A water, bird talk
Our own JJ “sits down” (figuratively speaking) with Robert Lepage to “talk” (also figuratively speaking) about his production of The Nightingale and Other Short Fables, opening tomorrow night at BAM. [New York Post]
Our own JJ “sits down” (figuratively speaking) with Robert Lepage to “talk” (also figuratively speaking) about his production of The Nightingale and Other Short Fables, opening tomorrow night at BAM. [New York Post]
The Nightingale and Other Short Fables is the very opposite of the kind of high-tech production that people associate with Lepage. Instead, it brings everything back to old-fashionied theatrical techniques, with most of the work being accomplished through puppets and shadow work. The work was raptorously received when it opened in Toronto last season. I wasn’t as enamoured as many others but it is certainly an interesting theatrical experience.
Fascinated to see this, as these Stravinsky pieces are absolute gems -- very exciting to see how they are realized on stage/under water. And Vietnamese water-puppets are absolutely hypnotic…….
This does look like a must-see. I’m not so enchanted with The Nightingale as a piece -- it went through revisions and ended up a rather disunified mess. But Renard is wonderful (salto mortale!) and the Pribaoutki are also fun.
It also just occurred to me that Mavra would be a terrific thing to place after Iolanta, in lieu of the Bluebeard’s Castle the Met is apparently contemplating. Chaikovsky through the looking-glass:
The production is a delight, I have seen it. Probably the best thing Lepage has done.
you know, back in the 90′s lepage absolutely bowled us over with his work presented at the BAM (brooklyn acad. music), did anyone else see his “seven streams of the river ota” or the “bluebeard/erwartung” double bill? i loved those. too bad his ring is shaping up to be a mess…
and btw, the bluebeard set also had a pond onstage. at the end, bluebeard’s other wives swam up from the pond and emerged from the water (they entered the pond offstage), and they were played by men in dresses… so it’s not his first time using water on stage.
absolutely loved his erwartung staging as well. his double bill was so much better than the met’s production, done as a vanity piece for jessye, around the same time.
Pierre: Lepage’s Bluebeard/Erwarthung (his opera debut!) was astonishing (it also travelled to the Edinburgh Festival). For me, the Stravinsky program *(while quite enchanting) did not live up to that earlier effort.
I believe the Met Bluebeard/Erwarthung came out around 4-5 years earlier than the Lepage.
Agree with kashania that the Bluebear/Ewarthung was brillian. The Nightingale while inspired theatre and not to be missed does not equal LePage’s earlier work. We arevery fortunate in Toronto to have a company, the COC, that presents such outstanding and innovative work.
Hmmm I wonder if this is the right place to post this (I couldn’t find Brad Wilber’s). Met’s new Elektra production will be by Patrice Chéreau, musical direction Esa-Pekka Salonen (in the autumn 2016). Co-production with La Scala. See: http://tinyurl.com/62m2lkb (in Finnish)