Managed to get sucked into working on a grant application, so didn't get out much this week, in fact I was distracted enough to forget to do the channel count.
I did hear another winter wren singing near the house on Thursday morning. It could have been the same bird I heard earlier in the week, but this one's song was much more assured sounding. At least it sounded more like what I expect from a winter wren song.
The earliest bulbs have started blooming in town at least in the warmer spots. The crocus along the east side of the Franklin building are blooming as are the snow drops by the Pioneer home. No sign of bulbs in my garden, it is usually a couple of weeks later than those in town. The Witch hazel flowers are completely open.
Did get to see the Juneau based Opera to Go production of Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas at the Nakahidi. Opera from the 17th century is alot different from the later more familiar (to me) operas. The musical clues are not quite as helpful for the unfamiliar. You always know when the opera is over in a show like Carmen, not so with this one. In fact there weren't any great Bugs Bunny opera moments at all. Bugs should have worked on a Baroque opera or two so that I could familiarize myself with the structure. People don't die quite as dramatically (none of the choke on your own blood stuff with this show) nor did the music really let me or anyone else know that it was done. Reading the libretto would have helped, and since it is quite short it wouldn't have taken much time. The director should have given the audience a few more clues, because without a few ringers in the audience we wouldn't have really known when to clap. I tried to watch the viola players husband for clues, but he wasn't much help.
The company made good use of the space, they didn't use the stage, instead they used the benches below the central exit and the center floor as the stage. They didn't confine themselves to the stage, but used all of the aisles, space in front of the audience on the actual stage and the central exit. They also used the light booth as a platform for the witch, it was an excellent idea and the odd lighting up there added alot to the weird gleeful evil of the character. The audience sat on the sides and on the stage (didn't look comfortable up there, the sides were much more anonymous feeling).
The music was quite nice, particularly the harpsichord (brought from Juneau) and the guitars added something to the strings. The opera lasts about an hour, and it seemed that the directors felt like the audience would feel cheated without a full evening, so after intermission they did a 30 minute version and allegedly a 5 minute version. During the 30 minute version they showed a very odd modern film version of the story (with the singers as the actors) while the singers sang the highlighted sections of the opera from the side. The audience on the stage moved to the sides or usual back during intermission. The 5 minute version was Dido and Aeneas singing one aria.
Operas in english aren't really any easier to understand than those in Italian. In fact I didn't really have much of an idea of what was going on except that I knew that Aeneas shows up in Carthage, he and Dido fall in love, he is compelled to leave in order to found Rome, and Dido dies. Basically that is what happens in both the Aeneid and in the opera with the addition of evil witches, forests and bad omens to the opera.
The final scene illustrates why the audience didn't know that the end was near,
When Dido rather foolishly says to Aeneas (who is offering to defy the gods and stay)
No, faithless man, thy course pursue;
I'm now resolv'd as well as you. No repentance shall reclaim
The injur'd Dido's slighted flame.
For 'tis enough, whate'er you now decree,
That you had once a thought of leaving me.
so he leaves and she decides to die, but doesn't noticably act on it. A later opera would have milked this for all it was worth and the poor audience would have been reduced to tears and known that it was the end and clapped in appreciation. We did clap, but there was a long pause before we figured out that it was time.
White knuckled my way home again, solid white caps all the way across, so I took the lighthouse way home.
Two thick billed murres in front of Crescent harbor on my way in tonight, other than that it has been surf scoters, common mergansers, mallards, golden eyes and the usual gulls on my path to town.
I did hear another winter wren singing near the house on Thursday morning. It could have been the same bird I heard earlier in the week, but this one's song was much more assured sounding. At least it sounded more like what I expect from a winter wren song.
The earliest bulbs have started blooming in town at least in the warmer spots. The crocus along the east side of the Franklin building are blooming as are the snow drops by the Pioneer home. No sign of bulbs in my garden, it is usually a couple of weeks later than those in town. The Witch hazel flowers are completely open.
Did get to see the Juneau based Opera to Go production of Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas at the Nakahidi. Opera from the 17th century is alot different from the later more familiar (to me) operas. The musical clues are not quite as helpful for the unfamiliar. You always know when the opera is over in a show like Carmen, not so with this one. In fact there weren't any great Bugs Bunny opera moments at all. Bugs should have worked on a Baroque opera or two so that I could familiarize myself with the structure. People don't die quite as dramatically (none of the choke on your own blood stuff with this show) nor did the music really let me or anyone else know that it was done. Reading the libretto would have helped, and since it is quite short it wouldn't have taken much time. The director should have given the audience a few more clues, because without a few ringers in the audience we wouldn't have really known when to clap. I tried to watch the viola players husband for clues, but he wasn't much help.
The company made good use of the space, they didn't use the stage, instead they used the benches below the central exit and the center floor as the stage. They didn't confine themselves to the stage, but used all of the aisles, space in front of the audience on the actual stage and the central exit. They also used the light booth as a platform for the witch, it was an excellent idea and the odd lighting up there added alot to the weird gleeful evil of the character. The audience sat on the sides and on the stage (didn't look comfortable up there, the sides were much more anonymous feeling).
The music was quite nice, particularly the harpsichord (brought from Juneau) and the guitars added something to the strings. The opera lasts about an hour, and it seemed that the directors felt like the audience would feel cheated without a full evening, so after intermission they did a 30 minute version and allegedly a 5 minute version. During the 30 minute version they showed a very odd modern film version of the story (with the singers as the actors) while the singers sang the highlighted sections of the opera from the side. The audience on the stage moved to the sides or usual back during intermission. The 5 minute version was Dido and Aeneas singing one aria.
Operas in english aren't really any easier to understand than those in Italian. In fact I didn't really have much of an idea of what was going on except that I knew that Aeneas shows up in Carthage, he and Dido fall in love, he is compelled to leave in order to found Rome, and Dido dies. Basically that is what happens in both the Aeneid and in the opera with the addition of evil witches, forests and bad omens to the opera.
The final scene illustrates why the audience didn't know that the end was near,
When Dido rather foolishly says to Aeneas (who is offering to defy the gods and stay)
No, faithless man, thy course pursue;
I'm now resolv'd as well as you. No repentance shall reclaim
The injur'd Dido's slighted flame.
For 'tis enough, whate'er you now decree,
That you had once a thought of leaving me.
so he leaves and she decides to die, but doesn't noticably act on it. A later opera would have milked this for all it was worth and the poor audience would have been reduced to tears and known that it was the end and clapped in appreciation. We did clap, but there was a long pause before we figured out that it was time.
White knuckled my way home again, solid white caps all the way across, so I took the lighthouse way home.
Two thick billed murres in front of Crescent harbor on my way in tonight, other than that it has been surf scoters, common mergansers, mallards, golden eyes and the usual gulls on my path to town.
No comments:
Post a Comment