opera, a touch of it

[calimac]

Lisa Irontongue wants everyone to buy a ticket to the SF Opera production of Berlioz' Les Troyens. A 5 1/2 hour opera based on one of the most boring books I've ever read? Not for me, thanks.

But, while it's true that "opera" is not much more enticing a word to me than is "5 1/2 hours" or "boring", there are some things operatic I'll attend. I've already proven my devotion to the greatest of all opera composers, Sir Arthur Sullivan, having been to productions of two of his lesser-known operas this year alone; and tonight I was more than pleased to attend, at Stanford, a piano recital of a few arias and duets from a new legal opera, Scalia/Ginsburg, by composer and lawyer Derrick Wang.

I'm glad I took the trouble to go. It was so clever and witty and erudite, both musically and (in its libretto) legally. The law is based on precedent, right? Well, Wang composed based on operatic precedent, with quotations and pastiche all over. To tell their backgrounds, Ginsburg sings a Mozartean aria for her favorite composer; Scalia's, for his Italian ancestry, is based on Puccini. (Voice from the background: "Puccini's too good for him!") Wang said he was initially inspired by Scalia dissents which read to him like Baroque rage arias: full of strong emotion exposed on the surface, and firmly rooted in the 18th century. So he gets one of those too.

Comments

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

I am, as you know, an opera junkie and I love 'Troyens'!

My own personal line is drawn at Wagner, however.........

[rozk.livejournal.com]

Berlioz hated the idea of doing the two sections of The Trojans separately, but it does make them more digestible...These days, I tend to feel the same about the various acts of the later Wagner operas,

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Oooh, that sounds like great fun!

[irontongue.livejournal.com]

Whether a libretto's source material is dull or not has little to do with whether the opera itself is dull. That has a lot more to do with the music. As well, Troyens is based on a small part of the Aeneid, and the libretto is by Berlioz, not Virgil.

And I was under the impression that you like Berlioz! There are excerpts and whole performances on YouTube, so you can judge for yourself whether you'd find Troyens boring. Start from the very beginning, would be my suggestion.

Whether you care to sit through the whole epic is another matter.

[rozk.livejournal.com]

Another solution to the Wagner problem is just to forget it's an opera and ignore the stage. Better yet, get a seat where you can't even see the stage. I had a seat for Tristan once jammed right up against the top of the safety curtain. It was gorgeous that way - I gather the set and acting was terrible and I have no idea whatever about them...Haitink was at his best.

[ken-3k.livejournal.com]

I saw the Metropolitan Opera's "HD Live" presentation of "Les Troyens" and was glad that I did; but then we know that I am much more enthusiastic about opera than you are.

aradiva and I have a story about a regional opera company -- Pittsburgh, maybe? -- which edited the Ring cycle down to two evenings. I wish I'd seen that. I am coming to appreciate Wagner somewhat but he sure needed an editor.

The Met is repeating their "La Fille Du Regiment" in movie theaters in mid-July. This was from 8 years ago, with Natalie Dessay doing a spectacular amount of comedy to go with the singing. One of the best of the 9 years of the movie-theater series. "Daughter of the Regiment" I could compare to G&S in spirit, so you might want to take a look at it. YouTube has clips.