Opera Small Talk

**Elektra** · February 20th, 2012, 06:20 PM

Originally Posted by Soave_Fanciulla

I thought the reason given in the interviews made reasonable sense - but the problem about showing a superhero naked is that you feel tempted to got for physical beauty rather than vocal splendour, and this is what happened here.

Is he singing??? oooh, I have to check video once more :P

**HarpsichordConcerto** · February 20th, 2012, 11:27 PM

Originally Posted by Aksel

So that is vulgar, as opposed to all other depictions of Hercules that also show him in the birthday suit?

There is a fine difference between artistic endeavour that is uplifting (shown in the painting) versus being vulgar that serves little else other than to distract the viewer (the clip). The opera also used several large "carvings" of erect half-penis (i.e. without the tip of the organ, which would have been too explicit; please pardon my description) as columns, while the rest of the stage was practically empty. Eroticism has been used in the arts throughout the ages, often with beautiful effects, though it can actually be more revealing about the artist (in this case, the stage director) lack of taste when cheaply executed.

**Aksel** · February 20th, 2012, 11:31 PM

Originally Posted by HarpsichordConcerto

There is a fine difference between artistic endeavour that is uplifting (shown in the painting) versus being vulgar that serves little else other than to distract the viewer (the clip). The opera also used several large "carvings" of erect half-penis (i.e. without the tip of the organ, which would have been too explicit; please pardon my description) as columns, while the rest of the stage was practically empty. Eroticism has been used in the arts throughtout the ages, often with beautiful effects, though it can actually be more revealing about the artist (in this case, the stage director) lack of taste when cheaply executed.

Well, the opera is set in the land of the Amazons, a notoriously man-hating bunch of dames, those.
I can agree with heavy-handed symbolism, though, but I don't find it especially vulgar.

**Almaviva** · February 20th, 2012, 11:57 PM

Oh wow, this is one very mediocre singer. One wonders if he's got any training. He sings like an amateur.
So, if his only quality is his physique du role, I'd say that it *is* vulgar.
It's not good opera if you sacrifice the singing *entirely* just to show some hot well hung male in his birthday suit.

Why do I love Anna Netrebko? Because she looks good *and* can sing.

This kind of thing, however - casting a *very* mediocre singer so that he looks good naked - I can't really endorse.