Wuorinen's Whirlygig

[Karl Henning]

They thought Tristan was too shocking . . . .

[snyprrr]

They thought Tristan was too shocking . . . .

But this IS!

[Karl Henning]

In olden days, a glimpse of stockin' . . . .

[snyprrr]

In olden days, a glimpse of stockin' . . . .

Karl, I just deleted my 3 Page Rant. You can thank me later. Still, an opera about anal just seems crass and opportunistic, not groundbreaking

Are they 'action figures' or are they dolls?

Did i tell you about when i lived with a real live pedophile, the son of a famous nudie mag publisher?



either way, I hope this opera is everything everyone wants it to be





(why do i even post this stuff??) i mean, reeeally



i'm touching my nipples Karl




Karl?






hello?

[ritter]

I have just returned home from the successful first performance of Wuorinen's Brokeback Mountain (libretto by Annie Proulx) at Madrid's Teatro Real.

It's a very well paced opera, and Wuorinen's orchestral writing is superb. I don't know enough of the composer's oeuvre to compare with other opuses, but the musicologist who gives introductory speeches in our theatre (José Luis Téllez) mentioned that Wuorinen had expressly "toned down" the contrapunctual complexity of his writing on this occasion.

The opera is structured in two acts of eleven scenes each (no intermission), and lasts slightly longer tan two hours. Scenes are linked by very impressive interludes. As far as the piece's architecture is concerned, think of Wozzeck or Ginastera`s Bomarzo.

It's written in an accessible 12-tone idiom, very lyrical at times (think Wozzeck again). The large orchestra (with a generous percussion section) is used quite economically (almost chamber-like in many passages), and the textures are very, very seductive. It's by no means a radically 21st-century avantgarde style, and may sound even a bit old-fashioned, but it is masterfully written (in my opinion). Particularly impressive is the leitmotiv associated to the mountain, based on the note "C" in the deepest registers of the orchestra (double basses, tubas, trombones).

You could ask for some more contrast between scenes, but this is but a minor complaint, as there were no tedious moments in the evening.

The vocal writing is very clean, syllabic. At the start, the contrast between Ennis' Sprechgesang and Jack's more "musical" singing is quite striking (think Moses und Aron). As the piece advances, Ennis ""sings more and more, and the opera ends with a very touching and rather beautiful monologue (a Liebestod, as Téllez described it).

The plot is almost universally known thanks to the film, but here it reaches a truly tragic dimension (with no sentimentalism).

It's not really a vocal showcase, but I think all singers did an excellent job. The staging was rather spartan, but quite effective.

Warm applause (particularly for the rather cold standards of the Teatro Real's audience, more so on opening nights) for the composer, librettist, conductor Titus Engel, singers and the stage team led by dutchman Ivo van Hove. Didn't hear any signs of dissent (despite a bit of a controversy in some Spanish papers and local forums on the subject matter, the musical language, Gérard Mortier's helmsanship of the house--you know, the usual ).

At the end, I managed to sneak backstage and shake Wuorinen's and Proulx hands, and thank them, as a mre aficionado,  for their work. They seemed quite happy with the evening's outcome (each of them holding a bottle of champagne).

I wish this work has a successful career on other stages, because it is a fine opera. . I for one enjoyed it very much, and I think that was the general feeling in the house tonight...

Regards,

[Karl Henning]

Thank you, it was a great pleasure to read your report of the evening.

[Cato]

From today's Wall Street Journal:

"I grew up in a very radical musical tradition," (Wuorinen) explains. "Everybody, from Milton Babbitt to John Cage, wanted to redefine music every minute. I thought, this really can't be. For my entire career I have not so much looked back as wanted to embrace some of the characteristics of older music. That gives my work the kind of rhetoric you've noted."

And it speaks to his interest in depicting the human condition, notably the inner lives of Ennis, who can't face who he is, and of Jack, who can't convince Ennis to change. "I was especially interested in embedding these hapless characters in the music," says Mr. Wuorinen. "I haven't written program music, the way a composer like Richard Strauss might." But there are specific places in the score that represent the elements of the drama. "The opening note C is emblematic of the mountain, but also of the fate of the characters—the death in life that Ennis ends up with," he reveals.

"The two notes that surround C and converge on it—C-sharp and B-natural—represent Ennis and Jack. I imagine Ennis, although he cannot accept himself, as being the more dominant of the two. There is a kind of irony in that as Jack ages, he doesn't really develop. He always wants the same thing and never gets it. Ennis, on the other hand, starts out barely able to speak—for a large part of the first act he uses Sprechstimme, half-singing and half-speaking. As the work progresses he sings more and more until that's all he does. So there is a reflection in the surface texture of the music of his growing capacity to express himself, and finally to accept himself. At which point Jack is already dead and it's too late. That's the tragedy."

See:

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304632204579336592986342158?mod=WSJ_LifeStyle_Lifestyle_6

[ritter]

Thank you, it was a great pleasure to read your report of the evening.

You're welcome...glad you enjoyed it. I hope you hace the chance to see the work ypourself some time son, as it deserves a wide circulation.

The managers of several major international opera houes (including, that I recall, Munich and San Francisco) were in the audience last night. Let's hope they program the work...

[Karl Henning]

Very good! The SFSO has recorded some of Charles's music . . . I have high hopes.  (Don't worry, snypsss, I can always shut my eyes and just listen

[Karl Henning]

From today's Wall Street Journal:

See:

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304632204579336592986342158?mod=WSJ_LifeStyle_Lifestyle_6

Thanks, I must check out that entire article.

[Cato]

Very good! The SFSO has recorded some of Charles's music . . . I have high hopes. (Don't worry, snypsss, I can always shut my eyes and just listen

You would be following a tradition of sorts! 

There is the following story about Bruckner in the biography by Hans-Hubert Schönzeler.  Bruckner had never seen a Wagner opera until he was past 40. After watching  Die Walküre, he wanted to know: "Why did they burn the woman in the fire at the end?" 

The purely musical experience without the story is what he concentrated upon.

(The biographer uses this as proof that Bruckner was not a Gesamtkunstwerk Wagnerian.)

[Karl Henning]

The Wicker Woman!          0:)

[Cato]

The Wicker Woman!          0:)

Heh-heh!  Sounds like a logical sequel!

Sometimes women don't do too well in the finales of Wagner's operas!

[Karl Henning]

When Wagner writes for a soprano . . . it cannot end well . . . .

[Karl Henning]

From today's Wall Street Journal:

See:

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304632204579336592986342158?mod=WSJ_LifeStyle_Lifestyle_6

Still reading it . . . but I wanted to say, first, that I get uncomfortable when a journo writes of the bowels of the orchestra.

"I knew Charles's music could be stringent and fierce, sharp-edged and heartless and very often beautiful," Ms. Proulx related.

I don't think I am at all happy about the adjective heartless there.

[Karl Henning]

We could also make a drinking game of reading the word thorny when someone writes about Charles's work . . . .

[Karl Henning]

Did I call Isacoff a journo?  I've browsed through his A Natural History of the Piano, and couldn't understand why he used natural when social would have made for a title both accurate and coherent.

[pjme]

Warm applause (particularly for the rather cold standards of the Teatro Real's audience, more so on opening nights) for the composer, librettist, conductor Titus Engel, singers and the stage team led by dutchman Ivo van Hove. Didn't hear any signs of dissent (despite a bit of a controversy in some Spanish papers and local forums on the subject matter, the musical language, Gérard Mortier's helmsanship of the house--you know, the usual ).,

Belgian musiclovers were enthusiastic aswell, of course. Not only Gerard Mortier is a Belgian, but so are both Ivo Van Hove ( although he works often in the Netherlands) and Jan Versweyfeld (stagedesign / lights).
I sincerely hope we can see Brokeback mountain soon in Brussels or Antwerp /Ghent.

Peter

[ritter]

There is the following story about Bruckner in the biography by Hans-Hubert Schönzeler.  Bruckner had never seen a Wagner opera until he was past 40. After watching  Die Walküre, he wanted to know: "Why did they burn the woman in the fire at the end?" 

Had never read this...Brillant! Can't stop laughing! 

Belgian musiclovers were enthusiastic aswell, of course. Not only Gerard Mortier is a Belgian, but so are both Ivo Van Hove ( although he works often in the Netherlands) and Jan Versweyfeld (stagedesign / lights).
I sincerely hope we can see Brokeback mountain soon in Brussels or Antwerp /Ghent.

I apologize for having abducted Mr. Van Hove form his homeland to the neighbouring Netherlands, pjme! 

I mentioned Mr. Mortier only in passing in my message. His tenure here in Madrid has been controversial, to put it mildly, but he has clearly raised the standards of the house (the chorus and orchestra have changed--to the better--beyond recognition), and several of the productions he has programmed have been very successful.

He's been ignominiously treated by the board of the Teatro Real, particularly now that he is gravely ill. This treatment  is an embarrassment for my city  . I hope he fully recovers soon...

[pjme]

Check out Teatro Real's website http://www.teatro-real.com/es/espectaculos/1774

and this

http://www.youtube.com/v/nOz-F5aorpM


http://www.youtube.com/v/zoZekAKhF84


Peter