Headshot of La Cieca

Cher Public

  • Camille: Ossia: “The Night DV became PV”— his preferred manner to which he has forever enshrined that... 1:20 AM
  • Camille: Guess it’s called Rhinecliff for a reason, huh, mmdeux? Just buy yourself one of those teeny tiny... 1:15 AM
  • Camille: You mean you, too, were there “The Night Debbie Barfed” as Monsieur Camille forever after... 1:09 AM
  • m. croche: Funny, I was there the night when Deborah Voigt had stomach flu or something similar and rushed... 12:59 AM
  • marshiemarkII: Oh CammiB, and the Sunday brunch prevented MMII from carrying out her usual sinverguënzuras on... 12:51 AM
  • marshiemarkII: Yes CammiB, I should really heed your very sage advice, and start writing things down. Those lazy... 12:49 AM
  • operablogger: For anyone who’s interested, it appears the DVD / Blu-ray release of the R-O-H production of... 12:45 AM
  • Camille: Sumi Jo did not do a whole lot with that grand messa di voce moment. I was surprised to hear such a lack... 12:14 AM

+ Comments feed

Damage control

by | 4:24 pm | Apr 3, 2012

Just in time for the beginning of the first cycle of the Robert Lepage Ring (pictured), Peter Gelb tries to convince Anthony Tommasini that everything is just fine, thank you, and the future… well, the future is going to be glorious indeed! [New York Times]

Tags: , , ,
177 Comments

177 comments

1 2 3
  • The Wistful Pelleastrian says:

    Has the much-celebrated Robert Lepage finally jumped the shark? It’s a question raised by the acidic reviews that have greeted the Canadian theatrical icon’s staging of Wagner’s cycle of four epic operas, Der Ring des Nibelungen, now at New York’s Metropolitan Opera. The ensuing controversy is generating wider ripples of concern – about both the creative health of one of America’s leading cultural institutions and, in the teeth of a deep recession, the potfuls of money spent on what some regard as high-brow entertainments.

    One musicologist even sees it as symptomatic of contemporary’s opera’s identity crisis – the conflict between its elitist roots and its increasing need (and attempt) to appeal to mass audiences.

    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/theatre/robert-lepages-the-ring-draws-fire-in-new-york/article2394232/

    on April 7, 2012 at 1:09 PM
    • whatever says:

      WP: (hope you don’t think i’m stalking you from thread to thread just to pick a fight … quite the opposite in fact — the opening line in the quote you’ve provided just as easily could have been used in response to my comment about gotter-d’s exploding heads!!!)

      This sentence strikes me as dubious for two reasons:

      One musicologist even sees it as symptomatic of contemporary’s opera’s identity crisis – the conflict between its elitist roots and its increasing need (and attempt) to appeal to mass audiences.

      (1) people way smarter than me on this blog have pointed out on numerous occasions that operas roots weren’t necessarily all that elitist (or at least not always all that elitist).

      (2) similarly, is the need to appeal to “mass audiences” (whatever they are) really all that new (as th musicologist seems to imply with his use of “increasing”)?

      on April 7, 2012 at 2:28 PM
      • The Wistful Pelleastrian says:

        Hi whatever: Yes I acknowledged your original points in the other thread! My last post was just a ‘quote of the day’ to garner discussion; it was not a direct response to you.

        Cheers.

        on April 7, 2012 at 2:42 PM
        • whatever says:

          great … there’s enough people i really AM stalking that i simply don’t have any room on my list for new entrants at the moment. ;)

          on April 7, 2012 at 2:47 PM
1 2 3