Since people seem so keen to know. . . (Culture Post Part I)
What artsy things we've been up to lately. . .
Last night, for instance, we went to see the ENO's production of Lucia di Lammermoor. First things first, the singing was fantastic, nay, amazing. Anna Christy (am a little weirded out she has her own website, but hey ho) who sang Lucia was perhaps the most brilliant - sparkling yet clear voice and a really expressive actress. She had the entire auditorium completely captivated throughout. The other singers were also wonderful. The set was also really apt - black, white and all shades of grey - very creepy and cobwebbed. Cool stuff.
Then there were what I thought were a bit over the top bits of interpretation - having Lucia dressed and played as if she were *very* young (her bed resembled a crib and she still had a toy chest and rocking horse in her room) with Edgardo being played as substantially older (as in could be her father old), which made their love affair seem really lopsided and a bit unconvincing. Then there was not very subtly implied incestuous relationship between Lucia and her brother Enrico (like when Enrico ties her to the foot of the aforementioned "bed" and molests her). I guess you can play it that way, but it really didn't work well for me.
And then there were some of the most stupid stage direction I think I've ever seen - Edgardo was in a kilt and they frequently had him rolling around on the floor or sitting in a chair square to the audience with his legs apart. Bad idea. Or having the singers lay on a table/bed with the top of their head to the audience and singing toward the ceiling. The fact they could do this and still be heard was really quite impressive, but made it difficult to watch.
Then there was the downright bizarre, like Edgardo running away with the tablecloth after confronting Lucia at the wedding. Or Enrico's buddies stealing the staircase in Edgardo's tower. Or the fact that all the male characters entered through the windows. I'm not sure I ever saw one use a door. Or the fact that the chorus all exit and come back on stage with chairs to watch the mad scene that takes place on a make-shift stage. Oh and Enrico killing Edgardo when the latter is supposed to commit suicide.
Yeah, so all in all Fabulous Plus Plus on the Singing and Set, Really Pretty Strange (and not in a good way) for almost everything else. Still glad I went though next time we're definitely paying more for more comfortable seats.
On Sunday we went to a black tie Opera Revue with our favourite wine guys, which was lots of fun. Pretty good voices too; some very silly arias, and one really quite poignant version of Mimi and Rodolfo's duet from Act I of Boheme. Good food, good music, great company, and all dressed up. It was a really fun and wonderful evening. Sadly no pictures, though we both looked smashing I'm told. =)
The Tuesday previous lushfemke and I went to see Diversions Silver with the Dance Company of Wales at the QE Hall. Two very different pieces, one very controlled and balanced and fluid and the other crazy and at the very edges of controlled movement. Both very experimental but at two extremes of what that means. I think I actually preferred the first, because I felt it was a more imaginative and fully contemplated use of the dancers' bodies and the space they occupied. The audience was engaged throughout, a very mesmerising quality to it. The latter work was very confrontational that had nowhere to go. Though technically very good, by the end it was the same thing over and over with very little to keep my attention. Still, really interesting work and definitely on the cutting edge of current thought in modern dance.
In the next episode: Fiddler on the Roof, London Mozart Players do Beethovan, and Eddie Izzard live. For now, to bed. . .
Last night, for instance, we went to see the ENO's production of Lucia di Lammermoor. First things first, the singing was fantastic, nay, amazing. Anna Christy (am a little weirded out she has her own website, but hey ho) who sang Lucia was perhaps the most brilliant - sparkling yet clear voice and a really expressive actress. She had the entire auditorium completely captivated throughout. The other singers were also wonderful. The set was also really apt - black, white and all shades of grey - very creepy and cobwebbed. Cool stuff.
Then there were what I thought were a bit over the top bits of interpretation - having Lucia dressed and played as if she were *very* young (her bed resembled a crib and she still had a toy chest and rocking horse in her room) with Edgardo being played as substantially older (as in could be her father old), which made their love affair seem really lopsided and a bit unconvincing. Then there was not very subtly implied incestuous relationship between Lucia and her brother Enrico (like when Enrico ties her to the foot of the aforementioned "bed" and molests her). I guess you can play it that way, but it really didn't work well for me.
And then there were some of the most stupid stage direction I think I've ever seen - Edgardo was in a kilt and they frequently had him rolling around on the floor or sitting in a chair square to the audience with his legs apart. Bad idea. Or having the singers lay on a table/bed with the top of their head to the audience and singing toward the ceiling. The fact they could do this and still be heard was really quite impressive, but made it difficult to watch.
Then there was the downright bizarre, like Edgardo running away with the tablecloth after confronting Lucia at the wedding. Or Enrico's buddies stealing the staircase in Edgardo's tower. Or the fact that all the male characters entered through the windows. I'm not sure I ever saw one use a door. Or the fact that the chorus all exit and come back on stage with chairs to watch the mad scene that takes place on a make-shift stage. Oh and Enrico killing Edgardo when the latter is supposed to commit suicide.
Yeah, so all in all Fabulous Plus Plus on the Singing and Set, Really Pretty Strange (and not in a good way) for almost everything else. Still glad I went though next time we're definitely paying more for more comfortable seats.
On Sunday we went to a black tie Opera Revue with our favourite wine guys, which was lots of fun. Pretty good voices too; some very silly arias, and one really quite poignant version of Mimi and Rodolfo's duet from Act I of Boheme. Good food, good music, great company, and all dressed up. It was a really fun and wonderful evening. Sadly no pictures, though we both looked smashing I'm told. =)
The Tuesday previous lushfemke and I went to see Diversions Silver with the Dance Company of Wales at the QE Hall. Two very different pieces, one very controlled and balanced and fluid and the other crazy and at the very edges of controlled movement. Both very experimental but at two extremes of what that means. I think I actually preferred the first, because I felt it was a more imaginative and fully contemplated use of the dancers' bodies and the space they occupied. The audience was engaged throughout, a very mesmerising quality to it. The latter work was very confrontational that had nowhere to go. Though technically very good, by the end it was the same thing over and over with very little to keep my attention. Still, really interesting work and definitely on the cutting edge of current thought in modern dance.
In the next episode: Fiddler on the Roof, London Mozart Players do Beethovan, and Eddie Izzard live. For now, to bed. . .