Opera tonight

[lovingboth]

The Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love" lasts 2 min 11 seconds.

Wagner's "Rhinegold" takes 2 hours and 35 minutes to make the same point.

Still worth seeing though, particularly at ENO. I saw their concert version (= singers on a bare stage, sometimes moving about a bit) a couple of years ago, and this year they're staging them all (= sets and acting too) with (I think, but haven't checked) the same cast. It does make a difference.

Comments

[f-l-i-r-t.livejournal.com]

Sounds really interesting, I am almost ready to venture into the world of opera...wish me luck! *soft smile*

[esbat.livejournal.com]

Just a friendly suggestion, but I wouldn't recommend you start with Wagner. It'll probably put you off opera for life as most people find it an acquired taste. The old saying is that Wagner has good moments but bad quarter hours. I'd suggest something more like Madame Butterfly, Carmen or The Magic Flute. It helps a lot if you know some of the music and story beforehand too.

[lovingboth]

Rhinegold is an exception to this, because it does keep the action moving along, but yes I think you're right. I'd also avoid almost everything post-WWII, if not earlier, when composers decided that tunes were for 'musicals'...

ENO's season includes both their magnificent Magic Flute (the one that got me appreciating opera back in the 80s) and Carmen. Plus one of their wonderful Handel's (ideal for beginners as the lyrics don't matter - this is before composers started using songs to move the plot along - but they're fabulously sung).

In fact, there's only a couple of the fourteen I don't want to see.