(Untitled)

[bookelfe]

As I mentioned before, recently a bunch of us went to see Nixon in China!

gramarye, who knows the most about the history and politics, and sandrylene, who knows the most about the music, have already written up excellent reviews, and before you go any further you should read them:
Shannon the historian's review
Sandry the music major's reviewBut now that they have

Comments

[silveraspen]

I cannot stop giggling. No lie.

[bookelfe]

I am not sure nonstop giggles was the effect this serious political opera was going for! And yet. >.>

[kindness_says]

HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

1) WHAT? HOW DO I NOT KNOW THIS EXISTS?
2) HOW DO I NOT KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS PART OF THE MOTHERLAND'S HISTORY IN ORDER TO BETTER APPRECIATE THIS? (My bestie wrote her high-school junior thesis on it, though. Maybe she would appreciate it.)
3) Oh, Zhou Enlai. Yeah, he's a big deal in the Chinese schoolbooks. =)
4) MOAR THINGS but right now I'm tired.

[bookelfe]

Oh man, I was really glad I happened to have been reading some Chinese novels before I saw the opera, or I would have been SO LOST. I might not have liked that novel I read very much, but it did definitely provide some useful context for "pigpigpigpigpigpigpig!"

[kindness_says]

Hahahahahahahahahahaha. Oh dear.

[elspeth_vimes]

While I know it is unlikely, I feel like you used that icon just so I could enjoy this post an extra bit more, which is hard to manage!

I have to wonder if the writers were influenced by some of the more recent, controversial (and by that I mean banned) Chinese fiction, which has topics like COPIOUS CULTURAL REVOLUTION SEX.

[bookelfe]

I'll admit it may have been a factor when I could not decide which icon to use! *gigging* Although in retrospect the one I am using for this comment, which I had forgotten I had, is possibly even more appropriate.

The theory we were tossing around after the production is that the original opera did not, in fact, involve all the COPIOUS CULTURAL REVOLUTION SEX (since none of it is in the libretto! or the description!), and the directors of the new production decided to incorporate it based on recent controversial fiction and memoirs to make it EDGIER. Interesting in theory! CONFUSING IN PRACTICE.

[elspeth_vimes]

I think I would have to agree that icon is even more suitable! Nonetheless, I very much enjoyed your choice.

This sounds like a reasonable theory to me! The practice of the theory sounds...somewhat less reasonable.

[bookelfe]

Madame Mao's role is HELLA SOPRANO. It's very impressive! And kind of terrifying.