Is Britten's last the most famous opera from the seventies? Gotta be. The only other possible candidate would have to be Einstein on the Beach, but I'd go with this one.
I have read Thomas Mann's novella, back in college. I don't remember it that well, but I think the opera follow it pretty closely: Gustav von Aschenbach is a middle-aged writer feeling kind of stuck who decides to take a vacation for reasons he only partially understands. In Venice, he sees a beautiful teenage boy from an upper-class Polish family, Tadzio, with whom he becomes obsessed, even though the two never interact (if you have ideas about why Britten might have found this story compelling, you will kindly keep them to yourself). Meanwhile, a cholera epidemic is sweeping the city, which the authorities are being vague about and trying to keep quiet (great, it's getting topical in here). Anyway, he has orgiastic visions as his health deteriorates and then he dies. And that's about that!
I watched this production, which is quite striking. John Graham-Hall is highly convincing as Aschenbach. Tadzio is a silent role, as it should. Instead, it's a dancing part, so it's not like it doesn't require talent. Sam Zaldivar, a trained ballet dancer, is very effective in the role (and, indeed, incredibly pretty).
It's definitely eerie in places, especially towards the end, and kind of hypnotic. I enjoyed it! Of course I enjoyed it! That said, for no reason that I can articulate, I found myself vaguely disappointed that it didn't live up to the opera I'd built up in my mind. I didn't exactly have my breath taken away, is I guess what I'm saying, which may be an unfair standard, but hey, it's Britten, who earned the right to be held to unreasonably high standards. I think my favorite of his is probably The Death of Lucretia. Though Turn of the Screw is pretty durned great also.
No comments:
Post a Comment