Turandot

Short post today. I'm on my tablet, typing tedious, etc.

Turandot is a veritable riot of color. Everything in this production from the sets to the costumes are richly detailed and beautifully designed. The music is just as rich, with a large chorus and full orchestra supporting the main cast - all incredibly talented voices I recognized from previous shows.

 I found the characterizations and the second half of the story to be a little thin, but I think most of that can be attributed to Puccini's untimely death before completing the opera. The performances, as always, left little room for complaint.

 I spent most of the show drooling over the costumes and sets, and I am embarrassed to say I did not get much quality sketching done. Here it is, anyway:

open in a new tab to enlarge

 Turandot is definitely a fabulous and fitting finale to this season at the Minnesota Opera. Do go and enjoy it while it's running.

 -Maria

Night at the Opera: Hamlet

I should start by mentioning that Hamlet is my all-time favorite Shakespearean tragedy. When I heard we would be observing an opera version of the famous play, I was very excited.

Hamlet the Opera differs from the source material in some key aspects. First of all, it was adapted by a French composer, so it is all sung in French. The supertitles provided were in more modern English than I'm used to seeing associated with Shakespeare, though it did make it much easier to follow the story. Overall, the structure of the story felt different; it was as though they'd written all of the main characters, scenes, and other elements on note cards, shuffled a few around, discarded some completely, then added in new elements where necessary. I was disappointed in the lack of Horatio, my favorite character. It felt, for better or worse, almost like an entirely different story.

 I did enjoy this production for the most part. It's hard not to, when the MN Opera puts on such a quality show. The cast was excellent, especially Ophelia,who had some truly stunning scenes.The sets were cunningly designed, and supported the tone of the story well.The costumes, while not as spectacular as other productions, felt authentic to the period this version of Hamlet was trying to evoke.

This was my first time bringing a guest to the opera, and my boyfriend, Chris, was very impressed.The cast was all singing at full voice, and there weren't many directorial interruptions, so it felt like a proper performance rather than a dress rehearsal. A real treat!

Here are my sketches from the show. I offer no explanations or excuses.

Night at the Opera: Doubt

Before the opera began, we had an opportunity to meet with the director and writer of the show.

The writer, when asked if he worried that people would see the movie "Doubt" and bring certain preconceived notions and opinions to the opera experience, he said the following (paraphrased as closely as possible):

"Let them bring their preconceptions. I want them to, and I want to see those preconceptions thrown on the ground and shattered into a million pieces. If Doubt doesn't do that, then we haven't done our jobs."

I applauded at that, because hot damn, I could tell we were in for a good show!

I wasn't wrong. Doubt is from all fronts a fantastic production. The sets and scene transitions were well handled, using interesting cinematic "fades" instead of simply darkening the stage so the crew could hustle to make changes. The sets themselves, while deceptively simple, were evocative of the mood and era this story portrayed. It goes without saying that the cast was phenomenal, but I've learned to expect no less from the Minnesota Opera. The orchestra was completely on target, to the point where I forgot there were people with instruments in the pit, and felt as though the music were simply springing from the atmosphere.

The story itself was intriguing, and to be sure, I brought my own prejudices to my seat with me. Having grown up as a Catholic, and even attending Catholic school for a few years, there was much of this setting that resonated with me. The suspicions cast on Father Flynn regarding his relationship with a boy student were uncomfortably similar to a (thankfully indirect) experience I had in my confirmation class. Yet, I couldn't help but give Father Flynn the benefit of the doubt, especially as Sister Aloysius' methods to expose his guilt grew increasingly shady. I felt that the story definitely served its purpose and lived up to its name; by the end, I still hadn't decided who (if anyone) was right, and who (if anyone) was guilty of wrong. I had so many doubts.

I started sketching on my digital tablet, but unfortunately the battery gave out far sooner than I'd hoped, so I switched to "analogue" drawing just before intermission. Here are the results of my doodling. Pardon the quality on the paper drawings, as my scanner is still a bit fussy, so I had to use a digital camera to capture the images.

Slight spoilers ahead!

My digital sketches:

And my marker-and-paper sketches:

Aloysius and Flynn face off.

Because nuns falling are always funny.

Discussing the Christmas Pageant. Aloysius is not impressed.

Aloysius speaking with Donald's mother.

Sister James thinks Sister Aloysius is being totally unfair.

Sisters James and Aloysius share a moment.

So, hey, if you have a chance to go to the Opera, DO! If you have your "doubts" about Doubt, let me assure you that you won't be disappointed. The music is amazing and very innovative for the medium (more a capella singing than I was expecting!), the performances are masterful, and the story is sure to get your gears turning. And for those of you worried that this is going to be another of those stuffy, old-fashioned stories that you just can't get into, Doubt has its share of shocking moments and (sometimes slightly raunchy and juvenile) humor. This is a thoroughly enjoyable show. 

Cheers,

-Maria