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Day after Thanksgiving here. We've reached the life stage where family lives far away and there are no youngsters nearby. Down to bare minimum family now. A brother-in-law who visits from Maryland. We cook less every year, but it's still too much. Husband & his brother have gone down to Lancaster County to go knife shopping on Black Friday, so here I am--tardy--but here.
Anyone who writes about Mozart has to have a love for opera, and if you've been reading me for even a small time, you know I truly adore this old, peculiar western art form. I'm beginning to break free of the tried and true repertory. (How many Madame Butterflys can you absorb?) The wonderful innovation of Met performances showing at the Movies allows me to go with a fellow devotee to see a performance from NYC of Philip Glass's opera, Akenaten.
Usually, you "hear" an opera more than "see" it. In the case of this production, however, the visual was a partner to the music. As a result of the one-two punch, the performance stunned us. Juggling has been added to the staging, and it provided another way to enter into entrancement. This composer is sometimes accused of creating what has been called "Philip Glass Time," in which the audience is left spellbound. The popular genre this music is most clearly related to is Trance.
And that's where I'll leave this, because words fail me. I can't do justice to this performance which combines choreography, music of orchestra and voice, and spectacle filled with color and symbolism.
Karen Almond / Metropolitan Opera) as seen in Opera Wire
Nefertiti & Akenaten
Karen Kamensek was the conductor; good to see a woman take the podium and do exactly what the work needed. No outsize stars here, just an astonishing piece of teamwork, craft, professionalism and ART.
My friend and I were hypnotized. It took us a few minutes to collect our wits and walk with great care out of the theater with all those multi-plex (disorienting!) carpet patterns. Hours had passed; when we finally saw a clock, we were surprised by how late it was.
Here's a link--barely a minute of your time, if you are curious.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSn_UAquOfw
~~Juliet Waldron
See all my historical novels @
See all my historical novels @
Shame we don't live closer. Really enjoy opera. Used to attend fairly regularly. Once saw a double bill with Carmina Burana and Oedipus. What an experience. Keep writing
ReplyDeletewow--Janet! That must have been a trip--so much heavy/glorious in one dose! The staging was a huge part of the total experience. We just were hit from every direction with sensation, sound and imagery. The downfall of the hero was his hubris...or, perhaps, narcissism. It was my way or the highway with this Pharoah.
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