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Opera
Jan 13, 2012 5:15:24 GMT
Post by lola on Jan 13, 2012 5:15:24 GMT
We saw The Enchanted Island last weekend at the Met. It was a delightful, enchanting production. Costumes, a fun simulated shipwreck, wonderful music and singing. They had two countertenors with major parts, one was supposed to be an old, and the other a young man, so the high voices made some kind of sense.
World premiere, a pastiche of Handel, Vivaldi, Rameau, etc, baroque music set to a plot of combined The Tempest and Midsummer's Night Dream.
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Opera
Jan 13, 2012 7:27:20 GMT
Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2012 7:27:20 GMT
I have only been to maybe a half dozen operas in my life, but it is something that I definitely intend to rectify once I have more control over my time -- the last one I saw a couple of years ago was David Cronenberg's The Fly, which of course was not exactly traditional but quite interesting with its special effects and gothic chorus.
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Opera
Jan 13, 2012 21:50:10 GMT
Post by lola on Jan 13, 2012 21:50:10 GMT
I didn't know I loved opera until I went to my first one, Magic Flute at Santa Fe, during college, and was transfixed. The combination of music, drama, dance, costuming, set design and lighting... It does make rotten background music, though, pretty much requires being there in person.
I've walked out at intermission from several performances, most recently a muddily annoying Pelleas and Mellisande this summer at the usually excellent Opera Theater St. Louis. It's good to start out with entry level operas, something you've heard of: your war horses that jaded critics have seen a million times.
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Opera
Jan 13, 2012 21:57:33 GMT
Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2012 21:57:33 GMT
I confess that I walked out of Don Giovanni once.
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Opera
Jan 14, 2012 3:30:11 GMT
Post by lola on Jan 14, 2012 3:30:11 GMT
All right! I walked out of an Abduction From The Seraglio that was driving me nuts.
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Opera
Jan 14, 2012 18:14:04 GMT
Post by bjd on Jan 14, 2012 18:14:04 GMT
During the 1970s, there was a push in Toronto to make culture more "user-friendly" and hence attract people who wouldn't normally attend theatre, opera or ballet. Since I theoretically disliked opera I went to see one (Barber of Seville, perhaps?). It was awful, simply because by trying to make it more accessible, they spoke more than they sang, so I couldn't see the point of the whole thing. They did that with dance (particularly ballet) too. I had always liked dance but went with some friends to see a performance outside one summer. One woman brought a book "in case she got bored" ;D. There was an introduction by someone, telling the audience not to feel that enjoying ballet is only for snobs. "If you see something you like, applaud and let the dancers know it." Anyway, it was some very classic ballet. Everytime a dancer came on, or one jumped or twirled a little more, half the audience would break into applause.
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Opera
Jan 14, 2012 18:44:18 GMT
Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2012 18:44:18 GMT
I never forget when people say that they don't like such things how much they really do like the greatest hits of classical music or opera. We have all been bathed in this music -- parts of Carmen or the Magic Flute or the Nutcracker or whatever, and I defy anybody to say that they do not like it.
But I realize that liking 6 or 8 minutes of the music is not at all the same as sitting through 120 minutes of the entire work.
And yet, a few people in these recalcitrant groups will always discover that they do indeed love the entire work of art, and when that happens it is magical.
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Opera
Jan 15, 2012 20:09:33 GMT
Post by cheerypeabrain on Jan 15, 2012 20:09:33 GMT
I get my hits from the radio and you-tube these days. I rarely listen to an entire opera, maybe my musical glands haven't matured properly. My son, up until recently a 'trance' fan is now mad about opera.
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Opera
Jan 27, 2012 12:36:12 GMT
Post by rikita on Jan 27, 2012 12:36:12 GMT
i must admit i have only been to one opera ever and that was just the music, no costumes or acting - was a presentation students from a music university gave in the gym of one of the schools in my village... never been to the ballet either. thing is, no one in my family ever listened much to opera or ballet, and we always went to concerts rather (like, chamber music and symphonies and choir music and similar), so somehow i never thought much about going to the opera...
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Opera
Jan 27, 2012 18:36:37 GMT
Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2012 18:36:37 GMT
I get my hits from the radio and you-tube these days. I rarely listen to an entire opera, maybe my musical glands haven't matured properly. My son, up until recently a 'trance' fan is now mad about opera. I think "opera" is as odd a universe as "Lord of the Rings" or "Star Wars." Generally you are mesmerized by it or you are allergic to it, which most people know ahead of time. But every now and then, you see something you think you are going to hate and all of a sudden --WOW!-- you are transported as you never thought would be possible. Actually, the opera that absolutely blew me away was one that I saw on television -- Wagner's The Ring presented at the Bayreuth festival. One thing that truly enhanced it "back in those days" was it was one of the first major works to be simulcast in stereo on a radio station. And believe me, I turned up the volume as loud as possible.
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Opera
Jan 28, 2012 18:29:09 GMT
Post by lola on Jan 28, 2012 18:29:09 GMT
The thing about opera is: it doesn't work if you "listen" to it. Going to one is best. Visuals and plot are essential.
Watch it from the beginning and follow the plot, understand what the soprano is screeching about and maybe even be moved. (as opposed to annoyed)
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Opera
Jan 29, 2012 18:55:32 GMT
Post by rikita on Jan 29, 2012 18:55:32 GMT
but that is exactly the thing why i think it isn't my thing... to me, music always has to be able to stand by itself, and i am not so much for the "show" around it... hm ok, there are occasions i like show though, but that's a different type of show then...
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Opera
May 18, 2012 22:03:13 GMT
Post by lola on May 18, 2012 22:03:13 GMT
In case anyone's wondering whether it's possible to stage a boring and colorless production of Bizet's Carmen, the usually excellent Opera Theater of St. Louis has an answer for you: yes. It is.
Luckily this was the dress rehearsal, with the tradition of lousy dress = good first night. Also luckily we got in free. If I'd paid $80 for my daughter and myself to watch I'd have stalked out with a flourish instead of leaving peaceably at 2nd intermission.
It was wrongheaded from the word go, conceived of as a black and white 1930's film noir. Costumes are grey and black. Set is grey and black. Almost no dancing, unless you count twirling of arms overhead for a few seconds. Carmen's devastating sexiness shown by haughty facial expression and slit skirt. The good girl from back home characterized by eyeglasses and making sign of the cross.
A waste of our afternoon, and tons of other peoples' time and talents. Well, there were her two very nice arias.
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Opera
May 19, 2012 16:20:59 GMT
Post by Deleted on May 19, 2012 16:20:59 GMT
How can the costumes for Carmen be anything but RED?
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Opera
May 19, 2012 22:07:24 GMT
Post by lola on May 19, 2012 22:07:24 GMT
Well, exactly.
I think the problem with opera is there is a limited number -- maybe say 20 -- of standard repertory warhorses that paying customers have heard of, or already love, and will flock to see. Someone who's been in the business for awhile will be bored with these warhorses and look for alternative ways to juice them up. Or in the case of this Carmen, drain them of juice.
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Opera
May 19, 2012 22:09:08 GMT
Post by lola on May 19, 2012 22:09:08 GMT
My friend the former NYC ballerina grew to hate The Nutcracker, but it would be madness to mess with that favorite of little girls' parents.
I didn't go into the other reasons why this particular production didn't work, but they could boil down to direction, acting, and singing.
I like the idea of inventive staging, and sometimes it works and is thrilling. I'm sure someone could pull the film noir concept off, but why pick on an inherently colorful and gypsy dance-y story?
There was one scene where Carmen tells her own fortune using a deck of blood red cards, then flings them to the floor. That was lovely and effective, since they were the only color on stage.
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Opera
Oct 7, 2015 16:43:02 GMT
Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2015 16:43:02 GMT
This weekend two friends of mine and I are going to a local production of La Traviata. It was the very first opera I ever went to in NY back in the Joan Sutherland days.
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Opera
Oct 8, 2015 3:07:24 GMT
Post by lola on Oct 8, 2015 3:07:24 GMT
Let us know how you like it. That was my second opera ever, at Santa Fe. Thrilling.
My first was The Magic Flute, also at Santa Fe. At that time I was a student, and they had seats along the back sides, one or two together, for cheap. Maybe $10. It's open air, and at one dramatic point a wind blew up, adding to the magic.
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Opera
Nov 9, 2015 1:33:56 GMT
Post by lola on Nov 9, 2015 1:33:56 GMT
I don't have plane tickets yet, between vacillating about whether to go and making sure I have work vacation time, but I just bought standing room balcony tickets for Royal Opera House production of La Traviata in March. £12 each, such a deal. With any luck Rolando Villazón will show up that night and be Alfredo.
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Opera
Nov 9, 2015 18:47:03 GMT
Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2015 18:47:03 GMT
Great price. I hope that you can see the stage.
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Opera
Jan 25, 2016 18:00:16 GMT
Post by lola on Jan 25, 2016 18:00:16 GMT
Got the La Traviata tickets, and am hoping Villazon will keep his voice. Hannah and I also have even higher-up and cheaper ROH tickets next month for L'Etoile by Chabrier, which I hope will be amusing fluff. We've had standing room places there before, and they require some leaning over, but you still see most of the stage. I use a standing computer at work for eight hours pretty much straight with less fun to motivate.
The ROH cheap side and high up seats/standings are a great bargain, get snatched up fast. From there prices go up steeply. The set designers bear us cheap seats people in mind, which I appreciate.
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