punk/opera

[schmevil]

Soooo. Do you guys think it's crazy to spend seventy-five dollars on an orchestra seat for an opera? That I'll be attending alone? :s The opera no one wants to go to is Fidelio. It looks sogood. Wah!

I mentioned the week before last that I went to a punk show on the Thursday and the opera on Saturday. The punk show was at a notoriously disgusting venue, as punk shows so often are, but it was $10 for four bands and some skateboarding. In this economy, go punk: fantastic dollar value! We went for the headliner, but were surprised to find another great local band on the bill. Unfortunately, the other two bands weren't as satisfying. One was a group of newbs who were playing their BIGGEST SHOW EVAR! The other was a bunch of drunk-ass, shirtless nineteen-year-olds who couldn't quite figure out how to mic the brass section. Oh punk.

Highlight of the night (or possibly lowlight, either way, I laughed): having to share the bathroom with a group of girls so drunk they'd lost the ability to operate toilets. One of them screamed desperately from her stall, "There's no paper! No paper! I'm using the stuff from the floor." I wanted to run over and hand her some fresh paper, but unfortunately I was occupied at the time. I left my stall just in time to see her crawling under the door of hers. Why? "I locked myself in."

Yeah.

The opera was Rusalka, which is sort of opera's answer to The Little Mermaid. Think Hans Christian Andersen but sadder. The show was actually part of an under thirties only package deal. For seventy-five we had a four course meal at Vertical, a talk on the production, and a Q&A with one of the performers. In addition to the opera itself. A very good time was had by all. The meal was themed to the opera, with lots of Czech-inspired flavours.

The seats were bad. Really - bad. But the production was good, all stark minimalism in the human world, and lush, danger in the forest. They had a small pool of water on the stage for effect, but rather than building a forest and lake set, they did it all with lighting. They used the rotating stage to great effect. Sometimes it was literally claustrophobic, with the walls closing in on performers, and other times it turned slowly, letting us check in on all their individual miseries, one by one.

Highlight of the night: mango-raspberry tart with chocolate. Om freaking nom nom.

Comments

[scottyquick.livejournal.com]

Sadder then Hans Christian Andersen?

OH SHI-

[schmevil.livejournal.com]

I KNOW!

So in the original Little Mermaid, she becomes an Air Spirit, or some such, and will eventually go to heaven. Here's how Rusalka pans out:

Rusalka asks Ježibaba for a solution to her woes and is told she can save herself if she kills the Prince with the dagger she is given. Rusalka rejects this, throwing the dagger into the lake. Rusalka becomes a bludička, a spirit of death living in the depths of the lake, emerging only to lure humans to their deaths. The Gamekeeper and the Kitchen Boy consult Ježibaba about the Prince, whom they say has been betrayed by Rusalka. The Water-Goblin says that the Prince betrayed Rusalka. The wood-sprites mourn Rusalka's plight. The Prince, searching for his white doe, comes to the lake, senses Rusalka, and calls for her. He asks her to kiss him, even knowing her kiss means death and damnation. They kiss and he dies; and the Water-Goblin comments that "All sacrifices are futile". Rusalka thanks the Prince for letting her experience human love, commends his soul to God, and returns to her place in the depths of the lake as a demon of death.

Bleak as fuck. :D

[tammylee.livejournal.com]

I THINK THAT VERSION IS AN IMPROVEMENT!
>=D
Stupid HCA.

[schmevil.livejournal.com]

Jeez Tammy, way to kick a guy when he's down. It's not like HCA can defend himself. :p

Actually I totally agree, it's an awesome ending and I kind of want to write something based on it. Maybe a modern, horror-inflected retelling?

[tammylee.livejournal.com]

=p
I prefer Grimm to HCA by a wide margin.
Too much Christian morality infused into HCA's work; too much penance and suffering and death being the ultimate reward.
*shudder*

*kicks him some more*

Heeeee, I actually rewrote a HCA tale about a man's shadow taking over his life but set it in the Avatar the Last Airbender world. I never posted it anywhere tho as it is pretty much just an adaptation of the original and not derivative enough, imo, to put my name on it.

[schmevil.livejournal.com]

I have images of a coldly fey water nymph, in a futuristic metropolis. She's mute, as they always are *g* but of course she can communicate through writing, text messages, maybe sign language. There should be intimations of her strange heritage. Leaky taps, puddles of water. Like the sea is trying to call her back? Maybe our hero has nightmares of her coming for him, all dead-eyed and icy-cold, where she drowns him in his bed? Which helps to account for his uneasiness with her.

Heeeee, I actually rewrote a HCA tale about a man's shadow taking over his life but set it in the Avatar the Last Airbender world. I never posted it anywhere tho as it is pretty much just an adaptation of the original and not derivative enough, imo, to put my name on it.

That sounds cool - maybe you should derivative it up. :)