tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post2143142603102766402..comments2024-03-16T06:23:29.917-07:00Comments on The Reverberate Hills; or The Apotheosis of the Narwhal: love the one you're withPatrick J. Vazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09279528648512493917noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post-50691384939740676422011-12-15T07:55:22.098-08:002011-12-15T07:55:22.098-08:00If I'm going to be completely honest, yeah, I&...If I'm going to be completely honest, yeah, I'd have to say that the night I was there, Graham and Daniels were not quite in their best form as they started off, though they steadily improved. I didn't want to be one of those people who nitpicks note by note, because I think you need to experience a performance as an organic living whole.<br /><br />And I really don't understand the over-reliance on jokiness for baroque dramatic works -- this is not the first time I've seen this. Philharmonia Baroque often does the same thing, which is odd since baroque is what they do. If people find these works absurd, well, why are they staging them? Also, absurd is not the same thing as silly -- you can commit to absurdity and really make it work dramatically, as in Oedipus the King. (I'm just looking for a motivation for the cartoony approach; I personally do not find these works absurd; they're just in a style that is not necessarily our current style.)<br /><br />Given the lackluster SF Opera season, though, I can't blame people for seizing on the pleasures of this work. On the other hand, I have a friend who went and found it suffocatingly stylized and artificial. I think it was his first baroque opera, so I don't know if his reaction is to this production or to baroque opera in general or to some combo of the two, but I did get the impression that if the scenes had been played more naturally he would have responded better.Patrick J. Vazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09279528648512493917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post-44193262335844343512011-12-15T01:23:16.092-08:002011-12-15T01:23:16.092-08:00You see, I am so with you on this one. I know ever...You see, I am so with you on this one. I know everyone couldn't stop going on about how great this was, but I felt like I should have been enjoying it more than I was. I still think the staging for all its wit, looks its stated age.<br /><br />And I thought the headline performances from Graham and Daniels came off as lazy on all counts. The whole thing was far to jokey.Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13928908637908240871noreply@blogger.com