Good lord--MORE covid-inspired mini-operas? Do we really need these? Well, perhaps if you read this entry you'll find out, GENIUS!
These ones are a little different, however. For one thing, you have to pay for them--fifteen dollars for all four half hour episodes. For that reason, I'm going to expect a little more from it than I did from #OperaHarmony and those Opera Story pieces. And for another thing, this isn't just separate, isolated pieces; it's inspired, in fact, by the Decameron: a group of (socially-distanced) friends during a plague telling each other stories, each in the form of a short, ten-fifteen minute opera by a different company. It's clear that a lot of thought went into this.
Episode One: "Both Gladsome and Grievous"
Peter Hilliard, "The Happy Hour"
I wasn't sure about this at the beginning: wow, more friends talking on a zoom-like communications platform? How can something that's been ubiquitous for less than a year have calcified into such a hoary cliche already? And yet, here we are. It's not one hundred percent clear how they know each other; are they all meant to be opera singers? Regardless, as I watched, I realized, huh, it may not be hyper-original, but this is definitely the best execution of the concept I've seen: ten characters, all very good singers, and the music, arrangements, and libretto all seem a step above. Also, one of them (the Italian one) is actually a somewhat prominent singer, Luca Pisaroni, whom I know from the title role in Cavalli's Ercole amante and as Caliban in The Enchanted Island. Anyway, they're stuck and bored, natch, so they decide to tell stories. We return to this scene for brief interstitial segments amongst the other episodes.
Rachel J Peters, "Everything Comes to a Head"
Must I admit that I haven't read the Decameron? I fear I must. But I do sort of know the story this is based on from Keats' "Isabella, or the Pot of Basil." A woman, Rosemary, wonders where her boyfriend, Basil, is; her roommates call her, and they talk about how much they don't like him, what with him refusing to take proper covid precautions and all. Suddenly he begins speaking to her from somewhere beyond the grave; it turns out the roommates murdered him and stashed his head in a suitcase which she stashes in, wait for it, a pot of basil. But when they want to make a pesto...will he be discovered?!? I don't know! The original may be a grim story, but this is told in a consistently comic mode, and it's actually quite funny. Also, the production is very attractive, with the characters superimposed in front of and behind watercolor pictures of garden and kitchen. Very impressive work.
Jasmine Barnes, "The Late Walk"
Two roommates who've had an argument, Tamara and Natalie, are out walking in a park at night, discussing their situation and how much you can believe authority figures about what precautions to take, covid-wise. They meet two ghosts: the man came home from World War I intending to marry his fiancée, only she decided she didn't love him anymore; soon after, he died of the Spanish flu, but not before infecting her. So they're both still upset about this, and would it have happened if he'd worn a damn mask, and like that. And obviously this is an analogue to Tamara and Natalie's situation; it's interesting stuff, and then, surprisingly, there's an extremely creepy twist at the end that I won't spoil except to say that this would've been a good one to watch on Halloween. Great stuff!
Episode Two: "Prompted by Appetite"
Michael Ching, "Dinner 4 3"
One thing that happens during lockdown: people get horny. This and the next involve that, in varying ways. Here, we have a married couple lying in bed messing around on their phones. He's going out of town on a business trip the next day, so both of them arrange illicit assignations with people who are not their spouses. Her date shows up, but his cancels, to his irritation, so he goes back home early and, whoops, finds the two of them together, and there's a funny twist at the end. The whole thing is well-written and absolutely delightful. Loved it.
Marc Migó, "The Roost"
This is the least plot-centric of these so far, and I kind of realize I like plots. That's what I would've liked to see more of in the #OperaHarmony pieces. There's nothing wrong with being just a meditation, but you have to have something interesting to say, you know? And that ain't always easy. Well, this is an okay slice of life: a pregnant woman living in lockdown with her husband; she tries to initiate sex but is frustrated. She talks remotely to her mom, who has right-wing politics that are clearly a source of tension though it's not really dwelt upon. Then she and her husband go outside and reflect about this and that and do end up sleeping together. And that's about that. I wasn't a huge fan at first, but in retrospect, I actually like it more the more I think about it. It's a good, character-based thing that seems to capture something real.
Episode Three: "So Noble a Heart"
Elizabeth Blood, "Orsa Ibernata"
Blood both composed AND sang, which is undeniably impressive. I wish I had talent. But it's the sort of very abstract thing that sort of annoys me about these shorts: you have, I guess, a woman and her lover (same singer) wandering around the woods and singing about...plants. And stuff. Poison. I feel like maybe I'm a bad watcher not being able to describe it in more detail. I should read the story it's allegedly based on, though I feel that the connection must be pretty tenuous. The actual music and performances are very strong, however. Most of these are chamber operas with just a few instruments, but this is performed almost acappella, with just a few of what almost seem to be ambient sounds carrying the melody. For that reason I liked it, but still, I would prefer more of an actual dern plot.
Donia Jarrar, "Seven Spells"
Yeah, another inscrutable one. This is what it's based on, allegedly, but I just DARE you to figure that out from watching it. A woman stands around in various settings in a ballgown and sings. For seven minutes; it's short. And it annoys me: I'm sick of giving a pass to pointless inscrutability! I'm smart! Not like everybody says, like dumb! And I can't be having with this. Well, the music's fine. But ALL the music's fine, so I'm giving this one my lowest rating so far.
Maria Thompson Corley, "The Sky Where You Are"
This one actually has a trigger warning up front for domestic violence, along with a bunch of resources and phone numbers. Goodness. A woman's friend calls her; she's reached the end of her rope in her abusive marriage. She relates what's happening and her commitment to escaping with her son. I do appreciate that this is about something, though the music may not be as interesting as the last two. I'm going to go ahead and say it: domestic violence is bad. I know, I know: you're thinking, why would he say something so controversial yet so brave? It's just one of those thing that's obvious, duh, and yet BOY we humans are good at doing shitty things to one another that are extremely self-evidently shitty. Jeez.
Episode Four: "The Bolts of Fortune"
Gilda Lyons, "Sourdough: Rise Up"
Yeah, so you may remember that earlier people were making a lot of bread during COVID. Maybe they still are. I don't know. But this features...three of them. People talking about making bread and living their lives during COVID and it's all over simplistic, stylized...I don't know if I should even call it "animation." Anyway, yuck. Seriously, of all the pieces here, this is the only one I really actively disliked. I find the it boring to look at and the subject matter achingly banal, and...blah. Sorry. Not a fan. Not even a little.
K.F. Jacques, "Corsair"
Yeehaw! Finally we have this: a hip-hop opera (please don't call it a "hip-hopera." You're only degrading yourself and those around you). Well, it combines hip-hop with soul/world music and sort of more traditional-ish opera. It's extremely arresting. The plot? Well...again. Not that much. There's a guy, I guess? And he's a hustler of some kind. But then he meets a woman. And maybe he's not? Hard to say. But honestly, this music is sufficiently striking that that didn't really bother me.
Okay! So overall? Yeah, pretty impressive. Honestly--with all due respect to them--it makes those #OperaHarmony and Opera Story pieces look pretty amateurish. Well, with notable exceptions. But this is really good, yo. It'll be streaming 'til the end of the year, so by all means check it out.
No comments:
Post a Comment