# Help me! Is this opera??



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

OK, folks, talking about off-beat opera (there's a current thread for this), I have just watched the strangest thing I've ever seen that is still being called an opera!

I guess this thread is a question - what precisely constitutes opera, and how do we classify some contemporary works? Are some of these "operas" pushing the limits, or are they valid examples of the evolution of this art form?

It's called _Fata Morgana_, by contemporary opera composer Jocy de Oliveira, a Brazilian female. Apparently she has been successful enough to have 8 of her operas released on DVD, and they are said to have been performed several times and well received in Germany, the United States, and her native Brazil.

Let me describe _Fata Morgana_ to you. Running time 1 hour 14 minutes.

The prelude lasts for about 18 minutes and is called _O contar de uma raça _(the telling of a race). The "orchestra" is made of three instruments - a synthesizer (played by the composer herself), an electronic violin, and a percussion group. The prelude plays like a sort of spacial rock, it reminds me of the middle phase of Pink Floyd.

Then there is the first scene. It's called _Memoria _(memory). Dark stage, bluish. Spotlight on a crowching naked male, he seems like an insect, a beetle or something. He makes strange sort of monkey sounds. The "orchestra" makes a buzzing sound. This goes on for about 10 minutes. A woman and a young girl holding hands, both in white gowns, walk once accross the stage and climb a set of stairs.

Second scene, called _Ritual. _Nice, we get a mezzo-soprano, she sings! There is a libretto! OK, the libretto is made of just one word: c_aras. _(Portuguese for faces). The mezzo repeats it over and over for 14 minutes. Faces... faces... faaaaaaaceeees.... then again: Faces... faces... faaaaaaaceeeees... The composer herself now doubles as a singer and does some background vocalizations: Ahhh... aaaaaahhhhh....aahhhh.... ahhhhh. Meanwhile, there is a naked old woman standing straight. A younger woman (this one wearing a white gown) plasters her body from toes to neck with a white cast (the kind doctors use for broken bones). When she reaches the neck, the scene ends. The old woman doesn't move.

Third scene, called _Onírico _(Portuguese for dreamy, or rather, of dreams). It lasts for about 10 minutes. Dark stage. There is a sort of plastic bubble in the middle of the stage, and something is moving inside it. Seems like a giant spider. Slowly this being pushes the plastic up and you start to see that it is not a spider, but rather, a butt-naked hairless young woman. She has something on the back of her head that makes her look like an alien. Meanwhile the old woman in a cast starts yelling in a frightened manner: Aaaiiii... Uuuuiiiiii..... the "orchestra" makes insect-like sounds. Stroboscopic light comes and goes. The young woman (nice boobs) keeps wiggling on the floor while pictures of faces are projected on the wall in the back of the stage. The insect noises continue, like you'd hear if you were camping out in the woods.

Fourth and last scene, about 20 minutes. It is called _Estoria _(story). A japanese-looking man in a kimono and with his face painted white moves slowly like in Tai Chi. The "orchestra" produces haunting, gloomy, ghostly sounds. The mezzo appears again and makes some wordless vocalizations that sound sort of Japanese. The man walks down those same stairs, with strange posturing. The naked young woman keeps rolling on the ground from one side of the stage to the other. The mezzo makes some martial arts-like movements and holds an Asian fan with her right hand. The Japanese guy makes saccadic movements like he's having a seizure. Percussion sounds come from the pit. The Japanese guy and the mezzo-soprano meet mid-stage with their backs to each other, and the orchestra produces a sound like oooohhhhhhhhh..... The mezzo goes ooooooohhhhhh as well. The naked young woman goes off-stage and comes back wearing some sort of gym clothes (too bad - I was enjoying those boobs). On the other hand, the Japanese guy strips off his kimono and starts to jump around the stage. He laughs and waves to the audience, looking like a clown. There is some more spatial rock Pink Floyd kind of music (actually melodious). The Japanese guy has another seizure. Curtain.

Is it beautiful? You bet. It's actually intriguing and hypnotic. The sounds *are* beautiful and the images are strangely seductive.

But my question is - is this opera?

This should be up Aramis' alley. Opinions, please?


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Almaviva said:


> OK, folks, talking about off-beat opera (there's a current thread for this), I have just watched the strangest thing I've ever seen that is still being called an opera!
> 
> I guess this thread is a question - what precisely constitutes opera, and how do we classify some contemporary works? Are some of these "operas" pushing the limits, or are they valid examples of the evolution of this art form?
> 
> ...


:lol:I don't know, but your description is hilarious!


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

Trying to define something as being opera or not is probably as difficult and ultimately futile as defining if something is art, and I've learned to not worry about such definitions. The more interesting question is if it is _good_ opera / art. Sure, I'll grant that the random assortment of steel girders, commissioned by the city for a public park, welded together in some arbitrary manner, is art -- but it sure ain't good.


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## karenpat (Jan 16, 2009)

I don't know what is considered opera and what is considered musical theatre these days - didn't Rufus Wainwright write an opera a couple of years ago?


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