Journey to the Center

I am a feminist. This occasionally colors my perception of classical works, making it difficult for me to enjoy some of the pieces that are overtly misogynist or racist. Some pieces are presented in a way that makes it possible to put them back into context and remember they were written hundreds of years ago when sexism and racism were more accepted and overt than they are today. However, I still have problems with The Taming of the Shrew and I was fully expecting Pagliacci to be of its ilk; namely that it would infuriate me with its abuse of women and I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the musical impact of the work.

The Seattle Opera took a novel approach to performing this piece, removing the traditional showing of Cavalleria Rusticana from the bill and filling the time with a flashback of Canio and Nedda and a piece of music pulled from other Leoncavalla works. The 11 minute interlude traveled through Canios memory from the time when he and Nedda met (she was very young and he was an adult clown) through to the present day. The music and accompanying circus acts were fascinating in their own right, but they also showed a tenderness between the two that wasn’t displayed in the first act. The growth of the relationship between Canio and Nedda and their happiness together was shown in a way that made it possible to understand Canio better.
My concerns about not enjoying this piece were entirely unfounded. I was absolutely blown away by the opera. I have never been moved by music or performance like I was by Antonello Palombis performance as Pagliacci. I would have thought that I wouldn’t have any sympathy for such a jealous jerk, but the passion and energy Palombi brought to the performance made me cry. It just broke my heart to see him in so much pain. After seeing the way he lavished attention on Nedda in the interlude, it was impossible not to feel for a man whose heartbreak snapped his mind, and Palombis performance brought this state of being home. I think with a lesser actor, it wouldn’t have been as easy to feel that sympathy.

The curtain call showed exactly how much effort Palombi hadput into the final scene. He came out for his bows sobbing with exhaustion. It was a truly beautiful performance, the only one where I felt the need to give a standing ovation. I was privileged to be there.

She hit the lock button on the remote again, aiming it carefully at the car. Nothing happened - no click, no beep, nothing. Of course this would happen today. The car had to be freaking out on Halloween of all nights. She’d been in and out of the house several times trying to figure out why the alarm was going off. There didn’t appear to be any logical reason for it, she was tempted to blame the flashing of the lights on pranksters that were undoubtedly hiding in the bushes and snickering every time she’d come out of the apartment.

She had to keep running back in, interrupting her fretting and troubleshooting every time kids would appear. It was odd to see so many of them, but she enjoyed all of the costumes. The little demon had been her favorite - he was very polite after hissing at her initially and his costume looked hand made. Of course, having a parent peering over his should probably didn’t hurt any.

She looked up form her car, noticing the trick or treater approaching from the street. Exasperated, she opened the car door, locked it manually and headed back for the door. It really would have been smarted to turn off the lights and discourage them, but it was rainy and dark out and she didn’t want to rely on just her flashlight.

It looked like this might be the last of the stragglers though. The kid was all alone, walking up the path with his flashlight, a plastic shopping bag for candy and a costume that looked like it had come straight from leftover clothes in the closet. She stepped inside as he reached the bottom of the steps to her front door, reaching around to grab the bucket of candy she’d laid on the floor. But the time she straightened up, he was in the doorway behind her.

“Trick or treat.” The bandanna underneath his eyes muffled his voice.

“Happy Halloween. That’s a great bandit costume.”

“Thanks. So what were you doing with my car?” The boy laughed, it was oddly low pitched.

“Excuse me? Your car?”

“Just hand me the keys.”

It was then that she noticed the gun peeking out from behind the empty bag of candy.

Based on the book by Graham Greene, The End of the Affair was adapted for opera in 2002 or so by Jake Heggie. It debuted as an opera in 2004. I mention these things as this was my first exposure to modern opera and I’m certain that it colored my perceptions of the work. I’ve performed modern symphonies, particularly Holsts The Planets. They may not be quite as modern as the word would imply, but by operatic standards they are practically newborn.

All caveats aside, I had high hopes for this opera. The story is moving and dramatic, told by one of the secondary characters who is searching for answers. Maurice’s plight is sympathetic and approachable - he’s lost his love to unknown circumstances shortly after their rendezvous and his near death in a bombing raid in London in 1944. He is still tormented by the loss of Sarah, 18 months later and takes advantage of her unhappy husband to get the answers he wants. This plot practically begs for a tragic opera, particularly with all of the characters coming to God at the end.

I was hugely disappointed in the production. Between the tricks of a Broadway musical (highlighting individuals in spotlights during a choral moment), the gratuitous nudity and the utter failure of the music to evoke any emotion whatsoever.

My expectations for opera are fairly simple. The production is mostly people standing around and singing, exceptional productions have less posing, but for the most part it is necessary for the singers to be stationary to provide the support necessary to get the music out properly. It’s nice when there’s more than posing, but not required. Second, an opera should not try to be another type of medium. If I wanted to go see a musical, I would. Likewise with movies. Therefore, nudity is absolutely forbidden.

Nitpicking aside, I was disappointed in the score, which is generally the heart and soul of an operatic production. The atonality, the conflict within the score and the overall lack of direction left me feeling that the opera was fighting with itself. It was as though the music didn’t know what it was supposed to be, let alone where it was going. Scenes that were supposed to be heart wrenching fell flat due to the conflict within the score. There were two scenes in the first act that had clear direction and an emotive content that provoked sympathy. The rest of the showing was an exercise in futility.

After the intermission, I noticed that the seating was much more sparse than it had been when the show started. I was sorely tempted to leave about half way through the second act and kept waiting for it to end. Some of the other operas were slow, but this was the first that I actively disliked. I find it amusing that Speight Jenkins has an article up on the opera site entitled “What Was I Thinking?” I find that this now has a whole new, unintended, meaning for me.

Florencia in the Amazons is everything I’d hoped opera would be when I signed up for our first season subscription. Spending money on the possibility of a beautiful performace was enticing and nearly assured, particularly as the only opera I’d seen was the Barber of Seville which made me laugh despite having to read the translations.

The music was beautiful and moving, taking hold of my emotions and using it for its own purpose. Lovers spats, longing, hope and despair were all as clear through the music as they were through the lyrics. Empathizing with the characters, even though they were caricatures, was as simple as talking with your best friend.

Amazingly, all the performers could act and act well. Many of the performers I’ve seen have had suffered from the same difficulties that Keanu Reeves suffers: wooden face, stilted speaking. The seats I have are close enough to actually see the expression on their faces and it was amazing to see the expression coming out. In addition, they’d added some visual candy in the form of modern dancers during the instrumental sections. They depicted everything from the storm to piranhas.

My favorite part of the whole opera was the reveal at the end. Florencia had been searching for her love, who had gone off to find the fabled Emerald Butterfly. At the end of the show, Florencia morphed into the butterfly that he was seeking, completing the circle. This transformation allowed her to become her complete and happy self. I still remember the feeling of bliss at the end.

The story of Manon Lescaut is fairly well known, if only for its theme. A young woman must choose her direction in life: will she pursue love or money? The story is simple, but the womans inability to choose one or the other results in her death. Nice, tragic story.

The Puccini version of the story is remarkable mostly for its complexity. The story moves along during the arias and there are several groups of individuals and their conversations woven into a single song. For the production we saw, that complexity was also its downfall. The orchestra often drowned out the vocals, and the main line of the story was overwhelmed on occasion by the chorus singing another train of the plot.

The production was… ok. The music on the whole was pleasant to listen to. Of course, I missed the most interesting lines (everyone else laughed) because of the cough I develop in that hall. I swear, the air conditioning is out to get me. The sets were well done and most of the actors actually sang well. Of course, the had to stop and pose periodically to compete with the volume of the orchestra, but the music on the whole was good.

My favorite part of the whole opera was Act 3. It was the most influenced by Wagner and the orchestration was stunning. Even without knowing Italian, it was obvious what was happening on stage. I can’t wait for the Ring. I love Wagner best of all the composers. The emotion in his music is overwhelming.

Actually, the title of the opera was in Italian, but it was based in California during the gold rush. Does it really matter? I don’t think so, this was my least favorite of the productions. It was slow, silly and pointless. Casting a large unsexy man as the woman a saintly figure falls for enough to descend into a world where she has to free him from a righteous hanging with a gun is just silly.

Maybe I’m spoiled, but the music didn’t move me. I kept waiting to feel something - anything. But instead I was bored. The third act picked it up a bit and I nearly jumped out of my skin when they shot the blanks. In fact the music almost made me believe that they were running off happily into the west.

Almost, but not quite.

The opera left me flat and unsatisfied. For all that they house claims they’re on par with New York, I wish they’d pick better material. I’m waiting for the Ring…

January 17, 2004 my hisband and I went to see Carmen. I hadn’t had the opportunity to read any of the preliminary material we were sent, so I went in to this one completely blind. I do’nt think I’ll do that again, I don’t like having to read the subtitles while trying to absorb everything else. It’d rather just focus on the stange and get the general gist of what they’re saying.

As with any opera, there were really two elements to this one - the stageplay and the music. However, this was the first time I’d seen the stage element be such a pronounced portion of the production. As such they’ll get treated as separate elements.

First the stageplay. The acting and set were fantastic. Carmen was hugely expressive and such a tragic figure. Don Jose and Micaela were absolutely convincing in their performance. In fact, I’ve seen many plays where the actors could not compare with the authenticity shown on this stage. Don Jose’s obsessive behavior reminded me of that of Mel Gibson in Conspiracy Theory.

The first act of the music was fun, fabulous at setting the mood for a jovial trip into town. No cares, no worries other than whether or not the children would come begging. I was surprised at how many songs I recognized, how such a complicated opera could make such inroads into popular culture. I really think that the opera community owes Warner Brothers and Bugs Bunny a lot of credit for making beautiful music accessible.

Unfortunately, the change of mood between acts could not be carried off the performers. The tragedy in the music was completely overwhelmed. I desperately wanted to feel the tragedy. They music told me that what was going on was worse than the words could convey. But I didn’t feel it in the voices. The inflection just wasn’t there.

Overall, a very uneven opera, but fun to attend.

I should not be awake. Really, after a Wagnerian opera, you need to sleep until noon the next day. I’d forgotten that though. And of course, my body doesn’t know that rule. But sitting though Act (100 minutes), Act 2 (75 minutes), Act 3 (67 minutes) and a couple of half hour intermissions makes for a long exhausting evening. Pile on top of that the 3:30 AM alarm to get to work on time and it was a long day.

But what an amazing opera it was. I got home at 3:30, crashed until 4 and finally decided to be completely anti-trendy in my dress. A lightweight cream sweater (can you say too much air conditioning?), a plaid skirt my mother had from the 80’s that she was getting rid of at her garage sale and my black high-heeled boots. Oh, and not opera is complete with less than $1000 worth of jewelry, so I wore my engagement ring (Yes, I’ve been a slacker lately and only wearing the wedding band. So sue me.).The husband wore a tie and slacks. Men have it so easy with their nice outfit uniform it makes me jealous sometimes. Anyway, there was more traffic than we expected so we arrived at the parking late enough that we bailed on our dinner reservations and grabbed some food at the opera house. The spinach salad was much better than the food we’d had at the restaurant the night before. It was weird.

We found our seats without a problem and had time for the husband to read the basic plot provided in the program. Its much easier if you know the plot beforehand, especially if you don’t know the language that well. My German’s a bit rusty, so I had to read the subtitles for exact words and that always distracts me from the music. I find if I know the plot, the words aren’t as important and I can absorb the music better. The music was beautiful. The orchestration completely stole the show, but for this opera it’s not unexpected. I did find myself tearing up in Act 3 when Kundry was baptized and was extremely moved by Amfortas’ plea to end his suffering. But overall my favorite voice and actor was Stephen Milling as Gurnemanz. What an amazing bass voice he has.

As far as the physical experience, I can only hope that next time the coughers and sneezers stay home and that the man with gas isn’t a season ticket holder. I also need to grab myself a back cushion before the next show to eliminate that bucket seat thing. It’s murder on my back to have my shoulders pushed forward for that long.

This opera left me with a lot of things to mull over, but that’s another post entirely.