Rigoletto stills have been revealed on the Facebook. The photos show a glimpse of Piotr Beczala, Diana Damrau and Zeljko Lucic in character and on stage. Enjoy!
I don't understand why people are falling for this Regie nonsense.
Why should anyone be concerned with an opera director's take on the work? It's of no importance whatsoever. It's not — or, rather, ought not to be — part of an opera director's job to have a "take on the work". His job — his sole job — is to realize onstage, in the most vivid and compelling manner possible, the opera creator's take on the work; i.e., to realize onstage the concept and vision of the opera's creator as made manifest in the score (music, text, and stage directions). Period. Full stop. Any opera director who goes beyond that in his staging of an opera is involving himself in areas he has no business being much less meddling in. And to preempt the favorite straw man of Regietheater cheerleaders and champions, that does NOT mean or even imply that opera stagings should be of the "Tosca with bonnet, shepherd's crook and Empire waist, [or] Valkyries with horns, or humped Rigolettos wearing funny hats" sort. It means that honest and conscientious opera directors must find evocative and resonant new ways to stage an opera for contemporary audiences without tossing aside or ignoring in any meaningful way the full spirit and sense of the opera creator's concept and vision as made manifest in the score.
Any hack opera director can be outrageous and provocative in his stagings of opera. It takes an opera director of genuine gift to be able to stage an opera in conformance with the inviolable (or, rather, ought to be inviolable) principle above set forth.
I welcome this production. It is exactly the creative director's vision which interests me. Sometimes, yes, sometimes, I like old fashioned men in skirts & tights opera, but comes a "take" on the composer's ideas is what diversity is about. Yes, how about Rigs in a saloon or casino? Or hey, 24th century Star Trek, should Verdi's work, holy of holies, endure the next 400 years. I love to see what someone else does with the material, because ultimately, the VOICE is paramount here. Voice, character, story, perhaps in that order. I would trust PIOTR BECZALA to make his Duke work, to use his intrument and his real ability at acting, his expressions of eye, face, mouth, to excude the prurient, shameless duke whom we all love to hate. He is an extremely intelligent man who does not hesitate to have his input of contrary ideas heard and respected and note well, acted upon.
Francisco,
ReplyDeleteI don't understand why people are falling for this Regie nonsense.
Why should anyone be concerned with an opera director's take on the work? It's of no importance whatsoever. It's not — or, rather, ought not to be — part of an opera director's job to have a "take on the work". His job — his sole job — is to realize onstage, in the most vivid and compelling manner possible, the opera creator's take on the work; i.e., to realize onstage the concept and vision of the opera's creator as made manifest in the score (music, text, and stage directions). Period. Full stop. Any opera director who goes beyond that in his staging of an opera is involving himself in areas he has no business being much less meddling in. And to preempt the favorite straw man of Regietheater cheerleaders and champions, that does NOT mean or even imply that opera stagings should be of the "Tosca with bonnet, shepherd's crook and Empire waist, [or] Valkyries with horns, or humped Rigolettos wearing funny hats" sort. It means that honest and conscientious opera directors must find evocative and resonant new ways to stage an opera for contemporary audiences without tossing aside or ignoring in any meaningful way the full spirit and sense of the opera creator's concept and vision as made manifest in the score.
Any hack opera director can be outrageous and provocative in his stagings of opera. It takes an opera director of genuine gift to be able to stage an opera in conformance with the inviolable (or, rather, ought to be inviolable) principle above set forth.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI welcome this production. It is exactly the creative director's vision which interests me. Sometimes, yes, sometimes, I like old fashioned men in skirts & tights opera, but comes a "take" on the composer's ideas is what diversity is about. Yes, how about Rigs in a saloon or casino? Or hey, 24th century Star Trek, should Verdi's work, holy of holies, endure the next 400 years. I love to see what someone else does with the material, because ultimately, the VOICE is paramount here. Voice, character, story, perhaps in that order. I would trust PIOTR BECZALA to make his Duke work, to use his intrument and his real ability at acting, his expressions of eye, face, mouth, to excude the prurient, shameless duke whom we all love to hate. He is an extremely intelligent man who does not hesitate to have his input of contrary ideas heard and respected and note well, acted upon.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Vanhunks. And first lets see the performance, then give reviews - please lets not change that sequence!!!
ReplyDelete