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Mon, 2 Jun 2003 14:46:20 -0500 |
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Janos writes:
>Somebody should let Rockwell know that the wretched "Matrix" sequel has
>all the floor-length trench coats to satisfy even the most rabid fans of
>SchlockOpera. I don't know why "vibrancy" requires phallic prosthesis and
>the like, but if that's the choice, give me that old-time "sensuous bath
>in vocal timbre."
You know, given the correspondence between composers and their librettists,
I strongly doubt that composers think about that "sensuous bath" more
often than they think of the drama. I suspect that the choice isn't
between old-timey vocal calisthenics and Schlockopera. For me, the
problem with the Met is that it hasn't originated a dramatically interesting
production of *any* style in a very long time. When opera fans - that
is, fans of opera, rather than of singers and set designers - talk about
interesting productions, it's usually Bayreuth, San Francisco, Lyons,
Glyndebourne, Aldeburgh, or even Chicago Lyric or directors like (I hear
the snorts now) Sellars and Miller.
For the record, I hated the Matrix Reloaded as well, but fortunately I
don't have to choose between that and the latest Robin Williams weepie.
Steve Schwartz
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