New Zealand Opera got a mixed review in the Listener for their modern production of Don Giovanni. Words like "sleazy" and "ill-advised update" were thrown around. Stuff just really wanted to put up a picture of THAT pole-dancer. What I'm waiting for is someone to admit that actually, updating Don G (a notorious, unrepentant man-whore who throws massive parties) makes a hell of a lot more sense than say, updating La Boheme (tubercular seamstress can't pay power bill.)
The issue isn't really the updating. The issue is that people have a real soft spot for tradition. We're talking powdered wigs, men in tights, downtrodden peasants, courting and wooing, hilarious misunderstandings (Cosi fan tutte) or beautiful romantic deaths (La Traviata). I must admit that a huge part of the allure of becoming an opera singer was the costumes. What woman doesn't look incredible in a corset? So to arrive at the opera and low and behold, Hansel and Gretel are robbing a supermarket, Siegfried and Brunnhilde enjoy a few beers after work and Macbeth is in drag - even if the singing is fabulous, many people walk away feeling ripped off.
Regietheater is the official word used in the opera community to describe the "horror" that is a non-traditional operatic production. There is even a Facebook page for theatre goers to have a moan. I imagine most of those people "liking" the page have spent quite a bit of time in Germany and have simply had a guts full of gratuitous violence and nudity detracting from the music. I can sympathise. I have heard reports of male chorus members in towels grilling sausages in a steamroom, a blood-soaked orgy (they used corn syrup, just like in Carrie! I asked!) and Adele getting raped at the Fledermaus party (...it's supposed to be a comedy.) In fact, rape is a great favourite with the Regietheater director - it gets people talking about his production. As does a good old-fashioned Nazi salute (a gesture which can leave you with a several thousand euro fine in Germany).
All of a sudden THAT pole dancer in Christchurch last weekend isn't looking so bad after all?
I'm neither pro nor contra updating opera because I have seen many great productions that have been cleverly, whimsically and appropriately adapted for a modern audience. My bread and butter for several years was a Magic Flute set on the Starship Enterprise. As Magic Flute is set in a fairytale land inhabited by gigantic serpents, I thought it was entirely feasible that it might also be an intergalactic battlefield - good vs. evil and all that. One of the best things I saw in my time in Germany was Cinderella set in the future imagined by 1960's cartoonists - think The Jetsons. It still had all the traditional elements that were required to tell the story; a girl being exploited by her family, nasty stepsisters, a prince in disguise, goodness and forgiveness and love. I feel that if an opera's plot and themes are still relevant today, they can happily lend themselves to an update.
I had a total blast down in Christchurch and was entertained from beginning to end. Fabulous singing from the whole cast. A solid chorus and a top-class orchestra. As for the update? A notorious, unrepentant man-whore, no matter if it's the 1700s or the 2000s, is probably going to have a woman of ill repute, if not several, at his massive party. And apparently pole dancing is great for toning arms and legs.
Posted by Georgia Jamieson Emms
The issue isn't really the updating. The issue is that people have a real soft spot for tradition. We're talking powdered wigs, men in tights, downtrodden peasants, courting and wooing, hilarious misunderstandings (Cosi fan tutte) or beautiful romantic deaths (La Traviata). I must admit that a huge part of the allure of becoming an opera singer was the costumes. What woman doesn't look incredible in a corset? So to arrive at the opera and low and behold, Hansel and Gretel are robbing a supermarket, Siegfried and Brunnhilde enjoy a few beers after work and Macbeth is in drag - even if the singing is fabulous, many people walk away feeling ripped off.
Regietheater is the official word used in the opera community to describe the "horror" that is a non-traditional operatic production. There is even a Facebook page for theatre goers to have a moan. I imagine most of those people "liking" the page have spent quite a bit of time in Germany and have simply had a guts full of gratuitous violence and nudity detracting from the music. I can sympathise. I have heard reports of male chorus members in towels grilling sausages in a steamroom, a blood-soaked orgy (they used corn syrup, just like in Carrie! I asked!) and Adele getting raped at the Fledermaus party (...it's supposed to be a comedy.) In fact, rape is a great favourite with the Regietheater director - it gets people talking about his production. As does a good old-fashioned Nazi salute (a gesture which can leave you with a several thousand euro fine in Germany).
All of a sudden THAT pole dancer in Christchurch last weekend isn't looking so bad after all?
I'm neither pro nor contra updating opera because I have seen many great productions that have been cleverly, whimsically and appropriately adapted for a modern audience. My bread and butter for several years was a Magic Flute set on the Starship Enterprise. As Magic Flute is set in a fairytale land inhabited by gigantic serpents, I thought it was entirely feasible that it might also be an intergalactic battlefield - good vs. evil and all that. One of the best things I saw in my time in Germany was Cinderella set in the future imagined by 1960's cartoonists - think The Jetsons. It still had all the traditional elements that were required to tell the story; a girl being exploited by her family, nasty stepsisters, a prince in disguise, goodness and forgiveness and love. I feel that if an opera's plot and themes are still relevant today, they can happily lend themselves to an update.
I had a total blast down in Christchurch and was entertained from beginning to end. Fabulous singing from the whole cast. A solid chorus and a top-class orchestra. As for the update? A notorious, unrepentant man-whore, no matter if it's the 1700s or the 2000s, is probably going to have a woman of ill repute, if not several, at his massive party. And apparently pole dancing is great for toning arms and legs.
Posted by Georgia Jamieson Emms