"The unwritten law is that only the best of the best is allowed. Served up with conservatively reverent productions, opera easily becomes a ritual where audiences mainly revisit their past experiences."

[aest...@hotmail.com]

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/magazine/20070321_Critics_Notebook.html

[clem]

On Mar 24, 12:01?am, "aesthe...@hotmail.com" <aesthe...@hotmail.com>
wrote:
> http://www.philly.com/inquirer/magazine/20070321_Critics_Notebook.html

Thank you for the link. I agree to a point - I would like to see
productions of the less frequently shown operas. However, I want to
see them as they were originally conceived. I think that the article
unwittingly addresses a conflict between the opera devotee and the
more casual opera fan. The critic, having seen Tosca 25 times, longs
for new approaches. The more casual opera-goer (like me) sees it
infrequently enough to still appreciate the original concept. Il
Trittico, for example, I have seen only once, a long time ago. This
year I will get to see it again. I do not wish to see "Il Tabarro on
the Hudson," nor Suor Angelica in the Ladies' wing of the State
Penitentiary. The critic's familiarity with the most popular works
may breed in him a contempt for traditional productions. I am nowhere
near as familiar.

Paul Cohen

[ljo]

<aest...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1174708865.4...@y80g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
> http://www.philly.com/inquirer/magazine/20070321_Critics_Notebook.html
>

The author of that article blames the Trojan War on Helen.

"The piece is a nutty fantasy on themes of Helen of Troy, about what might
have happened after the 10-year war she caused."

Personally, I blame Aphrodite and Paris. You?

ljo

[LT]

The Oddball of Contentious Cunquery, Stinkie Bollmann blames:

> Personally,

But you're not a person, Stink.

>I blame Aphrodite and Paris. You?

Since you ask:

I blame your hyaenid 'mumsy' for taking the dump that blossomed into -
you.

[LT]

Ohh! Look, everybody, I had an opportunity to display my erudition but
I blew it. Fuck me!
Best,
LT Aieee!!!! Alpo overdose!!!!!!!!!

[clem]

On Mar 24, 3:21?pm, "ljo" <seniorcubrepor...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> <aesthe...@hotmail.com> wrote in message

I'm with you. We will always have Paris. The idiot should have picked
Hera.

Paul

[David Melnick]

"clem" <labi...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1174795438.8...@n59g2000hsh.googlegroups.com...

It was Eris, and that damned apple, whose mortal taste.... :-)

dv

P.S. There was a strain of lore (Euripides is to blame) about Helen in
Egypt, revived among literati early in the 20th century. It wasn't
Hofmannstal's invention.

HELEN: How long is it since rmo was sacked?

TEUCER: Nigh seven fruitful seasons have come and gone.

HELEN: And how much longer did ye abide in rmo?

TEUCER: Many a weary month, till through ten full years the moon had held
her course.

P.P.S. As a tiny side-note, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.D. and scroll
way down, although the whole article is fun to read. The poem (Helen in
Egypt) is gorgeous and worth seeking out.

P.P.P.S. Much as I respect Mr. Kessler's knowledge of between-the-wars
drama, Hans Lick is right IMVVHO about "symbolic" vs. "surrealist." The Dada
touches add spice, but they had been in the cultural milieu since before
WWI, and a bushel of mussels wouldn't make AH a surrealist work. Surrealism
requires that the disjunctions and defamiliarisations be at the core of the
work, not just there to lend atmosphere. To call it Surrealist indicates
that the person who calls it that doesn't hold any store in the ancient
lore. There's more James Frazer than Andre Breton in this opera. Only my
opinion, of course.