Karlheinz Stockhausen, Dienstag aus Licht (1993)

You don't even know how my heart sank when I checked Opera on Video and saw that another Licht opera was available to watch.  Nonetheless, I did my sacred duty and watched it!  I should get hazard pay here.

I realize the above suggests a jaundiced attitude.  But I did my best here, I can tell you!  This is at least a bit plot-heavier than Samstag...okay, that's probably not the best way to put it.  There's more borderline comprehensible action, let's say.  First, there's a little introduction which is a confrontation between Michael and his angels and Lucifer and his demons.  Eve tries to mediate between them.  Then, in the first act, the two fo them are having a competition, where Lucifer tries to stop the flow of time, visualized as group of dancers, and Michael tries to keep it going.  It's touch and go for a while, but Michael prevails, Lucifer congratulating him but warning that shit's gonna get real.  The second act is a war-war, with lots of video of planes and things.  That goes on interminably, and then at the end we have a weird creature called "Synthi-Fou" playing synthesizer music.  I don't fucking know.  But that's it.

You know, I don't actually dislike the music here, aside from some of the weird, stylized yelping that characters do.  It's ambient sort of stuff that would be perfectly fine as a videogame soundtrack.  But here, when combined with the total lack of drama, the whole thing gets excruciatingly boring, which is really the only way I can describe the piece as a whole.  I've already rehearsed my uncertainty here: am I missing something, or does this just suck?  I mean, if it does, it certainly doesn't suck in a slapdash, tossed-off way; there is clearly a great deal of artistry and consideration behind its suckiness.  But it's just very, very difficult for me to watch this and not think, GOOD GOD WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT TO WATCH THIS?!?  I must leave the possibility open that it's better in person, and maybe a fan would be able to convince me of its merit.  But come on, man.  I must be permitted to have my own opinions, and my main one right now is that I never want to see another Licht opera, although I definitely will if more become available 'cause that's how I roll.  Masochistically, apparently.