Modern Opera Corner (George Wallace on The Death of Klinghoffer Edition). This is an excellent, thoughtful review on Long Beach Operas production of the John Adams (Composer) opera. From the review: Controversy is a distorting lens. To the degree that a creative work becomes known as controversial, it is that much more difficult to see and assess the actual work. That there was a riot (they say) at the premiere of Le Sacre du Printemps tells us little or nothing about the Sacre, or how we should value it. That a given artists work was caught up in the U.S. culture wars of the 1980s reflects neither well nor poorly on the quality of the art: the controversy swept up art both good (Mapplethorpe) and less good (Serrano, in the view of this blogger), without distinguishing between or caring to address those qualities. Given this, Step #1 in approaching John Adamss The Death of Klinghoffer—now receiving its first-ever southern California production, via Long Beach Opera, many long years after Los Angeles Opera co-commissioned but ultimately decided not to stage it—should be to forget for a time that the opera has been marked as Controversial since its premiere in 1991. Step #2 is, if you have the opportunity, to go, see and hear it for yourself, because it is a complex, imperfect, but worthy artistic creation deserving of your attention and assessment, because it has taken twenty years to get a full staging in this part of the world, and particularly because we are unlikely to have it on offer here again any time soon. (Well said, George. I saw this opera when it premiered in New York, and I look forward to having a second opportunity to see it when it finally arrives, next year, at the Met.)
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 22:40:55 +0000
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