Michael Elka - Reviews
About three weeks ago I saw “La Traviata” by Verdi at the Metropolitan Opera. I had seen the opera once before, in Italy, and it was fantastic. This rendition was just as good, and the set design was fabulous. Act One had a particularly great set design, leaving very little of the Parisian salon up to the imagination. Everything was really spectacular, except for something I usually gripe about: the libretto. I grew up speaking Italian with my grandparents, and I know for certain that a great deal of what is said, or sung, rather, in the opera is very colloquial. This colloquial use of the language was not reflected in the translation provided on the monitors; the translation was highly formalized. Opera was originally meant for the elite, but by the time Baroque opera came around, such things as the “opera season” had been introduced in Venice, providing entertainment for everyday people. Personally, I think this was a good thing; it allowed the medium to grow and gain popularity. The excessively formal translations of today, however, take away from that original sentiment of familiarity and universality. Overly poetic translations seem to put opera high up on a pedestal, accessible only to the highly refined. While it is a good thing that performers and composers of opera are revered for the talent, skill, and musicianship involved in producing such work, opera in and of itself should not be held so loftily. A newcomer to opera might read the excessively formal translations of today and be scared away from the genre, and that is sad. While musically and theatrically opera should be held in high esteem, it should still be intimate and familiar, allowing the viewer to actually be comfortable being involved in such a production.
This past Saturday, I saw a production called “Le Sept Plages de la Ruse” (The Seven Boards of Skill) at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. This production consisted of roughly twenty dancers and a large, flat, three-dimensional black wooden box. The box itself was comprised of seven smaller shapes, like triangles and trapezoids. At times, to give an idea of setting, a string instrument was played using pentatonic scales, which give off an Asian vibe and let the viewer know that the work is evocative of China. The dancers used dance, martial arts, and acrobatics throughout the production to move and manipulate the seven pieces of the wooden box, transforming it from its flat state, to one evocative of mountains, plains, cities, etc. At times the dancers would solely be involved in placement of these shapes, while at other times, the shapes would stay stationary and the dancers would “settle” the scene, performing acrobatics. The entire production was evocative of the different landscapes of China and the different cultures that develop because of different geography. For example, when the shapes were flat on the ground, it was clear that the setting was farmland; when sticking in the air, it was clear that the shapes were evoking a mountain range or a city. Each movement of the piece consisted of the dancers “inhabiting” their area, which, again, was symbolized through acrobatics and dance. Each change in scenery, in which the large shapes were moved around, signaled a change in the direction of the production, or a new movement. Overall the production was fantastic, sending a clear message that the people of China, or of any people, both influence and are influenced by their surroundings, in the past, present, and future. I highly recommend it!
Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
-
Cultural Map
"The Original Topography of Manhattan Island from the Battery to 155th Street" From Report on the Social Statistics of Cities, Compiled by George E. Waring, Jr., United States. Census Office, Part I, 1886. (Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection, University of Texas-Austin)
