In our local community this last w/e we did three performances of a
dramatic new opera by Kenneth Nichols, HILDA BLAKE, about a local murder a
century ago. It went well, and though it was difficult to learn (I had two
medium sized roles in a fairly dissonant idiom) I hope these three outings
won't be the last we've seen of it. (A little more detail: the idiom
changed with the dramatic circumstance - from ferocious dissonance to a
musical theatre sound. I think it worked musically - though it certainly
worked dramatically).
But from performing to listening: I'm off to hear the production of the
Ring at the Met (begins on Monday), something I've wanted to do for a very
long time. I used to want to go to Bayreuth, with its six-figure waiting
list, but I think the Met production (I've seen bits of the first outing of
it on video) is going to be truer to the composer's scenario than whatever
weird 'interpretation' they are likely to have in Germany. I remember
seeing the Chereau/Boulez version on British TV when it first appeared:
effective, and nicely sung, but very different from what the composer must
have had in mind with its lean, mean orchestra, industrial nightmare sets
and three-piece suits. And the dragon was just embarrassing. john
John Blyth
Baritono robusto e lirico
Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
|
|  |
