Another piece by the composer of L'Amour de loin, which I more or less liked. What really made me want to see this one, however, was the fact that it was written with parts specifically for Philippe Jaroussky, a countertenor of some note.
"Two Noh Plays," the back of the box informs us. Well, based on Noh plays, at any rate, as translated by Ezra Pound, it seems. Both of them have very simply plots, as, I suppose, fits the stylized nature of the source material. I don't know anything about Noh theater. Forgive me! "Always Strong" concerns a priest praying for a dead soldier. His spirit appears. For some reason, they make out a bit. Okay. That's about it. "Feather Mantle" concerns a guy who finds a mantle. Turns out, it belongs to an angel, who needs it to do angel-related activities. The guy doesn't want to return it, but then he does.
The music is, well, like L'Amour de loin, more or less. Shimmery. Not my all-time favorite thing, but perfectly palatable. The production is by--whee--Peter Sellars, but hey, if Saariaho wants to work with him, that is her prerogative. And in truth, there's not a lot to say here. The production feels almost aggressively unprovocative: we basically just have a curtain in the background with marks on it that might be some sort of writing. Could be the back of a cave. Or anything, really. The figures appear in front of it, their shadows playing a big part in the action. And that is that.
But the question is, did I like it? Well...I DID like Jaroussky's singing! But to be honest, I found the whole a little boring. I can see how, potentially, if I were in a different mood, how I might like it. But I wasn't! I was in the same mood! So...you know. I am sorry to say, it did not make much of an impression on me.
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