tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post7154470548228272943..comments2024-03-26T07:58:59.761+00:00Comments on I'll think of something later: Hallelujah AdamsDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-1587650268147346872011-06-24T09:16:38.961+01:002011-06-24T09:16:38.961+01:00Interesting you say that, Susan, as we are holding...Interesting you say that, Susan, as we are holding our breath awaiting the premiere of Nico Muhly's Two Boys. The ENO film trailer was not promising, the only music on it being ambient doodling. And though I did hear a couple of pieces by Muhly I liked on YouTube, his electric violin concerto live seemed devoid of content to me. But as a young friend of mine who's going to the opening tonight says, we must keep an open mind.<br /><br />You'll not regret dipping in to the lucid prose of Hallelujah Junction.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-38603876376987832812011-06-24T03:56:59.847+01:002011-06-24T03:56:59.847+01:00I would have passed this book by, had it not been ...I would have passed this book by, had it not been for you, and that would have been a shame, I see. (I am one who absolutely loved The Rest is Noise--after John Metcalf's generous and intelligent welcoming of me to contemporary classical music, it was Ross who gave me my first road map.) I have heard live three of Adams' operas (Klinghoffer, Atomic, and most recently Nixon in China--the first that I knew, but the last that I saw). I thought all of them exciting and gorgeous works. Adams has his finger right on it, certainly, with "the notion that complexity isn't necessarily progress but that easy promise isn't the solution either." I find the more I listen the more I worry about the need fine young composers and musicians have to try and "cross over." A recent example is the new CD by the Chiara String Quartet of two Jefferson Friedman String Quartets. I find both quartets utterly compelling, but am saddened that they felt a need to include two remixes that, to my mind, dumb down the original compositions. I'll admit, I wear my trousers rolled, but just the same. . .Susan Scheidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09250142489341777926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-72440587664071787782011-06-23T08:29:55.644+01:002011-06-23T08:29:55.644+01:00Thanks for that, Geo. We love Lucy! Her performanc...Thanks for that, Geo. We love Lucy! Her performances as the noble, long-suffering secretary in Henze's Elegy for Young Lovers in Fiona Shaw's sensational ENO/Young Vic staging was one of the best all-round performances I've seen of anything. I bet she does a good Octavian, too.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-66979022624075464822011-06-23T02:48:04.144+01:002011-06-23T02:48:04.144+01:00Sorry about the late reply; yes, I did see the 1st...Sorry about the late reply; yes, I did see the 1st night of <i>Klinghoffer</i>. The opera still has its issues as drama, and quite a bit of the music goes rather slowly, perhaps more than is healthy for an opera. However, I'd seen the Penny Woolcock video and heard the CD not too long back, I knew what I was in for musically, unlike probably most of the audience.<br /><br />To me, given the many pitfalls of the work, the OTSL production probably was as skillful as one is likely to see it. For one, the murder of Leon Klinghoffer was not shown on stage, but symbolically presented at the very start, before the music started. The production struck me as a good mix of abstraction and "Bermuda shorts" realism where needed, with the chorus shifting from being Palestinean refugees to Jewish refugees to being cruise ship passengers very smoothly. They stole the show, in just about everyone's estimation. However, Christopher Magiera as the Captain wasn't far behind in commanding the stage.<br /><br />I know that ENO is set to stage <i>Klinghoffer</i> next season, so it'll be interesting to see the reaction there. One singer set for the ENO run is in the OTSL production, Lucy Schaufer, who's singing not just the Swiss Grandmother at OTSL, but also the Austrian Woman (done up looking rather like Lauren Bacall) and the British Dancing Girl.Geo.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05688490063600488617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-35021491536749683362011-06-19T00:26:44.524+01:002011-06-19T00:26:44.524+01:00Does that mean you went to this Klinghoffer, Geo.?...Does that mean you went to this Klinghoffer, Geo.? If so, what were your own thoughts?Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-27364363423551379822011-06-18T19:32:33.343+01:002011-06-18T19:32:33.343+01:00BTW, following up on the other thread, the first n...BTW, following up on the other thread, the first night of JA's (and AG's) <i>The Death of Klinghoffer</i> at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis went off without protest. The local paper's review is <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/arts-and-theatre/reviews/article_aed11cb4-985c-11e0-ba00-0019bb30f31a.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>, while the <i>New York Times</i> sent a reviewer <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/18/arts/music/the-death-of-klinghoffer-onstage-in-st-louis.html" rel="nofollow">as well</a>. No security checks or anything like that, although there was a cameraman filming TV footage for the local PBS affiliate.<br /><br />Along with Andrew, I too now have a signed set of <i>El Nino</i>, as Adams was at the first night and walked on stage to take the last bow at the curtain call.Geo.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05688490063600488617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-54850240940721558662011-06-14T15:45:27.362+01:002011-06-14T15:45:27.362+01:00I had no idea anyone disliked it - JA can sometime...I had no idea anyone disliked it - JA can sometimes come over in interview as very fixed in what he wants to say, but there's considered clarity here in expounding all the themes. Agreed, it does rather change direction to being a chapter-by-chapter discussion of the stage works to date. But I can't disagree with any of it.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-45955349078564253762011-06-14T15:30:31.008+01:002011-06-14T15:30:31.008+01:00It is a great book, though the first half is bette...It is a great book, though the first half is better than the last half - Adams is more at home recalling his early life. I still regret not sending a response to Philip Clark's idiotic Gramophone review of the book - I wrote it but then chickened out. Ah well.<br /><br />I treasure a signed El Nino set - I was about 19 and Adams was in the foyer after the British premiere signing stuff - he went to sign my CD and said 'what's your name?' and I just grinned and stared at him, so he had to ask me again, which was a bit embarrassing.Andrewhttp://devilstrillblog.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com