To maestro with love
Our own JJ reviews the Met’s Lulu. [NYP]
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Nice review and as long as it’s available in the teaser above JJ’s review, be sure to check out the Tiger Gaffe article. Something about a bulging ….
“The story, as troubling today as it was at the 1937 Zurich premiere…”
Why, I imagined you were barely out of your *teens* then, dahlink!
Well said, JJ. (My only disagreement would be my preference for a refurbishing of the present production, rather than a new one. The Jocelyn Hebert sets are some of the best the Met has ever had, I think, superbly well suited to the work.) I so wanted to get up for a performance this year, but it just wasn’t manageable. Berg’s luscious music becomes more and more magnetic to me, the better I get to know it.
I probably need anatomy lessons, too: wtf is a bulging disc when it’s at home? a protruding disc might have been a better choice of adjective. lol
As wonderful as the sets are, the production is 33 years old, and it probably won’t be revived until it’s at least 40 years old if not older. The original director has been dead for 20 years now, so it’s being reheated by assistants who no longer have fresh memories of Dexter’s view. Given all this, I think it’s time for a new look at the piece. Lulu is such a dramatically strong opera (compared to, say, Sonnambula) that a lot of directors today would have something new and special to say about it.
Given how women’s roles in society have shifted a great deal since the mid-70s, the view of Lulu as a character will have shifted as well (like the view of Salome has gone from an evil, willful woman to an abused child who is a victim of her surroundings).
JJ’s review makes me extremely envious of those lucky ones who were present. Last time I was so envious of MET audience was when I watched the HD of THE Barber of all barbers, the night when JDD made everybody onstage, especially Mattei, helpless with laughter and quite unable to sing properly. Yes, I’m quite sure it’s the best Barber I have ever seen or heard.
And now I’m thinking what a perfect stage work Lulu is and how smart of Berg to let the main character retain her naivite, unlike the Pabst version. In fact in the opera she is a sister to Melisande. Both are inherently innocent, passive characters. The only time Melisande is active is when she answers “oui” to Pelleas. Ditto Lulu when she persuades Jack the Ripper to come with her, even offering him money. At all times she is manipulated by her surrounding, even Dr Schoen’s murder is an act in defense. Both Debussy and Berg manage retain an air of fairy-tale for their main female character. Very cunning. Both composers rise to the challenge magnificently.
Re: Lulu and Rossini, dear Evelyn Lear was among those in the audience at yesterday’s Washington Concert Opera performance of “Cenerentola”.
During that “Barbiere” HD performance, I was next door at “Coast of Utopia” and as much as I loved the first two “Utopia” plays that afternoon, I still rue missing the Rossini performance.
In a stunning version I saw: at the very start, Lulu is a very young girl child ‘a blonde barbie doll’ commodity , being pushed about (and probably disturbingly ‘being hocked’ as well!) in a supermarket trolley. I would not be misled by any portrayal of Lulu ‘as naive & passive’ per sec. Constant exploitation in whatever ways you care to name, leads to a growing person having various forms of arrested, even severe emotional development. They learn to ‘instinctively survive’ on their own honed ‘wits’ and ‘act on cue’ in any given situation. Empathy and attachment are foreign to them. No matter the kindness, the trust shown to them by others..They are ‘damaged goods’…They are perfect perilous catalysts that set off sparks of discontent in others, as they beguile the unaware as they gravitate from one unrealistic relationship to the next. They are incapable of comprehending their own situation, at any given time. How perfectly judged and shaped , is ‘Lulu the character’. Charm is just a flick of light switch away.
I once knew of a gay guy I aptly christened ‘Lulu’ ( thinking of the Berg composition)-’it stuck’ !. He reputedly always had his home doorbell ringing with callers, too …and had wish fantasies about his father. He indeed liked what one would repulsively call ‘remote control incest’, best. Merrily and most happily getting his rocks off with friends that had shown , they had his same real Daddy at various beats.
That unfeeling nature quality of Lulu, most reminds of Salome at the moment, of Narraboth killing himself over her and yet Salome remains totally unmoved.
“hawked”, surely?
No Manou, ‘hocked to the best bidder’!
We need an English/Australian/American dictionary here…
I’m with Manou, yet again. In the U.S., (Not Australia, I know, but nevertheless) “Hawked” means sold. Usually bidders are buying, hense hawked. Hawker are, or were, street vendors. “Hocked” is put up in a Pawn Shop for a loan, as in, “I hocked my watch to pay the rent.”
I vote “hawked.”
hawk (hôk)
VERB:
hawked, hawk·ing, hawks
VERB:
intr.
To peddle goods aggressively, especially by calling out.
VERB:
tr.
To peddle (goods) aggressively, especially by calling out.
Maybe “hokked” as in “Feh, Geschwitzeleh–hok mir nit ken chainik!” What, surely the Folksbiene did some version of the Lulu story.
I stand corrected – English/Australian/American/Yddish dictionary.
sorry – Yiddish!
Chainik, ya know.
Manou : Haven’t you heard the term ‘hocking your wares’? It relates not to ‘pawning them’ but a form of flirting or tease -showing off (oneself)- and it can take many forms – (yes, even sex! ).For the reason to see the best opportunities on offer, that you may consider will come or do comes along. It might even be used when one decides on seeking a new office job opportunity. It is a self-positive touting of one’s supposed talents ‘putting your best foot forward’ ; and not meant ‘as pawning’.
Harry – I have very often heard the term “hawking your wares” and know precisely what it means. I just don’t spell it the way you do.
Manou: Neither does Webster (Third International Dictinary.)
That production, which is the same one I saw, was equally blessed with Simone Young in a monstrous red frock tottering down a killer rake in heels…
ianw2: Me ,too! I was there to see Simone Young conduct Lulu ,and take her curtain call in that red dress with a train. People can say what they like, she knows how to grab that opera by the balls and clarify its immense complexity.
Jeepers Who can’t remember Lulu and her cat yowling ‘To Sir with LUUUUVVV’ song? From a time when the silly world thought Britain was cool & hip! Oh how things change. The joint is financially on its arse. Surely Vicar, you will now tell us that since she was a British singer ..that there was no better……
Yes, in the great line of Dame Vera Lynn and Petula Clark!
Okay, I’m going to publicly admit this:
I’ve never “gotten” LULU. I doubt I will ever “get” LULU. The story is hilariously idiotic. The music gives me a headache.
Sometimes I wonder if the audiences react with such enthusiam because no one wants to admit they hate it. It’s supposedly a “masterpiece” afterall, right?
YUCK!
AND I’d rather listen to Lulu than Armida. I don’t get Rossini. There is no music in his music.
Considering how freely people will admit they hate things, I doubt that Lulu is getting a pass out of fear.
I feel the same way about Tosca, except for the end of the first act.
Or it may just be possible that other people enjoy things that you don’t.
As CruzSF notes, in general opera fans don’t seem to be shy about saying they hate things.
There are several acknowledged operatic masterpieces that bore me to tears and seem devoid of musical interest. My loss, I guess.
La Clemenza di Tito — ho -fuckin’ – hum !
Chaka! You said a mouthful! I have always felt that
way about Lulu (and have bravely said so), and furthermore
have the impression that it’s a kind of sacred cow of modern
music and some will say they admire it, etc., just because
it’s the thing to do! Hooray for chaka!
For me there are three key reasons why this opera is worth seeing, and better yet, why you should let its music get under your skin:
1. Berg creates stunningly beautiful orchestral effects one after the next. Admittedly, they’re often masked by extensive layering, but an excellent live performance makes the elements distinctly audible.
2. The rythymic organization of the work is superb and is hardwired to the drama. Regardless whether one knows what the component forms are (“Rondo”, “Sonata”, etc.), or actually hears them, the changes of mood they create as Berg deploys them, and as his other dramatic uses of pacing and tempo play out, are visceral.
3. The libretto is truly outstanding. A synopsis cannot do it justice. It’s a good read on its own.
My wife and I were in the audience Saturday with 4 friends. We go to the opera 6-10 times/year, mostly at the Met. None of us had ever seen Lulu before and our opera knowledge is nowhere close to you people on this site. To be honest, none of us was sure exactly why we ordered the Lulu tix many months in advance and we had lots of trepidations about seeing this 4 hour opera with unfamiliar and difficult music.
The above is preanmble to saying that we all loved the performance. Basically, we all agreed that we had seen wonderful theater, with great drama and outstanding performances. That is not to say that we loved the music, but somehow or another the whole thing worked for us. I am agreeing with Metfan, but on a much less sophisticated level, by thinking that the music really enhanced the drama, which I suspect is the objective.
Question for you (or anyone here who might care to offer an opinion):
Are there composers in activity today, of any nationality, famous or up-and-coming, who approach Berg’s pathos, sensuousness, dramatic and innovative use of orchestration and rythm, etc., but who have a style of their own?
Well Chaka you might like something by Mascagni? Perhaps his opera, Iris. Poor Iris , does herself in….by throwing herself down into a sewer of all things. Now that truly is YUCK! Can you imagine the jokes when she comes back on, for her curtain call? Imagine the reviews titles ‘Diving Diva does dirty dunking’ or ‘This opera needed a aerosol shit house freshener ‘.or ‘another one for HD Opera by Gelb? Forget it…this one is Smell-o-vision!’
Remembering John Dexter: one of his favorite porno novels was “The Little Boy who wanted to become a Nun” (true story!)
Ah, Lulu, nee Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie. Surely one of the finest British singers. Vicar John, where are you now?
See Reply #6, Monty Mio.
BTW: Does Lulu have a devoted gay fan base? Obviously in Britain this would be more pronounced? A lot of those belting 60′s and 70′s pop divas do/did. Dusty Springfield had a rabid gay and lesbian following. We all know about Cher and Bette Midler and Barbra… My sixties girl crush is Marianne Faithfull. Kylie Minogue is the current gay crush – her fan base is solely gay men in the U.S. – heterosexual men have no idea who she is.
Anyone notice how Lulu got more glamorous and chic in middle age than she was as a young girl at the height of her career? She had a late eighties/early nineties resurgence? Didn’t she sing with the Pet Shop Boys? Or was that someone else? She definitely appeared on “Absolutely Fabulous” a gay obsession tv show.
I think Lulu has always covered lots of fanbases.
She is a very canny lassie and has made lots of money.
I also worship at the altar of Petula Clark.
This song was featured in “Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss” and shows that Pet can turn schmaltz into swinging pop:
Gaultier, I think Lulu was bound to attract a gay following once she entered (and co-won) the Eurovision Song Contest in 1969. That, plus her former marriage to a top hairdresser.
Oh, and her sole British No. 1 single came as late as 1993 when teaming up with boyband du jour Take That to perform Dan Hartman’s Relight My Fire. Ah yes, it’s all a rich tapestry as you can see.
BTW she also co-wrote I Don’t Wanna Fight, the song that you hear at the end of the Angela Bassett-Laurence Fishburne Tina Turner biopic too. Quite a gal.
Oh! ‘The pop dizzies’ with their resurrected icons…..Lately it has been the tragic Whitney Houston going from one broken note to a fractured one doing a GRANDE WORLD TOUR! Only last week end, there they were… paying top money in England to see a 74 year old Julie Andrews attempting to do her ’45 years old version’ of be ‘Maria’ in the Sound of Snoot once more, in London concerts…. and basing or blame it all ‘on a vocal op’.Look back at the DVD of her ‘Victor Victoria’ Broadway performance all those years ago….and the Jazz Hot Baby number. She lets out one almighty ‘crack’ in the voice on one vocal scale run during it. One cannot play with the voice being ‘a woman pretending to be a man playing a woman’ 8 times a week, week in, week out.
Well, Luluboobs DOES sing about “biting males….”