I went to the opera on Tuesday - a Glyndeborne touring production in Canterbury with singers I'd heard of, and some of whom were so old that I'd actually heard them before It was Nozze di Figaro - which is the first opera I ever saw at Covent Garden - in their da Ponte season in 1980? 81? I used to listen to it all the time, but it's such a long time since I saw it. The first half was a bit irritating as we had been bought the last two tickets by dear Anna T. and these were in a box above the stage from which one couldn't see more than one-third of the stage, or the surtitles. In the second half we slid over to a couple of spare seats I'd noticed in the slips... which were marvellous in comparison.
The production was interesting, the singing was good and the fact that I knew it so well meant I really, really appreciated it and engaged with it. When the Count finally sings "Contessa, perdona" I had tears in my eyes. What seems to have happened in the twenty years or so since I last went to proper opera on a regular basis (i.e since I met Mark and so on...) is that acting has become extremely important - and there is no question of someone walking on, singing their aria and then standing about like a lemon. It does make a tremendous difference to one's engagement with it. Obviously there was operatic acting 20 years ago - but it wasn't so ubiquitous. Or perhaps it is just David Grandage's productions? The style was clever - 70's costumes in crumbling Moorish palaces. The Count's costumes were especially louche and fab - the Contessa wore floating kaftans.
I should have made M listen to it a bit before we went - I don't think he really got into it. But then again, neither would the LO probably...perhaps one just has to accept that one can't turn "to share the rapture" with people as much as one would like...there will always be spaces in between in any sort of intimacy, and that too is desirable, although occasionally it can feel a bit lonely.
The production was interesting, the singing was good and the fact that I knew it so well meant I really, really appreciated it and engaged with it. When the Count finally sings "Contessa, perdona" I had tears in my eyes. What seems to have happened in the twenty years or so since I last went to proper opera on a regular basis (i.e since I met Mark and so on...) is that acting has become extremely important - and there is no question of someone walking on, singing their aria and then standing about like a lemon. It does make a tremendous difference to one's engagement with it. Obviously there was operatic acting 20 years ago - but it wasn't so ubiquitous. Or perhaps it is just David Grandage's productions? The style was clever - 70's costumes in crumbling Moorish palaces. The Count's costumes were especially louche and fab - the Contessa wore floating kaftans.
I should have made M listen to it a bit before we went - I don't think he really got into it. But then again, neither would the LO probably...perhaps one just has to accept that one can't turn "to share the rapture" with people as much as one would like...there will always be spaces in between in any sort of intimacy, and that too is desirable, although occasionally it can feel a bit lonely.
No comments:
Post a Comment