carsen, Royal Conservatory of Music, The Rape of Lucretia, The Silent Serenade, University of Toronto, Verdi, Western University | 2 Comments

Robert Carsen’s Dialogues des Carmelites

Posted on April 23, 2013 by barczablog

Premiered in 1997 at Nederlandse Opera, seen at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and La Scala in Milan, Robert Carsen’s production of Francis Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmelites is better than a new production, because it’s an acclaimed classic. And now … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, video & DVDs, Reviews | Tagged Dialogues des Carmelites, La Scala, Riccardo Muti, Robert Carsen | 4 Comments

Carsen’s Tosca

Posted on July 31, 2012 by barczablog

Toronto is belatedly getting to know one of its own. Opera Director Robert Carsen, who’s made a name for himself worldwide has only recently directed productions in Toronto. And how romantic is it that—as if to make up for lost … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged Canadian Opera Company, Emily Magee, Jonas Kaufmann, Opernhaus Zurich, Robert Carsen, Thomas Hampson, Tosca | Leave a comment

Operatic alchemy

Posted on January 19, 2012 by barczablog

The Canadian Opera Company announced its 2012-2013 season today, January 18th, a combination of works old and new. I don’t pretend to understand how an opera company chooses their repertoire, although I think I understand some of the issues involved. … Continue reading →

Posted in Essays, Opera | Tagged Bayrakdarian, Canadian Opera Company, Christopher Alden, Dialogues des Carmelites, Forst, Mishura, Mozart, Pieczonka, Poulenc, Puccini, Ramon Vargas, Robert Carsen, Saariaho, Stephen Costello, Tristan und Isolde, Verdi, Wagner | 4 Comments

Carsen’s Iphigenia

Posted on September 23, 2011 by barczablog

Robert Carsen has once again held up a mirror to an opera by Gluck with the help of the Canadian Opera Company. Last season it was an award winning production of Orfeo ed Euridice. Tonight I saw Iphigenie en Tauride, … Continue reading →

Posted in Opera, Reviews | Tagged Canadian Opera Company, Gluck, Iphigenie en Tauride, Robert Carsen, Russell Braun, Susan Graham | Leave a comment

Hurry September

Posted on August 10, 2011 by barczablog

In the middle of a driving rainstorm, my doorbell rang this morning. The mailman, bless his heart, was dropping off a bundle just as the heavens opened to drench the guy, and my mail. Among the wet items was –oh … Continue reading →

Posted in Essays | Tagged Berlioz, Gluck, Iphigenia in Tauris, Iphigenie en Tauride, La Damnation de Faust, Les Troyens, Pablo Heras-Casado, Robert Carsen, Russell Braun, Susan Graham | Leave a comment