Help an Opera Neophyte out- Page 2
Help an Opera Neophyte out
#25Help an Opera Neophyte out
Posted: 10/15/17 at 2:35pm
I agree that you made the right decision with TURANDOT.
I am personally very much looking forward to THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL.
chuckydisc
Broadway Star Joined: 7/28/13
#26Help an Opera Neophyte out
Posted: 10/15/17 at 7:30pm
dramamama611 said: "No. Family Circle, row c."
Phew ... nosebleed city!
Though it IS the correct choice amongst the 3 ... too bad that particular performance was chosen by the MET to be a top-level price point as opposed to other dates for Turandot.
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#27Help an Opera Neophyte out
Posted: 10/15/17 at 7:54pm
LOL, I just assumed prices were higher on a Saturday night. We'll be fine, I'm sure.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#28Help an Opera Neophyte out
Posted: 10/15/17 at 7:54pm
LOL, I just assumed prices were higher on a Saturday night. We'll be fine, I'm sure.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
#29Help an Opera Neophyte out
Posted: 10/16/17 at 12:50am
dramamama611 said: "Again, THANK YOU all. My son and chose to see Turandot. Our seats are pretty far away, so we know to bring some opera glasses. He was very impressed with the pictures I showed him."
Dmama, since you've spent the money to buy the tickets, it's worth it to spend another $19.99 at iTunes and download the score in advance. Listen a few times--even if it's on in the background while you clean or eat dinner--and you'll have a much better time on the night of the performance.
P.S. I am very, very jealous!
#30Help an Opera Neophyte out
Posted: 10/16/17 at 1:11pm
The Franco Zeffirelli production of TURANDOT is magnificent; both visually and musically. You made a great choice! If you really love it, there is a version of Zeffirelli's production on Blu-ray...from the Met.
VintageSnarker
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/30/15
#31Help an Opera Neophyte out
Posted: 10/16/17 at 1:33pmI downvote listening to the score in advance. Really, the most you need to do is read the program before the show starts. They have a synopsis of each act. And remember to push the button by the screen to turn on the supertitles. They don't turn on automatically when the act starts.
Dollypop
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#32Help an Opera Neophyte out
Posted: 10/16/17 at 6:35pm
Turandot
The Met's production is eye popping!
"Long live God!" (GODSPELL)
#33Help an Opera Neophyte out
Posted: 10/16/17 at 9:24pm
Mike Costa said: "This opera and this production arepart of our culture even if the castingis not what others desire.The others you mentioned are not even in the ballpark. Youmade the right decision for a first opera.Be sure to wander the house during intermissions."
Just curious what you mean by "part of our culture." It is a rep staple, but is often derided for being an incomplete work (not surprising as Puccini did not complete the opera). It's also derided for its stereotypical depiction of Asian culture, optimized best by the characters Ping, Pang, Pong.
#34Help an Opera Neophyte out
Posted: 10/16/17 at 10:44pm
Play Esq. said: "Mike Costa said: "This opera and this production arepart of our culture even if the castingis not what others desire.The others you mentioned are not even in the ballpark. Youmade the right decision for a first opera.Be sure to wander the house during intermissions."
Just curious what you mean by "part of ourculture." It is a rep staple, but is often derided for being an incomplete work (not surprising as Puccini did not complete the opera). It's also derided for its stereotypical depiction of Asian culture, optimized best by the characters Ping, Pang, Pong."
All valid points. Zefirelli's production is a fantasy of Chinoiserie and it dates from an era when the West's aestheticizing of Asian culture was not challenged. The current production doesn't sit well in the 21st century and needs to be retired. I know a lot of Met fans will miss their eye-popping kitsch but I won't if it extends the life of the opera into the 21st century. Penny Woolcock's MET and ENO production of "The Pearl Fishers" is a great example of what a new production can do to bring what is considered to be an orientalist antique into the 21st century revealing new and old depths, musically and dramatically.
VintageSnarker
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/30/15
#35Help an Opera Neophyte out
Posted: 10/16/17 at 11:25pm
I have to disagree, sinister teashop. I don't think there's any sort of accuracy to be found in Turandot beyond more racially appropriate casting. I don't mind what you term chinoiserie because it makes that Western lens explicit.
As for the Pearl Fishers, assuming the ENO production wasn't altered at all for the recent Met production with Diana Damrau, I wasn't a fan of all the choices. Firstly, maybe I'm just not used to opera conventions yet but I feel like they rarely know what to do with the ensemble. The crowd scenes were not great (and highlighted the lack of racial accuracy but that's a different point). And I remember Zurga's office being particularly ugly. I hate when they do anything modern, beige/grey or involving giant walls. I feel like some people design so the stage feels full or even intimate like the La Boheme production while other times you're acutely aware of being far away and it's like you're watching tiny ants run around this huge stage.
#36Help an Opera Neophyte out
Posted: 10/16/17 at 11:50pm
Love a good opera conversation!
As a threshold, while Turandot is often performed very (and I can't emphasize enough how very much I hate this term...) "oriental" (and aside from the Metropolitan Opera, the Verona opera summer production has a very similar aesthetic and is also very very popular), Directors have and can move away from this concept. Case in point, the very Regie production by Bieito.
The Pearl Fishers is another one that I can stomach, but do not love (and, frankly, never will). Massenet, Puccini, and Bizet will always rank in the second-tier for me, despite each having at least one good opera. The ENO production did take the "orientalist" out of the opera, which I greatly appreciated. We at the Met had the luxury casting of Damrau, Polenzani, and the incredibly gorgeous Mariusz Kwiecie?. Woodcock did well to create a lush atmosphere (loved the opening visuals suspended in air), but ultimately relied upon many of the same tricks that inexperienced directors do at the Met, which is to say, fill the vast stage as much as possible, irrespective of whether it's necessary or not. Michel Mayer, Bartlett Sher, and Ricard Eyre are all guilty of this offense. Each of whom I'd rather never see at the Met again.
More than anything, It kills me that Mayer has not one but two high profile productions in the coming years.
#37Help an Opera Neophyte out
Posted: 10/17/17 at 1:00pm
VintageSnarker said: "I downvote listening to the score in advance. Really, the most you need to do is read the program before the show starts. They have a synopsis of each act. And remember to push the button by the screen to turn on the supertitles. They don't turn on automatically when the act starts."
I didn't suggest listening to the score in advance in order to follow the story and I didn't suggest it for drama mama herself (though I was unclear because I used the pronoun "you" when addressing her).
I was thinking of her son, who has never been to an opera before. Unless he has a history with very difficult religious music, his ear won't necessarily be used to music where melody lines aren't repeated as often as they are in Broadway or pop music. I think very few people are prepared for that aspect of opera until they've seen a few productions. Put another way, all art is a combination of tension and repose; through-composed sections can be "all tension" to a new listener.
VintageSnarker
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/30/15
#38Help an Opera Neophyte out
Posted: 10/17/17 at 1:55pm
Play Esq. said: "We at the Met had the luxury casting of Damrau, Polenzani, and the incredibly gorgeousMariusz Kwiecie?"
In spite of my criticisms, I loved the Pearl Fishers but I think that was in large part to do with the excellent casting. This is similar to the conversation on another thread about bad play revivals but I'm sure that there are some operas I'll write off for a while because I just saw a middling cast or a poorly conceived production.
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