tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607352.post113401568843506086..comments2024-03-18T05:17:45.683-05:00Comments on <a href="http://ionarts.blogspot.com/">Ionarts</a>: Next Season at Washington National OperaCharles T. Downeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14978821617871429169noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607352.post-1134507742332909762005-12-13T16:02:00.000-05:002005-12-13T16:02:00.000-05:00Bluebeard's Castle needs to be paired with somethi...<I>Bluebeard's Castle needs to be paired with something like Zemlinsky's Florentine Tragedy or the more common Schoenberg Erwartung.</I><BR/><BR/>H.H.<BR/><BR/>Somewhere, recently, I suggested a pairing at the MET of "Bluebeard's Castle", followed by Karol Szymanowski's "King Roger" (which the Wolf Trap opera once did, in concert version, after the terrible fire there of the early 1980s.) The Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607352.post-1134506545177022752005-12-13T15:42:00.000-05:002005-12-13T15:42:00.000-05:00Jens, I do not think that more than 5 or 7 years a...Jens, I do not think that more than 5 or 7 years ago, one would have seen the Washington National Opera do a Zambello "Ring", a David Alden "Jenufa", or even a Mariusz Trelinski "Madame Butterfly" (which I generally liked but found a little fussy; and which my guests liked even more than I did). (The Washington Opera Verdi MacBeth, of 1981 under Christopher Alden, was, I recall, a pretty tame Garth Trinklhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11084463787729969177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607352.post-1134501679498135632005-12-13T14:21:00.000-05:002005-12-13T14:21:00.000-05:00i am glad that my rant (i got a little carried awa...i am glad that my rant (i got a little carried away there, to the end - even if i stand by what i said) didn't offend all-too-much. the chairs and lightbulbs and turtle-necks (welcome to sprockets - you may not touch my monkey..... Klaus! it's time to daanz now!) are red herrings . they are used to indict modern productions as a whole without offering a solution beyond a return to the old jflhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03017753357752263113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607352.post-1134497724104552572005-12-13T13:15:00.000-05:002005-12-13T13:15:00.000-05:00I think that premieres and twentieth-century reper...<I> I think that premieres and twentieth-century repertory are signs of a progressive spirit..."</I><BR/><BR/>-- Alex Ross<BR/><BR/>I couldn't agree more. I guess its OK if you call me a progressive, rather than a moderate!<BR/><BR/>Charles, people have been discussing whether "directors' opera" has risen to international prominence at the expense of premieres and a core American operatic canon Garth Trinklhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11084463787729969177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607352.post-1134490795564066202005-12-13T11:19:00.000-05:002005-12-13T11:19:00.000-05:00It occurs to me as I review this comment thread ag...It occurs to me as I review this comment thread again that the root of this problem is that we have so few new operas being staged. As I suggested earlier (<A HREF="http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2005/01/productions-instead-of-premieres.html" REL="nofollow">Productions Instead of Premieres</A>, January 7) in response to a post by Alex Ross, "the energy and money spent on creating and defending Charles T. Downeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14978821617871429169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607352.post-1134488563172757002005-12-13T10:42:00.000-05:002005-12-13T10:42:00.000-05:00Jens, we were talking about chairs!! ... I can't ...Jens, we were talking about chairs!! ... I can't speak for Henry and Ariadne, but I myself am hardly a reactionary. Some know me as a flaming... Moderate!<BR/><BR/>I loved the San Fransisco Opera avant-garde production of Reimann's "Lear", as well as the avant-garde Dresden production of the Mussbach - Ruzicka "Paul Celan" that featured the work of an avant-garde local video art collective.<BR/Garth Trinklhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11084463787729969177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607352.post-1134488385848747882005-12-13T10:39:00.000-05:002005-12-13T10:39:00.000-05:00Wo, Jens take it easy there! I don't mind new set...Wo, Jens take it easy there! I don't mind new settings, not at all. I'm all for artistic risk and creativity.<BR/><BR/>What I object to is new settings that diminish of the actual plot line or that twist the characters beyond recognition, in the futile search for something "new" and/or "hip". <BR/><BR/>Pulling a gun out of her cleavage says that Tosca *planned* to kill him. Loaded the gun andPrincess Alpenrosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02745033267349506217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607352.post-1134488293298934242005-12-13T10:38:00.000-05:002005-12-13T10:38:00.000-05:00Jens's rant reminds me of the discussion I had wit...Jens's rant reminds me of the discussion I had with an opera fan about last year's production of <EM>Tosca</EM>. She was upset because after Scarpia's death scene, Tosca did not place candles around the body, as if that were the only way to stage that scene. Who would want to see the same operas -- because the conservative programming of most American houses especially means that we see a small Charles T. Downeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14978821617871429169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607352.post-1134454609012860452005-12-13T01:16:00.000-05:002005-12-13T01:16:00.000-05:00i'll take oversized spoons over the old-fashioned ...i'll take oversized spoons over the old-fashioned shlock that is devoid of new ideas for hundreds of years that the others here seem to prefer. but you all make a wonderful point in the difference between conservative (me) and reactionary (you people). there is nothing inherently good about presenting opera "as 100 years ago" or "as 50 years ago" (in more conservative towns) or "as at the MET" (jflhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03017753357752263113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607352.post-1134406782474620372005-12-12T11:59:00.000-05:002005-12-12T11:59:00.000-05:00And chairs, what is it with freakin' chairs? I saw...<I>And chairs, what is it with freakin' chairs? I saw a production of Reimann's great Lear in Dresden and during the searing scene on the heath, the stage was bare except for.....dozens and dozens of chairs.</I><BR/><BR/>Right on, Henry! I also saw the Dresden Lear and wondered about all the chairs. But you didn't mention the HUGE kitchen table with the HUGE chairs, spoons, and knives!!<BR/><BRGarth Trinklhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11084463787729969177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607352.post-1134391602429565392005-12-12T07:46:00.000-05:002005-12-12T07:46:00.000-05:00Henry, you're KILLING me! I cannot stop laughing ...Henry, you're KILLING me! I cannot stop laughing and agree TOTALLY with everything you've been saying! I just could not agree more, and to have it put so directly and, well, you're saying exactly what I've been thinking, every word of it. I'm for traditional yet creative and interesting sets with good program notes.<BR/><BR/>Witness the poor villagers (aka the Chorus) in Baltimore's recent Princess Alpenrosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02745033267349506217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607352.post-1134285824919440532005-12-11T02:23:00.000-05:002005-12-11T02:23:00.000-05:00"after all, it is better to be angry than to be bo..."after all, it is better to be angry than to be bored!" said winnifred wagner to patrice chereau when he finally got to meet her in 1980 after the very last curtain of his centennial ring. i agree and that is why i welcome the fact that we could not disagree more about opera as a living art form. although we probably agree more than you might think on the ineptitude of execution of many modern jflhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03017753357752263113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607352.post-1134193116211590982005-12-10T00:38:00.000-05:002005-12-10T00:38:00.000-05:00i understand (to the limit of my ability) what you...i understand (to the limit of my ability) what you say more than i can emphatize with it. i am actually working on an article on what 'conservative means in the arts' for a cultural/architectural journal - and i'll be sure to post relevant material here... but my basic point is that the most important part in opera is 'relating to truth' - which i take further to "getting to the intent, the jflhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03017753357752263113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607352.post-1134147012929250172005-12-09T11:50:00.000-05:002005-12-09T11:50:00.000-05:00It is Christopher Alden who gives more prominence ...It is Christopher Alden who gives more prominence to "bare walls, chairs and lots of lightbulbs". it was also Christopher Alden who has worked at the WNO before - not David.jflhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03017753357752263113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607352.post-1134101650081536722005-12-08T23:14:00.000-05:002005-12-08T23:14:00.000-05:00Henry, thanks for that! It's important to keep tha...Henry, thanks for that! It's important to keep that in mind about Puccini. I agree with you about the pairing, which is definitely odd. I would *love* to see <EM>Erwartung</EM> much more than <EM>Schicchi</EM>. I don't know if Maw has revised or will revise <EM>Sophie's Choice</EM> for next season, but I will try to find out. As for Alden, I may like unusual productions more than you, but I am Charles T. Downeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14978821617871429169noreply@blogger.com