Regie apocalypse
Noel Dahling hedged his bets, but one of those bets paid off: no, that wasn’t Liù in the body bag, but it was in fact Siegfried — which means, of course, the opera was Götterdämmerung. For those among you who are devotees of the Regie art, the production is by La Fura dels baus.
All clear? So now let’s put on our thinking caps to guess what’s going on here:
Flying Dutchman.
1. The Spinning Chorus, sung by men because … it’s regie. Don’t ask.
2. The Dutchman lands in Act I. Or departs in Act III. Or hovers. (note the NL on his landing gear.)
3. The Steersman dreams of his girlfriend back home.
Poor Jenifer… forced to look like that!!! But having see the whole Valencia Ring, there are marvelous effects of light, computerized animations, and plenty of real deep water for the Rhein maidens. One is rarely bored with it.
Billy Budd?
I don’t think I see any men onstage…
It’s obviously “The Little Prince”
From the House of the Dead
OMG! Cant beleive I actually won one of these things. Not so very long ago, I was just a lurker on this site. And now I’m solving regie contests. Savoring my Moment of Glory…
Noel, good for you! Would you believe, I actually saw this at Maggio Musicale in Florence last May with Mehta conducting – the first La Cieca teaser I have ever witnessed – and, being intimately acquainted with hollow glory, I was sorely tempted to fake-guess the correct answer. Somehow, I managed to sit it out, but for this week I’m guessing Trovatore.
Knowing my luck it’ll turn out to be Der Freischütz.
Matthew Bourne’s all-male Suor Angelica.
1. The opening chorus. Is that a dildo or a shoe? Anyway, it’s Angelica mixing her herb potions.
2. La Principessa arrives by private jet.
3. The vision of Angelica’s dead son dominates the final tableau.
Lohengrin:
1. The Herald
2. Lohengrin arrives
3. The swan deswans
Billy Budd?
Actually I find Jim’s answer (#8) pretty cogent, Durch euch kam er gezogen and all that. But would La Cieca give us two Wagners in a row? So I’ll say Elisir:
1) sergeant & troops;
2) Dulcamara entrance;
3) big tenor aria.