Stage the opera of your choice

[Anne of Green Gables]

to find hidden meanings

I don't belive in those hidden meanings. In most cases these are not meanings that were hidden in the work by it's creators but rather made up by directors. If author wants to express something he puts it so it may be seen, with few exceptions (like patriotic operas changed by censors).

[Amfortas]

I don't think it's always a matter of *needing* to update an opera so that the audience will understand it. After all, many people have a tough time with opera, now matter what period it's set in. Personally, I'm more interested in updating, not as a necessity, but as a valid artistic contribution of its own.

Handel's Giulio Cesare presented in ancient Roman and Egyptian garb can work very well for a modern audience (we all know at least something about Caesar and Cleopatra). But it also worked brilliantly when updated to the heyday of the British Empire, in David McVicar's already classic Glyndebourne production. Not because the director *had* to do so to connect with his audience, but because it lent a whole other dimension of intriguing historical parallels and resonances.

For all I know, a skillfully staged "traditional" production of Der Freischütz might work effectively for a modern audience. But even so, I'd still like to see Sacramento's fascinating alternative.

[Almaviva]

Hey, I'm not seriously "upset," the "Alma, a patriot" was tongue-in-cheek. And sure, *most* people in audiences behave like you say they do, but what I said was "I find it hard to believe that American seasoned operagoers (and there are many) wouldn't do sufficient homework to attend a production of Der Freischütz and wouldn't have a clue about it if things weren't spelled out for them."

What you said is correct, that audiences in New York and Chicago are no different from audiences in Madrid or Barcelona. In both countries there will be a majority of the audience that likes the entertainment that opera can provide and lacks major understanding of the art form and the literary or mythological sources for the works. But *many* members of the the audience (the "seasoned operagoers" I've mentioned) will be sophisticated enough in *both* sides of the pond.

What I was making a point about, is the usual concept that American audiences are somehow less culturally sophisticated, because our country has a reputation for mass culture. Sure, but our mass culture is consumed in Europe as well, and our educated and cultured folks are just as educated and cultured as their European counterparts. And while we're a younger nation, our cultural production is actually quite significant. Cities like New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, and LA have cultural offerings (either performing or showing the great European works, or producing art of our own) that leave nothing to be desired when compared to any other major metropolis in the world. That was my whole point.

I like Sacramento's idea, the only part I challenged is the notion that the United States needs to be singled out as a place (or at least one of the places) where there is some sort of higher lack of sophistication from the part of the audience. Like you said, audiences here are just as good and just as bad as their European counterparts.

[Schigolch]

I think in your reasoning (that is mirroring part of my own reasoning) above there is one thing that requires clarification.

Given a performance of Der Freischütz, for sure New York/Chicago or Madrid/Barcelona audiences are about the same, including the groups of 'seasoned operagoers' (I know many of those both in Madrid and Barcelona, incidentally ). But, this is not the case if you are performing in Germany, or Austria. The audience there relates a lot more with the opera, in average, due to the language (don't forget this is, after all, a singspiel) and their knowledge of the historical period. A traditional staging of this opera is saying much more to a Frankfurt audience, than to a LA audience.

True, the great works of the repertoire (Verdi, Mozart, Puccini, Wagner, Belcanto, Carmen,...) are well known by almost any audience in the world (though someday I will comment here about my experiences in El Cairo or Istambul...), but this is not the case of Der Freischütz, that's why I really meant by 'lack of sophistication'. Most of the audience in many places, at the beginning of the 21st century, are lacking the knowledge to really understand fine details on a traditional staging of Weber's masterpiece.

[Almaviva]

OK, fair enough!

[AmericanGesamtkunstwerk]

Rheingold.

everyone stages scene one with the same Wagnerian naturalistic blocking that belongs in the rest of Wagner. While this is true of Rheingold as a whole, and certainly most of the ring, I actually think it's not in place in scene 1.

the "literal" content of scene 1 is just so silly, staging it with literal blocking looks like the stupid operas that Wagner disliked. it is, however, strong and real at content.
so I propose a Rheingold wherein scene 1 is blocked with no thought towards naturalism at all. surrender it completely, to the point of dance.
(yes, finding the singers with more than a little background in movement).
Scene 2 and the rest, literal dramatic naturalism.

But I would like to try this for scene 1.