(no subject)
May. 3rd, 2013 10:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
seekingferretI have bought Met tickets for this season, way earlier than I usually get around to it. I didn't like any of the full subscription packages at all, so I waited until the build-your-own-subscription deal came around. Not quite as good pricing, but I actually get to see the shows I want to see.
I'll be seeing Britten's Midsummer Night's Dream, Berg's Wozzeck, Strauss's Arabella, Verdi's Rigoletto, and Muhly's Two Boys. I am looking forward to them tremendously. Especially Wozzeck, which I think is my third favorite opera after Moses und Aron and Nozze di Figaro. (And the return of James Levine and Wozzeck gives me hope that Moses und Aron might return as part of the 2014-2015 season. Levine has been a great champion of those two operas.)
If you are interested in any of these operas and want to see it with me, let me know. Those who are not huge opera fans but would still want to come, here's my estimation of accessibility from most accessible to least.
1. Rigoletto. Classic, pure, 19th century operatic magic.
2. Midsummer Night's Dream. Does some weird 20th century things like overusing a countertenor and a boys' choir, but is so dense with melody and lyricism that it's pretty easy to love. Plus, it's Shakespeare, you already know the plot.
3. Two Boys? I don't really know anything about it, but based on having seen Muhly other opera Dark Sisters, I'd place it here. On the plus side, contemporary storyline should make it easier to connect with. On the other side, inventive 21st century composer means sometimes exciting and unusual things happen in the score, and some people find that intimidating.
4. Arabella. Again, don't know much about it, judging based on my experience with Strauss. Strauss straddles the 19th/20th century divide more than any other composer. Some of his stuff is dressed up in an overdose of conventionality, so that the only way you can detect his desire for the avant-garde is by measuring the overdose. Some of his stuff is just flat-out parody of the 19th century operatic tradition. And some of his later stuff is fumbling, uncertain attempts to create something new.
5. Wozzeck. The most incredibly brutal and depressing theatrical experience imaginable, and it's an original, atonal score. Not really for beginners, but it is so well constructed and the music is heartbreakingly beautiful.
I'll be seeing Britten's Midsummer Night's Dream, Berg's Wozzeck, Strauss's Arabella, Verdi's Rigoletto, and Muhly's Two Boys. I am looking forward to them tremendously. Especially Wozzeck, which I think is my third favorite opera after Moses und Aron and Nozze di Figaro. (And the return of James Levine and Wozzeck gives me hope that Moses und Aron might return as part of the 2014-2015 season. Levine has been a great champion of those two operas.)
If you are interested in any of these operas and want to see it with me, let me know. Those who are not huge opera fans but would still want to come, here's my estimation of accessibility from most accessible to least.
1. Rigoletto. Classic, pure, 19th century operatic magic.
2. Midsummer Night's Dream. Does some weird 20th century things like overusing a countertenor and a boys' choir, but is so dense with melody and lyricism that it's pretty easy to love. Plus, it's Shakespeare, you already know the plot.
3. Two Boys? I don't really know anything about it, but based on having seen Muhly other opera Dark Sisters, I'd place it here. On the plus side, contemporary storyline should make it easier to connect with. On the other side, inventive 21st century composer means sometimes exciting and unusual things happen in the score, and some people find that intimidating.
4. Arabella. Again, don't know much about it, judging based on my experience with Strauss. Strauss straddles the 19th/20th century divide more than any other composer. Some of his stuff is dressed up in an overdose of conventionality, so that the only way you can detect his desire for the avant-garde is by measuring the overdose. Some of his stuff is just flat-out parody of the 19th century operatic tradition. And some of his later stuff is fumbling, uncertain attempts to create something new.
5. Wozzeck. The most incredibly brutal and depressing theatrical experience imaginable, and it's an original, atonal score. Not really for beginners, but it is so well constructed and the music is heartbreakingly beautiful.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-05-03 03:18 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-05-03 03:23 pm (UTC)It is... quite a thing... to see on stage.
And, well, if you happen to be in New York next March 10th?
(no subject)
Date: 2013-05-03 03:32 pm (UTC)