i. love. opera. it's that simple. i've listened to it since i was a kid listening to my mom's records of la traviata, carmen, tosca... norma was my favorite growing up. i've always loved the grand drama, the sheer sonic luxury... but i haven't been able to watch as much opera as i'd like. and a big part of my work as a filmmaker is influenced by my love for opera, so i think it's time i really committed to it. blogs are a really good place to geek out anyway.
this is a great year to start. it's the first season manned completely by peter gelb, all-around opera rock star and creative director at the met. he's the one who screened madama butterfly in times square and some say he has single-handedly revived the opera scene in new york, breathing new life into an art form that can feel staid and exclusive. he's staging some new productions (one which has already been boo'ed - by boring old people no doubt) and taking some huge risks - and i want to be there for all of it. and then blog about it. which will hopefully get you excited about it. and then maybe we can all watch some opera.
first up: tosca. the met opened with a new luc bondy staging this year that is reportedly hitchcockian - although i'll have to see it myself to see what that actually means. there was a scandal with the new staging because it meant the retiring of the beloved zeffirelli tosca - all velvet and swagger. if the newer productions i've seen at the met the past few years are any indication, this one will be pared down, almost surgical in its minimalism and precision. just please don't let the set look like an advent calendar, with singers popping out of holes for dramatic effect. (this happened twice last year, mr. gelb. benjamin britten? doctor atomic? there are betters ways to dress that enormous set to its full potential.)
i'm most excited to hear karita mattila in the lead, who i've never heard sing live. she'll have a lot to live up to in my mind: my favorite tosca is maria callas with tito gobbi at covent garden (again, zeffirelli.) check it out - maria callas will blow your mind.
see you at the opera! (cheese)
"one which has already been boo'ed - by boring old people no doubt"
ReplyDeleteI take offense at that comment. I am 59 and ANYTHING BUT boring. In fact, I'm really a fun person, quite intelligent, well acquainted with 17th - 19th century and early 20th century music. I love "classical music" more than anything else except my family and have been going to the Met for over 20 years. Personally, I find the new production of Tosca to be BORING. Minimalist sets do little or nothing to transport me to another place and time (Madama Butterfly for example) and to be honest, I feel I might as well be listening to the production on the radio. Sorry if that seems unsophisticated, but that is the way I feel. It doesn't make me boring!