(The Metropolitan Opera, 29 September 2018)
Some things change. Others don’t. Individuals crave both. Opera belongs to the latter kind.
Change is a tree, not a path. Having some recollection of the past helps one retrace one's steps back to a less wrong position, if necessary. A memory of the past shared by individuals in disparate presents furnishes a shared vocabulary that helps debate a more promising future.
Showing posts with label Opera. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Opera. Show all posts
5 October 2018
2 April 2009
Le Nozze di Figaro
(Eastman Theatre, 2 April 2009)
In an exercise in which participants walk, talk, sometimes dance, and occasionally advance the plot, it is unclear why most of the effort should be concentrated on singing, especially when the musical numbers are so mediocre. Abigail Levis (who plays the part of Cheburino) is an exception; she acts. It appears that, among Americans who are not professional actors, only women and gay men have retained the ability to portray a male character of even minimal subtlety.
In an exercise in which participants walk, talk, sometimes dance, and occasionally advance the plot, it is unclear why most of the effort should be concentrated on singing, especially when the musical numbers are so mediocre. Abigail Levis (who plays the part of Cheburino) is an exception; she acts. It appears that, among Americans who are not professional actors, only women and gay men have retained the ability to portray a male character of even minimal subtlety.
7 November 2008
The Turn of the Screw
(Eastman Opera Theatre, 7 November 2008)
Remarkably for an opera, the singers take the trouble to act---and they do so well. Furthermore, it appears that as much effort has been put into directing the actors as in conducting the orchestra and rehearsing the arias. The singers stay in character throughout the performance and between the scenes. The orchestra and the actors are co-ordinated impeccably. The leading lady (Meghan Attridge, who plays the governance) is beautiful and is of the same age as her character, which, again, is doubly unusual for an opera.
Acting in this opera comes closest to a musical piece. The acting is intense and concrete, and, yet, it invites the observer to infuse it with a meaning of his choice. The plot is bursting with developments and at the same time is hollow and begs to be filled by the viewer's imagination.
The actors' task is made easier by the subject matter of the performance. Sexual tension is easy to identify with for a viewer (and the actor); so, any half-hearted hint at it will fire the viewer's imagination, and acting imperfections may go unnoticed. If there were any acting imperfections, they did go unnoticed, indeed. One exception, perhaps, is the narration from the protagonist's point of view at the beginning of the opera. The narration is done with an accent---New Jersey TOEFL---markedly different from the protagonist's accent in the remainder of the play.
There is a sparkle of madness in each character. This is the kind of madness that stems from hunger rather than satiation. Most instances of madness, perhaps, stem from hunger. Thus--- more precisely---the characters' madness stems from their intellectual poverty, their plainness.
Remarkably for an opera, the singers take the trouble to act---and they do so well. Furthermore, it appears that as much effort has been put into directing the actors as in conducting the orchestra and rehearsing the arias. The singers stay in character throughout the performance and between the scenes. The orchestra and the actors are co-ordinated impeccably. The leading lady (Meghan Attridge, who plays the governance) is beautiful and is of the same age as her character, which, again, is doubly unusual for an opera.
Acting in this opera comes closest to a musical piece. The acting is intense and concrete, and, yet, it invites the observer to infuse it with a meaning of his choice. The plot is bursting with developments and at the same time is hollow and begs to be filled by the viewer's imagination.
The actors' task is made easier by the subject matter of the performance. Sexual tension is easy to identify with for a viewer (and the actor); so, any half-hearted hint at it will fire the viewer's imagination, and acting imperfections may go unnoticed. If there were any acting imperfections, they did go unnoticed, indeed. One exception, perhaps, is the narration from the protagonist's point of view at the beginning of the opera. The narration is done with an accent---New Jersey TOEFL---markedly different from the protagonist's accent in the remainder of the play.
There is a sparkle of madness in each character. This is the kind of madness that stems from hunger rather than satiation. Most instances of madness, perhaps, stem from hunger. Thus--- more precisely---the characters' madness stems from their intellectual poverty, their plainness.
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