Die tote Stadt, Royal Opera
Last night we saw Die tote Stadt (The Dead City a good synopsis can be found here) by Korngold at the Royal Opera. I'd never heard anything by this composer before, so it was something of a potluck experience for us. We had fab seats thanks to work sponsorship and went in with an open mind. One of the nice things about seeing new or unusual works at the ROH is that we are certain it will be an excellent performance technically, leaving us free to explore our own reactions to the music. Sometimes it's not our thing but sometimes we are truly delighted. This production fell into the latter category for us, fortunately. The dream sequence in particular was fantastic, the music striking just the right balance not overdoing the surreal dissonance. I was particularly impressed with how dense yet utterably listenable the music was. A balance I find that is really rare in 20th century music. Perhaps it helps that this was written relatively early still? Either way, we're looking forward to seeking out more of this composer's work.
The one bit that I did find really distracting was how skinny the lead soprano was. Seriously bordering on skeletal and since she spent most of the opera walking around in a night dress it was really hard not to notice. Cab someone please feed her?
Stil, despite that it was highly enjoyable evening.
Another intersting review can be found here. I agree completely with her observations at the pure empathetic power of the piece. Really incredible, and that's what good music, and art in general, is all about - making one feel.