Nov. 22nd, 2008 10:50 pm
Hell in a handbag
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muckefuckI figure I'll grow old waiting for the Lyric to stage La damnation de Faust, so when Nuphy told me it would be showing today as part of this season's series of Met live broadcasts, I leapt at the opportunity. Unfortunately, so did a lot of other people because the River East sold out weeks ago. I was all for catching it at the Century in Evanston, since that's much closer to my house anyway. But I didn't count on the difference in audience.
The crowd in the theatre can be summed up in four words: North Shore blue hair. I knew from the start we'd have problems. Not because I think them philistines, but because the poor dears just forget where they are. The two old ladies on my right loved the staging. I know this because they told each other this repeatedly throughout the performance until I politely asked them to hold their comments until afterwards. Nuphy ended up having to shush the pair to our left as well; it turned out one of them couldn't read the subtitles and the other was trying to explain the action. (That's what the summary on the handout is for, you eejits! The lady in the third row figured that out; you can tell by the way she used a pocket flashlight to read it at length during the show.)
Despite the aggravations, it was well worth going to see. I wasn't as wild about the staging as the elderly darlings to the right, but I didn't hate it as much as the woman to our left who gave us an earful of her opinion afterwards. Some things worked particularly well (e.g. the ride to the abyss), others not at all (e.g. the love duet chez Marguerite). In general, there was a "more is more" aesthetic at work which reached a pinnacle of silliness during the Easter Hymn: Why have one acrobat on a crucifix for Faust to pray to when you can have five? And I do see her point about the depiction of hell. A Méphistophélès in a red leather codpiece commanding a topless mature male chorus? Faust, you lucky bastard! Throw me into that briar patch!
The pre-opera twaddle made much of the incorporation of new technology (particularly performer-sensitive computer generated rear projections) to stage an opera that is more often performed as a concert piece. Apparently, the "cinema-like jump cuts" of the libretto have historically been a huge headache for directors. I don't understand why, but then again I've seen Bolcom's twenty-one-scene opera A Wedding, which is based on the eponymous Robert Altman film. If that can be staged using traditional methods (and it was--beautifully--at the Lyric some years ago), then I wonder what the problem is with Berlioz' work.
In the end, the set and stage direction was the least of our problems compared to the fact that Marcello Giordani simply isn't a very good singer. It was painful how he couldn't hit the high notes during the love duet, and just disappointing how little life he breathed into "Nature immense, impénétrable et fière". Nuphy found Susan Graham good, but not much more than that; I had no complaints with her. But we both agreed that the only standout was John Relyea as our kinky Méphistophélès. He brought excellent physicality to the role, equal parts seduction and menace.
We're definitely going back for Lucia di Lammermoor (Feb. 7) and La Sonnambula (Mar. 21) at the very least--and we're going to buy the tickets soon to avoid another Nannageddon. I know some of you reading this are curious about opera and I strongly encourage you to come. You get much of the experience at a fraction of the cost with better views and more comfortable seating to boot. Plus snacks!
The crowd in the theatre can be summed up in four words: North Shore blue hair. I knew from the start we'd have problems. Not because I think them philistines, but because the poor dears just forget where they are. The two old ladies on my right loved the staging. I know this because they told each other this repeatedly throughout the performance until I politely asked them to hold their comments until afterwards. Nuphy ended up having to shush the pair to our left as well; it turned out one of them couldn't read the subtitles and the other was trying to explain the action. (That's what the summary on the handout is for, you eejits! The lady in the third row figured that out; you can tell by the way she used a pocket flashlight to read it at length during the show.)
Despite the aggravations, it was well worth going to see. I wasn't as wild about the staging as the elderly darlings to the right, but I didn't hate it as much as the woman to our left who gave us an earful of her opinion afterwards. Some things worked particularly well (e.g. the ride to the abyss), others not at all (e.g. the love duet chez Marguerite). In general, there was a "more is more" aesthetic at work which reached a pinnacle of silliness during the Easter Hymn: Why have one acrobat on a crucifix for Faust to pray to when you can have five? And I do see her point about the depiction of hell. A Méphistophélès in a red leather codpiece commanding a topless mature male chorus? Faust, you lucky bastard! Throw me into that briar patch!
The pre-opera twaddle made much of the incorporation of new technology (particularly performer-sensitive computer generated rear projections) to stage an opera that is more often performed as a concert piece. Apparently, the "cinema-like jump cuts" of the libretto have historically been a huge headache for directors. I don't understand why, but then again I've seen Bolcom's twenty-one-scene opera A Wedding, which is based on the eponymous Robert Altman film. If that can be staged using traditional methods (and it was--beautifully--at the Lyric some years ago), then I wonder what the problem is with Berlioz' work.
In the end, the set and stage direction was the least of our problems compared to the fact that Marcello Giordani simply isn't a very good singer. It was painful how he couldn't hit the high notes during the love duet, and just disappointing how little life he breathed into "Nature immense, impénétrable et fière". Nuphy found Susan Graham good, but not much more than that; I had no complaints with her. But we both agreed that the only standout was John Relyea as our kinky Méphistophélès. He brought excellent physicality to the role, equal parts seduction and menace.
We're definitely going back for Lucia di Lammermoor (Feb. 7) and La Sonnambula (Mar. 21) at the very least--and we're going to buy the tickets soon to avoid another Nannageddon. I know some of you reading this are curious about opera and I strongly encourage you to come. You get much of the experience at a fraction of the cost with better views and more comfortable seating to boot. Plus snacks!