Last night, tkp and I attended the Seattle Opera's production of Falstaff. It was a far different experience from the only other I've seen there, Bartok's Bluebeard's Castle paired with Schoenberg's Erwartung. That was an incredibly intense visual and musical experience, unlike anything I'm likely to see again, while Falstaff was much more traditional ( Read more... )

The story of Bluebeard exists in several variations, but usually goes like this: a poor girl gets married off to an ugly (though rich) brute who tells her he can go anywhere in his house/mansion/castle but this one room, and that she must keep this key/egg with her at all times. By the way, he says, I'm going on a trip. The wife, driven by her ( Read more... )