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Reiner Torheit
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« on: 23:30:58, 02-07-2008 » |
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"I was, for several months, mutely in love with a coloratura soprano, who seemed to me to have wafted straight from Paradise to the stage of the Odessa Opera-House"
- Leon Trotsky, "My Life"
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John W
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« Reply #1 on: 23:49:03, 02-07-2008 » |
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Reiner, I'm amused it says score by Howard Shore ('Lord of the Rings') - why not say that he also scored for the film The Fly (1986) ? Maybe they should have referred also to The Fly (1958), directed by Kurt Neumann, screenplay written by James Clavell (his first), from the short story "The Fly" by George Langelaan. I don't know about the 1958 score. The plots, though, are a bit different. The opera would seem to be on the 1986 plot, but with a 1950s-looking set......  |
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Reiner Torheit
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« Reply #2 on: 02:10:29, 10-09-2008 » |
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"I was, for several months, mutely in love with a coloratura soprano, who seemed to me to have wafted straight from Paradise to the stage of the Odessa Opera-House"
- Leon Trotsky, "My Life"
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harmonyharmony
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« Reply #3 on: 10:21:25, 10-09-2008 » |
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I am at a loss to understand why "The Fly" has turned out so dreary, despite the inclusion of sex, nudity, puppetry and athleticism...
Possibly because there's a lot more than that involved in making successful theatre... Or perhaps that's the reviewers idea of a good night out. |
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'is this all we can do?' anonymous student of the University of Berkeley, California quoted in H. Draper, 'The new student revolt' (New York: Grove Press, 1965) http://www.myspace.com/itensemble |
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Ron Dough
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« Reply #4 on: 10:40:37, 10-09-2008 » |
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I am at a loss to understand why "The Fly" has turned out so dreary, despite the inclusion of sex, nudity, puppetry and athleticism...
Possibly because there's a lot more than that involved in making successful theatre... Or perhaps that's the reviewers idea of a good night out. Or perhaps it's a tick-the-boxes formula piece, which doesn't actually manage to dare to be different. |
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HtoHe
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« Reply #5 on: 10:51:42, 10-09-2008 » |
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I am at a loss to understand why "The Fly" has turned out so dreary, despite the inclusion of sex, nudity, puppetry and athleticism...
Possibly because there's a lot more than that involved in making successful theatre... Or perhaps that's the reviewers idea of a good night out. Quite, hh. I am, to differing degrees, fond of all the ingredients mentioned. But no one of them, nor even all four in the same place at roughly the same time, is guaranteed to hold the interest of the spectator; as a visit to the beach will demonstrate. |
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Reiner Torheit
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« Reply #7 on: 10:56:31, 10-09-2008 » |
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I am at a loss to understand why "The Fly" has turned out so dreary, despite the inclusion of sex, nudity, puppetry and athleticism...
Possibly because there's a lot more than that involved in making successful theatre... Or perhaps that's the reviewers idea of a good night out. I'd rather agree with you... whilst hastening to mention that the citation in italics is from the LA Times review, and not my own thoughts on the piece (which I haven't seen or heard) 
Possibly because there's a lot more than that involved in making successful theatre...
Or perhaps that's the reviewers idea of a good night out.
Or perhaps it's a tick-the-boxes formula piece, which doesn't actually manage to dare to be different.
Rather in the light of the "what topics could modern operas tackle" thread, I have to say I'm discouraged by this latest trend of "remaking movies as operas", which seems to follow on the heels of remaking the tv-programs of our youth as movies  We've got BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN in production currently (has it opened yet? I haven't followed this) and with THE FLY too, it seems a rather clumsy trend? Does opera really have to ride on the tailcoats of the movies? Couldn't it be capable of more? |
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"I was, for several months, mutely in love with a coloratura soprano, who seemed to me to have wafted straight from Paradise to the stage of the Odessa Opera-House"
- Leon Trotsky, "My Life"
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Reiner Torheit
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« Reply #8 on: 10:59:13, 10-09-2008 » |
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Clearly this is what was "missing" in the age of the opera castrati |
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"I was, for several months, mutely in love with a coloratura soprano, who seemed to me to have wafted straight from Paradise to the stage of the Odessa Opera-House"
- Leon Trotsky, "My Life"
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Ron Dough
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« Reply #9 on: 11:13:14, 10-09-2008 » |
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Does opera really have to ride on the tailcoats of the movies? Couldn't it be capable of more?
Instant cheap publicity. Saves the audience having to do their homework, since they already know the story. Hmmmm..... More easily ticked boxes. (Mind you, is it that different to previous generations using well-known (and, especially, controversial) plays? ( Figaro, Salome, Tosca....) |
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harmonyharmony
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« Reply #10 on: 11:41:17, 10-09-2008 » |
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I'd rather agree with you... whilst hastening to mention that the citation in italics is from the LA Times review, and not my own thoughts on the piece (which I haven't seen or heard) Oh yes! Rather in the light of the "what topics could modern operas tackle" thread, I have to say I'm discouraged by this latest trend of "remaking movies as operas", which seems to follow on the heels of remaking the tv-programs of our youth as movies We've got BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN in production currently (has it opened yet? I haven't followed this) and with THE FLY too, it seems a rather clumsy trend? Does opera really have to ride on the tailcoats of the movies? Couldn't it be capable of more? There might be something to be said about modern mythology. Wasn't there an assumption during the height of opera seria that the educated audience would know the story? As I've said before, the students that I teach seem blindingly unaware of any kind of mythology whether it's Greek, Norse or British, and of literature. The sense of shared communal experience retracts and folds in upon television. There must be a better and more intelligent way of doing it, but no-one seems to have hit on it yet. I'm much more interested in operas that are more about ideas than plots, but that's just me. I don't have any illusions that any opera to which I ever give birth will be popular especially not 'accessible'! |
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'is this all we can do?' anonymous student of the University of Berkeley, California quoted in H. Draper, 'The new student revolt' (New York: Grove Press, 1965) http://www.myspace.com/itensemble |
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Reiner Torheit
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« Reply #11 on: 12:28:34, 10-09-2008 » |
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I'm much more interested in operas that are more about ideas than plots, but that's just me. I don't have any illusions that any opera to which I ever give birth will be popular especially not 'accessible'!
I'm of one mind with you there. The difficulty, however, is expressing abstract ideas on stage in a way that will keep the butterfly minds of modern audiences until the end of the show. Conventional theatrical wisdom (of the kind to which I accord grudging respect) would say "no idea without an accompanying action, no action unsupported by an idea". The two need to work in tandem for it to be a real stage piece... otherwise we're drifting off into the area of "peformance art", which isn't bad in itself but is selling the form of opera a bit short Some of the best operas (and films, and books) have picked-up and run with "big ideas" - but brought them into the realm of the personal and fathomable by exploring them in the microcosm of their effect on the lives of just 2-3 people. For example, Tchaikovsky's MAZEPPA is, on the surface, a love-triangle between a girl, her former now-dumped boyfriend who cannot forget her, and the older man with whom she's now obsessed. Happens all the time. The "maguffin", though, is that they have to solve their problems against the background of a crippling civil war which pitches son against father and brother against brother. The result is a passionately pacifist opera (quite an achievement during the glory-days of the Russian Empire) in which everyone emerges as betrayed, shot, or driven insane, and the only "winner" is the professional warmonger, Orlik (who escapes with the dosh). We never even see the victorious Tsar (we hear his National Anthem only) - he's utterly unimportant to the real "idea" of this opera. |
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"I was, for several months, mutely in love with a coloratura soprano, who seemed to me to have wafted straight from Paradise to the stage of the Odessa Opera-House"
- Leon Trotsky, "My Life"
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Ron Dough
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« Reply #12 on: 12:56:16, 10-09-2008 » |
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Ideas rather than plots? Not a problem in itself, but as Rei points out, if it doesn't exploit the power of the stage, but uses it just as decoration/background/podium, then you're throwing away an important available resource: if staging a piece adds nothing, it's less likely to be staged, and end up performed as a concert work instead, by default. |
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