in which I talk about shit I know nothing about (in this case, opera)

[lagilman]

Hrm. One, count 'em one "yay" on yesterday's Very Nice Review for PACK OF LIES. You guys really know how to give a writer a complex....


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Last Saturday I went to see Puccini's La Fanciulla Del West. Or, as I like to call it, "Happy Times in the Old West" (one of the few operas with an actual happy ending).

The set was, as expected, perfect. The costumes were very good. I had the expected momentary lust over the villain's coat, and my brain was noting all the details and enjoying it, but it was Old West and my brain knows Old West, so nothing particularly hijacked me ooo shiny! sense. (Okay, I am shallow, I noticed when the captive bandidto was brought in, that he was wearing leather chaps. Nicely. Moving on...)

The score is gorgeous. Truly - normally I hear the music as the plating for voices, but here I kept becoming aware of it the way you can't help but notice a particularly gorgeous color of a bird's feathers, or texture of a coat, not distracting exactly but drawing your attention to it. I kept thinking that I could write to that music, and no wonder the conductor was so excited about it.

Deborah Voigt (Minnie) has a lush, lovely voice. There is no denial of that. I rather liked Marcello Giordani's (Dick Johnson*) voice as well. Lucio Gallo as Sheriff Jack Rance was... he was ok, I wasn't entranced or anything the way one should be, by the villain. The bartender delighted me, stealing his scenes with comic timing. And yet...

At the first intermission, some people left. And I could almost understand why. Opera needs to captivate. It needs to sweep the viewer into its performance and not allow it to escape long enough to think about the simplistic plot, the implausible actions, the silliness of it all. The magnificence of the performances have to overwhelm everything else, that's the joy of it.

And that...wasn't happening (at one point, as Minnie and Jack play cards for Johnson's fate, I turned to my companion and said** "it's a good thing it takes people a long while to bleed to death in opera.") At first I thought that it was because the Old West, unlike other settings, wasn't enough of a 'fairy tale' for my brain to fall into, that I knew too many details and was starting to think like a story editor (I thought "oh no, we should have known Johnson's history at the beginning, to set him up as a deeper, more complex and tragic figure"). But since I know the history of many other operas quite well, that didn't feel right either.

I think - and this is just me thinking out loud - that La Fanciulla Del West is a play masquerading as an opera. And by that I mean that the voices are not carrying the bulk of the story, the actions/use of props are, just as in a musical or play. That means more is required of the singers than glorious and emotive voices. And the leads simply weren't able to produce it.

For me, anyway.

Pity. I'd really had hopes for this.


*sigh. Yes, the bandito/hero is named Dick Johnson. Yes, at one point there is a line that is more or less "your perfect Johnson from Sacramento." Yes, I snickered. There's only so much a punster can take....

** for those who have Low Expectations of me, for "said" insert "low-pitched whisper in my companion's ear during a break in the singing, with full awareness of the people around me.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

I meant to say yay, but I was having a rushed day yesterday. But we are out here thinking it, honest.
Yay!

[lagilman]

I assumed as much. But occasionally the whimper escapes....

[princejvstin.livejournal.com]

Umm. Err. Yay? ;)

[mtlawson.livejournal.com]

I didn't know Puccini wrote an opera with a happy ending. Go figure.

I think - and this is just me thinking out loud - that La Fanciulla Del West is a play masquerading as an opera. And by that I mean that the voices are not carrying the bulk of the story, the actions/use of props are, just as in a musical or play. That means more is required of the singers than glorious and emotive voices. And the leads simply weren't able to produce it.

That's an interesting idea. Have you seen Verdi's Otello? I'm wondering whether Otello suffered from the same issues, it being an adaptation of an actual play into an opera format.

[lagilman]

Have you seen Verdi's Otello?

I haven't, no, mainly because the entire play annoys me so (one of those "if I could just bitch-slap everyone..." experiences.) I suspect, though, that he themes of that play are so simple and broad-stroked, it might be a natural for opera.

I need to see if anyone has tickets to "Nixon in China" and get their feedback...

[mtlawson.livejournal.com]

one of those "if I could just bitch-slap everyone..." experiences.

I know exactly what you mean. I've felt that urge on many a novel, too.

[(Anonymous)]

If you really talked during the poker scene, you're the one who should have been bitch-slapped.

Might as well have unwrapped a piece of candy in cellophane, too. Slowly.

Have a little more respect for the other audience members, please.

[lagilman]

*raises an eyebrow* Anonymous scoldings rarely carry weight. Next time you might try signing your name, as I request of all non-LJ visitors. That's basic manners, rather than breaking into a discussion without identifying yourself. Especially when taking the hostess to task, something my mother taught me was the height of presumptuousness, and far worse manners than what you accuse me of doing.

And since you made the assumption, I will reply that I am quite aware of how voices carry, and the manners required during performances (even simulcasts). I waited until a pause in the action, and pitched my voice softly enough that only my companion heard me.

[blitheringpooks.livejournal.com]

I applaud your restrained response, and agree with all your points here. Hit-and-run anonymous crit is difficult to take seriously.

[marlowe1.livejournal.com]

I liked it when Puccini named his American character in Madame Butterfly Ben Franklin Pinkerton because we really needed to know where this guy came from.

[lagilman]

well, it certainly tells you a great deal about the character's parents....

[cjmarsicano.livejournal.com]

As an opera fan, I should point out that when a character is singing his death aria, it's supposed to be like a frozen moment in time.

[lagilman]

There was no death aria in this instance - he had "passed out" from the gunshot wound, after losing enough blood to give away his hiding place, and the heroine and the villain were dealing out cards at a table a few feet away from his motionless body on the floor.

It really was (unintentionally) funny.

[nycdeb.livejournal.com]

presumably, you would slap quietly enough not to disturb those around you?

Sheesh, try some decaf.

[ladyn.livejournal.com]

I find I'm too irritated by your ill manners toward Laura Anne to keep my mouth shut even though she very neatly put you in your place. I must add my own, "There's the door. You'll find it unlocked and ready for your use."

Whew! Now I feel better. :)

AND belated YAY! I meant to post it yesterday but alas got sidetracked with sick baby tasks.

[lagilman]

oh, poor sick baby. Hopefully entire household has recovered?

[ladyn.livejournal.com]

Mostly. :)

We're down to a very red, very tender bum from being sick. He's enjoying the running around commando though.