#7478 - 10/10/13 12:01 PM
Re: Opera 7
[Re: Lorna]
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Member
Registered: 07/02/02
Posts: 3558
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Wow, I'm glad I passed. Austin, what did your wife think?
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#7481 - 10/10/13 06:22 PM
Re: Opera 7
[Re: Christopher]
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Austin
Unregistered
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About the same as Lorna, except that she came home raving about Netrebko. But she always does that.
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#7539 - 10/27/13 02:41 PM
Re: Opera 7
[Re: ]
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Member
Registered: 07/02/02
Posts: 3558
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Well, yesterday I did something I've never done before in my life. I walked out on an opera halfway through. I'd read all the rave reviews of The Nose, but to my wife and me, it was unbearably tedious. I'll admit it...I don't get modern opera. And after yesterday, I'm going to stop trying. If that makes me a Philistine, so be it. I'm done.
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#7541 - 10/27/13 11:30 PM
Re: Opera 7
[Re: Christopher]
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Member
Registered: 04/22/05
Posts: 2676
Loc: Dayton, Ohio
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Oh, Chris, I'm so glad you said that! I was feeling embarrassed because I couldn't make it all the way through The Nose. All that crashing dissonance...I guess I don't get modern opera either.
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#7542 - 10/28/13 11:44 AM
Re: Opera 7
[Re: Lorna]
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Austin
Unregistered
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I was ready to leave after 10 minutes, but my wife stubbornly insisted on staying. The designer/director was obviously having a ball, but even all those clever projections grew tiresome after a while. Do people really like listening to that kind of music? If they're not just pretending to like it to prove how cool they are, then I am really, really missing something. Barbara, did you go? You asked Andrew about it, I remember.
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#7544 - 10/28/13 01:12 PM
Re: Opera 7
[Re: Barbara]
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Registered: 04/25/99
Posts: 6422
Loc: Newark, Delaware, USA
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I went. I loved it. And Austin, I promise I'm not just pretending in order to show how cool I am.
This isn't particularly typical Shostakovich, not sustained on this scale. He's responding to the surrealist cartoonish nature of the story -- exaggerated reality, everyone always taking things to extremes. I wouldn't want all opera to be like this, but in fact I know of no other opera quite like this. It creates its own world, and it's not especially dissonant: other composers are far more so. But it's certainly colorful and energetic, and the Kentridge production is brilliant.
I can think of opera composers whose work I would flee at intermission (or just not show up for), but I'm very glad I saw The Nose.
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#7546 - 10/28/13 05:11 PM
Re: Opera 7
[Re: Jon]
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Administrator
Registered: 04/24/99
Posts: 13033
Loc: Citrus Heights, CA , US
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Jon, could you be persuaded to name those composers who would send you fleeing at intermission?
Austin, yes, I did go, and I stuck it out to the end. But I'm pretty much in agreement with the first three posts. I know I too am missing something, and I'm sorry about that. But I don't know what to do about it.
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#7549 - 10/28/13 08:56 PM
Re: Opera 7
[Re: Barbara]
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Registered: 04/25/99
Posts: 17046
Loc: Roanoke, VA , USA
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I don't dislike Shotakovich, and like some of his work quite a lot...but circumstances did not allow me to catch The Nose-cast...
_________________________
Kay Botticelli Moderator
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#7550 - 10/28/13 09:14 PM
Re: Opera 7
[Re: Barbara]
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Registered: 04/25/99
Posts: 6422
Loc: Newark, Delaware, USA
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Sure, Barbara, but I know it'll only get me into trouble here. Please believe that I'm aware these are my loss -- clearly they mean something to others, so I'm somehow not just tuned into what they have to offer.
Bellini and Donizetti. I can accept that the occasional aria is pretty or exciting, but it still feels like a long time to wait for them. And a lot to give up, compared to more eventful music. I miss non-stereotypical accompaniment patterns. And counterpoint. And harmonic motion. And inventive textures and orchestration. I don't understand why Mozart can have all these qualities before them, and Verdi and Wagner etc. after them. Why am I supposed to be content with so much less in their operas? I know... "pure melody." I guess that's not enough for me.
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