Mentioned it to Figaro and he said he always found it was more cold temperatures that got him down, and that when things got dark so early he found other ways to look at things as beautiful. Beauty isn't the problem as far as I'm concerned, though. Early dark is beautiful. Everything being night when people are still buzzing around on banal kinds of business, this sort of inky artificial blackness pressing down among the streetlights, lit-up shop windows fighting back our natural urge to go off and sleep or something - it's pretty cool. It also fills me with strange little flutters of panic and fury that it's dark when I still want sun.
Fitting, then, that my birthday opera was that funny old Masonic parable of the victory of sunny truth over starry coloratura, The Magic Flute, as produced by Opera Atelier. Made me cry. Penelope Randall Davis stuck in a few extra high notes during the Queen of the Night's big aria that got me going, as did Papageno's first song. Otherwise, I don't have much to say about it - Marshall Pynkoski didn't offer a pre-opera talk, which was refreshing; the orchestra was great, the singers okay, the dancers underused, and the stage directions occasionally baffling or annoying. It was sung in English as the Magic Flute often is because of all the spoken dialogue, I suppose. Gigi found that outright alienating; I found it annoying. I know librettos are usually stupid in any language but romance language rhyme with fewer struggles and German just sounds cool.
Got a lovely stack of music in presents this year: Rebirth of Cool, new K-os, Rimsky-Korsakov, mixed CDs from Mr. N - he does such a good fucking job - as well as the loan-to-copy of two Benjamin Biolay CDs, sexy yum - and of course KC and the Sunshine Band. I'm almost looking forward to work so that I have enough time sitting in one spot to listen. Almost.
10 commenti:
I'm not a big fan of early dark, but I'm a summer solstice baby. Me likes the light..
The Magic Flute is a great way to spend your birthday, even with it being sung in English. Although I agree, German is very cool sounding. It comforts me with its similarity to Dutch (although Dutch is much nicer to my ear).
Anyhoo, how IS the new K-os? It's on my Xmas list.
Happy birthday Spliffe. I do like the pic of the floating door. I have to go through mysterious hovering doors a fair bit in my job.
I'm glad you had a lovely birthday at the opera.
I have recently re-started to get up early so that I don't feel so ripped off when the sun goes down. As to running around and doing things in the dark ... rarely happens. There are so many things to do inside the warmth of the apartment.
Mel, I haven't sat and listened it through yet . . . I'll let you know.
Thanks, Doctor! Why the floating doors? Is it for loading from cranes or something? Every explanation I could think of felt silly.
Thanks to you too, Sugar. I got your call *during* the opera - potentially mortifying - thank god I leave that thing on vibrate all the time because it feels so nice.
Ooooh baby. Glad I was able to heighten your pleasure!
I'm an uncomplicated woman.
Did you know that Kenneth Branagh has just made a film of The Magic Flute?
No, I had no fucking idea. But I want to see it if the music's in. Wow. I bet he got good singers.
Go to http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0475331/
I just did, and I'm concerned that Stephen Fry got signed for the script. Stephen Fry made me puke with laughter on Fry and Laurie and with his first couple of books, but since then his humour has been getting more and more laboured and the sententiousness has been like waves of icky molasses.
But it doesn't matter. I'm there opening night - I'll just eat enough mushrooms to make the music last through the dialogue.
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