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Posted on 07/26/2013 5:59:46 PM PDT by Kathy in Alaska
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My favorite! :)
OK...I HAVE to ask.
What is your opinion of the latest Met Production of “Parsifal”?
The music is amazing, but I would have preferred the medieval pageantry of the original to this latest incarnation of the Bizarro Planet”.
And what’s with the conductor wearing a Mao Jacket....so 70’s! LOL.
JMO...what’s yours?
"The opera started at eight. At midnight I checked my watch and discovered it was only eight thirty."
Since Pavarotti’s Character in “Parsifal” is supposed to come across as a “Callow Youth”, I would assume that, in the nineties, that persona would have long since fled Luciano, in spite of his great voice, hahaha.
THIS production has Minimalist post-apocalyptic sets, is populated by men in identical 20th Century Business suits, and the backdrop is a giant mirror in which the audience can see themselves reflected back.
Perhaps they were having a big sale at the Gentleman’s Wearhouse.
Pavarotti was not in the Nineties production of "Parsifal". I was merely quoting his manager's view of the production, in that he was in the audience that night.
Ah...my mistake.
One of Wagner’s BIG concerns was the proper mounting and production of his work. He did not consider them mere “Opera”, but Dramatic Musical Presentations which required special staging. He helped design a Unique Theater in Berlin (Bayreuth) specifically to mount productions of his work. The theater had to have the very best in stagecraft to accommodate his Musical Dramas.
Maybe he was eccentric and controlling, but the power of his music gives him a pass, IMNSHO.
Puccini and Verdi, on the other hand, tackled more contemporary themes in their music, so an update on La Boheme or la Traviata doesn’t seem so out-of-line. Especially since the critics of the day were scandalized precisely BECAUSE those Operas (And Carmen, too!) set their sexy stories in the NOW, instead of Ancient, Mythical Times.
For some reason, it was OK for Ancient Greeks or Dark Ages Folks to do the nasty and kill each other, but NOT so the residents of Contemporary Paris.
LOL
Wagner’s theater was not in Berlin. It was in Beyreuth, which is in the German state of Bavaria. That state was once an independent kingdom, but Otto von Bismarck put an end to that.
Oh...I thought Bayreuth was the name of the actual theater. My bad.
Ok...the verdict.
“Parsifal”, FIVE hours later.
The music was magnificent, the singing, heartfelt and spellbinding.
The costumes were just plain stupid.
The sets, in spite of their technical brilliance (At one point it looked as though the entire stage was flooded with three inches of BLOOD!), were just plain butt-ugly.
JMO
Maybe it’s just as well I didn’t know it was on.
Lookin’ good, Sir Winston!! Do you get to go for rides in the car?
Thanks, fatima, for the video tunes for the troops to enjoy. ((HUGS))
Thanks, Drumbo, for the remembrance of JJ Cale and his music.
Thanks, my, for the video tunes for the troops. ((HUGS))
h!!Thanks, unique, for the rocker!
my.....#50!!
spel.....#200 and #250!!
TMS.....#300!!
Publius.....#350!!
fatima.....#400!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5WUeOEkl270#at=156
JJ Cale, Eric Clapton (After Midnight & Call me the Breeze)
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