Metropolitan
Opera at Lincoln Center. Balcony (Seat
B115, $92.50).
Story. The setting is a mansion in a large city
suggestive of Mexico City during the 1960s.
Strange things happen at a dinner party hosted by Lucia and Edmundo
Nobile. First the butler and two maids
escape, along with some other servants.
The whole plot is surreal, with a dancing bear and lambs (which get
slaughtered). Other things that happen
(which may or may not be important) include: Blanca performing at the piano, lovers
Eduardo and Beatriz retreat to a private room but eventually commit suicide,
there is no water so the guests break a pipe, a hand that wanders around on
stage, mobs try to storm the house, soldiers appear to stop them. During all these events the guests try but
fail to leave the mansion, and are forced to stay the night. They eventually feel it is necessary to
sacrifice the host but stop because they realize they are back in the same
places they were the night before. They
manage to cross the threshold, but something bad happens.
Conductor –
Thomas Ades. The Hosts: Edmundo de Nobile – Joseph Kaiser, Lucia – Amanda Echalaz;
Their Guests – Leticia – Audrey Luna, Leonara – Alice Coote, Silvia de Avila –
Sally Matthews, Francisco de Avila – Iestyn Davies, Blanca Delgado – Christine Rice,
Alberto Roc – Rod Gilfry, Beatriz – Sophie Bevan, Eduardo – David Portillo,
Raul Yebenes – Frederic Antoun, Colonel Alvaro Gomez – David Adam Moore, Senor
Russell – Kevin Burdette, Doctor Carlos Conde – Sir John Tomlinson; The Staff: Julio
– Christian van Horn, Lucas – John Irvin, Enrique – Ian Koziara, Pablo – Paul Corona,
Meni – Mary Dunleavy, Camila – Catherine Cooke, Servants – Andrea Coleman &
Marc Persing. Outside the House: Padre
Sanson – Jeff Mattsey, Yoli – Lucas Mann.
The actual
synopsis is over two pages long. I read
it several times and still couldn’t make any sense of it. The opera is based on Luis Bunuel’s “classic”
1962 film of the same name. The lady
sitting next to us told us she watched the movie before this performance, and
that the opera hewed close to the plot of the movie.
My overall
conclusion was: a plot I don’t get, music I don’t get, and – with seats in the
balcony – roles I can’t tell apart. None
of that probably mattered. I would draw
a parallel with a Dali painting. If you
look at it once, you wonder what he is trying to say. You look at it for a long time, you begine to
find out what the “hidden objects” are in the painting, but there is no hope of
trying to make sense out of it. The
Playbill does contain this statement about the film: “… defies attempts at
systematic analysis and even seems to denounce the need for answers as one of
society’s many pathologies.” I can try
to sound deep and link all this to post-modernism, but it would be a waste of
time.
To me the most
unfortunate part is the score seems to demand a lot from the musicians. It goes without saying that the music is
atonal, but what was unexpected was how high the voices had to reach. Of course the singers could be doing random
notes and few in the audience would notice.
The applause was quite enthusiastic, and the house was quite full.
I had a prior
encounter with Ades’s music – Three Studies from Couperin. I liked it, per my blog. I am not sure I
would recommend this opera to anyone, but not quite ready to discourage someone
from going.
There are 15 solo roles in this opera.
Thomas Ades taking a bow.
The New York
Times review, however, is glowing, going so far as to say “if you go to a
single production this season, make it this one.” Reading it did jog my memory: the chandeliers
in the auditorium were used as part of the set; and Audrey Luna was the
coloratura soprano. There is another New
York Times article contains a discussion on the opera.
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