An Opera follow up

In a few posts I have pondered what is happening to the arts in "this day and age." I do wonder about these things - but I don't lose much sleep over them.

When I posted about the NYC opera deciding to take a year off and then do a season of all modern operas I was left thinking alot about opera and where it would end up this century. Then I read a remarkable story in the WSJ telling me that I could go and see Opera at a local movie theatre around the country!

I have to admit I was suprised. I also started to think along the lines of David North in his post on an evening with Rush. Was this what opera was coming to? But considering it more carefully I think this sort of thing might be pure genius. This is the kind of evolution that I imagine will need to happen in all live theatre forms. How can we preserve the art and move it forward to a wider audience simultaneously.

I think I was most interested in the idea that this was a simulcast and not a canned film shoot. The idea that I could experience the opera - as it was performed in real-time - but in a place I could be actually sounds rather inviting. I also liked the idea that the intermissions were filled with impromptu backstage interviews with staff. I love the idea of an interview with a designer or stage manager while watching the sets shift.

And I would be lying if I didn't say that the idea of popcorn and milk duds actually makes opera sound a little better to me. Read the article and see what you think.

Published 07-15-2008 4:56 AM by dlincecum
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Comments

# re: An Opera follow up

How strange that the article gave me goosebumps. I love the idea. And I like the fact that the article speaks a lot to social experience of attending a show, even if it is one step removed. The shared experience and live element is the thing I've always loved about going to shows. It's a big event and it certainly seems like these opera fans are keeping that spirit alive.

Also, as a parent (and thinking more about theater than opera) this would give me more opportunities to expose my kids to the spectacle that is theater. Currently access to big productions and the cost of attending is a major barrier to being able to do that regularly.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008 1:49 PM by john.kuehl

# re: An Opera follow up

So this morning I was listening to Sound Opinions on my drive into work and they interviewed Dr. Claudius Conrad who's a surgeon and a musician interested in the role of music in healing.

One of the reasons the WSJ article on Opera gave me goosebumps was because it made me think of a late friend of my dad’s who I know would have gone to this kind of event with great gusto. And I’m sure that such an event would have meant more and more to him as he got older and money and mobility played a bigger and bigger part in limiting his options in terms of cultural and social opportunities. Opera broadcast in HD is a really powerful idea to me in that context.

Here's a link to the Sound Opinions podcast and here's an interview with Doctor Conrad.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008 11:09 AM by john.kuehl

# re: An Opera follow up

Google "Alice in Wonderland experiment" and read about another new experience in "live theatre". Three schools across the country did a simulcast performance of Alice.

The production is a partnership between the UCF Conservatory Theatre in FLorida, Bradley University in Peoria, Ill., and the University of Waterloo outside Toronto, which simultaneously staged the show live using high-speed broadband connections, 2-D and 3-D sets and ceiling-high screens.

There are several reviews as well as blogs on line about the experience of participating in the show as well as seeing the show.

Concept blows my mind.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008 10:15 PM by Ellen