Interesting article in the NYT about the state of the Houston Grand Opera, focusing in particular on their recent productions of “Dead Man Walking” and “Lucia di Lammermoor”.
Good to know.
Interesting article in the NYT about the state of the Houston Grand Opera, focusing in particular on their recent productions of “Dead Man Walking” and “Lucia di Lammermoor”.
Good to know.
You should know better than to believe anything you read, particularly on-line. The production of “Lucia” is the worst thing I’ve ever seen done by the HGO. The lauded soprano apparently cannot move and sing simultaneously, so she (and most everyone else as well, the entire production took place in about seven feet of the stage) ended up standing dead center at the footlights, singing straight at a video monitor on the front of the Grand Tier. By the end of the evening I knew where every monitor was because her gaze leapt from one to another, rarely ever falling upon any of the people she was supposedly interacting with.
The famous second act sextet sounded more like a trio with a second trio backing it, the voices were so poorly balanced. The famous mad scene in Act III? I found myself wondering on the drive home today why there just happened to be a bucket of blood on the dinner table. I was relieved when it finally ended, only to remember there was still another twenty minutes until the entire production was over.
As Pave-the-Earth Wimsatt pointed out, it was an entirely atmospheric production. In the sense that the production consisted of nothing but clouds. Awful, awful, awful. And I got mail today titled “Wasn’t Albina amazing?!?” from the HGO soliciting donations. I’m tempted to respond offering a donation on the condition they never bring her back, nor whoever conceived and directed this farce.
“You should know better than to believe anything you read, particularly on-line.”
Well, this is the supposedly professional NYT, not some random blogger from Porlock, or else I wouldn’t have linked to it in the first place.
However, I do appreciate you offering an alternative perspective, especially since I am unfamiliar with “Lucia”. Did you see “Dead Man Walking”?
“I found myself wondering on the drive home today why there just happened to be a bucket of blood on the dinner table.”
Doesn’t everybody keep a bucket of blood on the dinner table?
“As Pave-the-Earth Wimsatt pointed out”
He’s still alive? Good to know.
And on the subject of Albina, “Last season, Albina Shagimuratova made her Metropolitan Opera debut as the Queen of the Night in Julie Taymor’s beloved production of Die Zauberflöte“. Interesting how things seem to come back to Julie Taymor.
I saw the Taymor Magic Flute. It’s wonderful, but no one fell to the stage when I was there. Which is probably good since the only people suspended were a trio of children. Also, they were at the top of the proscenium which would make the fall substantially more than 30′.
Didn’t see “Dead Man Walking”. Had the flu.
I was hoping you’d go in a Carrie direction. Oh well.
Other random thoughts during the production: “Oh look, the fog’s rolling down. Again.” “I wonder how many Scots are named Enrico, Edgardo, Raimondo, or Lucia?” “You just watched someone stab himself. Why don’t any of you fifty people standing around on the stage do something. Maybe help him? Recoil in horror? Act? Move? Bueller?” “Curious. He stabbed himself yet there’s no blood. Maybe he was drained for the earlier dinner scene. Hey, maybe they’re supposed to be Scottish vampires.” “This would be more interesting if they crossed it with ‘Dog Soldiers’.”
But the most recurring thought was “How much longer is the going to go on?” Yeah, I was bored.
The Chron ran a glowing review as well. Perhaps the production is just too subtle for me.
“I was hoping you’d go in a Carrie direction. Oh well.”
You wanted me to Carrie on?
“The Chron ran a glowing review as well.” I considered adding a comment with a link to the Chron review, but that was just too much of an appeal to authority for me. For the record, here’s the Chron‘s review by their arts writer, Everett Evans. I’m linking to this so folks can read it for themselves, not because I think Evans’ review somehow renders yours invalid, sween.
Also, here’s a review from one of the Chron’s bloggers, “Buzz Bellmont”, which seems closer to yours (he likes Albina more than you do, but hates Doyle’s staging). I’m linking to that review more for amusement value, not because I trust “Buzz Bellmont” (remember what you said earlier about believing anything you read on-line?).
“Perhaps the production is just too subtle for me.” Or maybe it isn’t the production; maybe “Lucia” itself just isn’t up your alley? Have you seen other productions?