# Let's suffer



## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

<in penitential sackcloth, with whip in his hand>

A sad day for opera takes place tomorrow. Share my pain <chastises himself>

Let me tell you about performance of Les Troyens that will take place in Warsaw tomorrow. Reptiles V. Gergiev and La Fura dels Baus will profane this masterpiece with one of most ridiculous modern adaptations of opera that ever crossed human mind.

But if you have weak heart, do not read this as you may faint and die from distress.

The Troy and ancient world is turned into Star Wars inspired reality that is getting consumed by computer game and Trojan horse into computer virus. This computer virus consumes Troy and Aeneas and his crew is team of space warriors with mission to conquer new galaxies (I don't know how are they going to bring it together with Hector's visitation and numerous mentions of Italy in libretto).

But why I bother to tell you? I'll just paste description from the site:



> George Lucas's Star Wars, the cinematic hit from the early 1980s about a galactic military conflict, showed a world of destruction, disintegration, and annihilation of our civilization's values. On the production side, it opened a whole new direction in filmmaking technology. The same in the field of opera can unquestionably be said about Hector Berlioz's Trojans produced by the Catalonian theatre company La Fura dels Baus. It is a modern, dynamic, and unconventional performance, bringing together an imaginary computer game taking over the contemporary world and the consequences of the development of new technologies which threaten the security of countries and societies. Carlus Padrissa describes the first part of this monumental work, The Fall of Troy, as the result of a war which, like computer viruses today, falls upon society, destroying, enslaving, and annihilating. The Trojans in Carthage is a different world - bliss, joy, sand and sea - where love, law and order reign. But this idyllic utopia cannot last forever, the destiny of our contemporaries is to fight and conquer successive unattainable galaxies.
> 
> A metaphorical and futuristic, innovative and surprising vision of the struggle for power and love, control and emotions, in the great musical work by Hector Berlioz, composed over just two years, conducted by maestro Valery Gergiev, director of the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. "In the dazzling show by La Fura dels Baus, ancient myth meets Star Wars, and the eye is constantly engaged with images ranging from space-age technology to details of soccer uniforms.(…)
> The Trojan horse, which Berlioz perhaps never intended to be seen, is a shining but frightening war machine, with an abstract head and wheels that allow it to move about for a chilling confrontation with the horrified Cassandra, alone with it on stage. Just before the mass suicide of the Trojan women, a hazy partition appears to separate them from their Greek would-be ravagers and blotches of blood soon appear on it."


OOOOOOOOOO

HOW COULD IT HAPPEN

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

IT BREAKS MY HEART

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

FOLLOW ME AND LET'S FORM FUNERAL PROCESSION OF SORROW

<baggy pants ***** with recorder on his arm appears to lead procession>

<the recorder plays funeral march from Mahler 1st>

<the procession begins>


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

Maybe the production team are Trekkies and take to heart the opening show motto:

opera the final frontier..........to boldly go where no opera has gone before :lol:


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

Lol
lol
lol
lol


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## Rangstrom (Sep 24, 2010)

Just goes to show that DVDs will never totally replace cds for opera recordings.


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## karenpat (Jan 16, 2009)

I take this as proof that the unwritten law of always being inventive and thinking ahead within art doesn't guarantee a positive outcome. And for that I'm off to gloat.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Oh God, please don't allow Gualtier to read this thread! He is too young to die!


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

DarkAngel said:


> Maybe the production team are Trekkies and take to heart the opening show motto:
> 
> opera the final frontier..........to boldly go where no opera has gone before :lol:


Beam me up, Scotty. My mental health may depend on it....


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## World Violist (May 31, 2007)

Wow... that's all I can say but I have to say more to get to ten characters or more.

Actually, I lied. I mean the bad sort of wow.


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

If it sells all the tickets and gets all the publicity to establish something, then they will do it and they will do it again that way.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

Well, I'd say that at least this opera of reputed complexity and length is being staged today, in whatever type of production. I understand that in Berlioz's day, it (along with his other operas) was a huge flop. I'm not a huge fan of opera, I don't really care if the production is traditional or modern, but at least this great work is being put out there, being performed live, instead of languishing on the dusty shelf of some archive or library, which is how things stood until the likes of Colin Davis and Rafael Kubelik started to revive it 50 years ago...


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

Andre said:


> Well, I'd say that at least this opera of reputed complexity and length is being staged today, in whatever type of production. I understand that in Berlioz's day, it (along with his other operas) was a huge flop. I'm not a huge fan of opera, I don't really care if the production is traditional or modern, but at least this great work is being put out there, being performed live, instead of languishing on the dusty shelf of some archive or library, which is how things stood until the likes of Colin Davis and Rafael Kubelik started to revive it 50 years ago...


Let's not act like it would be some act of mercy over Berlioz's miserable work - it's mastepiece that deserves to be frequently performed and artists have damn duty to perform it, but perform decently... THERE IS SCULPTURE OF APOLLO OVER ENTERANCE THE THEARTE, HE IS RIDING HIS CHARIOT... I WONDER IF HE SHALL COME TO LIFE AND RIDE WITH HIS MUSES TO STOP THIS BLASPHEMOUS PERFORMANCE... HEAR ME, PATRON OF ART! SAVE US!


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Andre said:


> Well, I'd say that at least this opera of reputed complexity and length is being staged today, in whatever type of production. I understand that in Berlioz's day, it (along with his other operas) was a huge flop. I'm not a huge fan of opera, I don't really care if the production is traditional or modern, but at least this great work is being put out there, being performed live, instead of languishing on the dusty shelf of some archive or library, which is how things stood until the likes of Colin Davis and Rafael Kubelik started to revive it 50 years ago...


_Les Troyens_ is one of my favorite operas. Actually it is my number 2 favorite opera, just behind the Ring (if you followed our Top 100 thread, you may remember how hard I fought for it, and how thrilled I was that it made fifth place there). So, I see your point and I appreciate the fact that it's getting more and more exposure, because it is really a shame that poor Berlioz had to die without knowing the kind of recognition his astonishing masterpiece would get someday.

But while my initial impression after reading Aramis' very funny post was one of lighthearted laughing, now I'm getting more and more angry at the people responsible for this travesty, like I got angry at the Copenhagen Ring that changed the ending by making Brunnhilde pregnant.

Some respect for such a sublime and phenomenal work should be obligatory. Shame on Valery Gergiev for condoning this kind of assault on the integrity of the work. Granted that we haven't seen the result yet, but this seems to be the most over-the-top regietheater BS ever produced. I mean, Star Wars???


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

I agree that this kind of post-modern nonsense performance isn't ideal by any means, but if it's a way of getting people to see/hear the work live, then there may be some good in it. I mean _Les Troyens_ hardly as established in the repertoire as say some of Bizet's or Gounod's operas. I think that in today's post global financial crisis world, getting publicity (good or bad?) is probably more important than the work itself (sadly). This is the reality, fill the opera house & get bums on seats, or perish. & I agree with you that things like making Brunnhilde pregnant are just ridiculous. That is WAY over the mark...


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## Gualtier Malde (Nov 14, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> Oh God, please don't allow Gualtier to read this thread! He is too young to die!


Too late, too late.

Maybe we need another subforum: Eurotrash (read at your own risk)

This is actually a double insult for me, Latin is one of my other hobbies, and I've (naturally, I guess) developed a certain fondness for the ancient Romans and their culture and history.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Gualtier Malde said:


> Too late, too late.
> 
> Maybe we need another subforum: Eurotrash (read at your own risk)
> 
> This is actually a double insult for me, Latin is one of my other hobbies, and I've (naturally, I guess) developed a certain fondness for the ancient Romans and their culture and history.


OK, I see you did not have a massive heart attack otherwise you wouldn't be posting.
But you may want to avoid watching the production because if you do, the best case scenario for you is quadruple bypass.

For reasons of my background, I'm also very fond of the Romans, and I think I'll need to pull some of my lawyers from working on the lawsuit against the Copenhagen Ring producers, and file a new one against Gergiev and La Fura dels Bals.:scold:


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Some photos of the rehearsal


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

sospiro said:


> Some photos of the rehearsal


So terrible.

I think I'm going to send them a letter:

_Shame on you dickheads,
regards
Hector Berlioz_

With Berlioz Paris flat as sender's address.


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

Its an interesting concept, but so unoriginal and childish.


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

sospiro said:


> Some photos of the rehearsal


Wait.....where are the other two important cast members?

Oh I forgot, they don't need to rehearse just update thier memory banks


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## World Violist (May 31, 2007)

This is genuinely horrifying.

I do like this one picture...










Gergiev actually looks genuinely incredulous about it, even though he probably isn't. He's just talking to someone on the phone, but he's probably subconsciously thinking "What the hell am I doing?"


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

I'lll have to reserve judgement on this production of Les Troyens until I get a chance to see it on DVD,if it's released. The concept does sound intriguing, and by no means the stupidest and most perverse
production of an opera in recent years. I can think of worse ones.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

superhorn said:


> I can think of worse ones.


Which ones are worse?


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

I haven't seen it,but Katharina Wagner's 2007 poduction of her great grandad's immortal Meistersinger,from what I've heard about it and the pictures I've seen was an indescribably grotesque travesty of this work,complete with gratuitous nudity,Meistersingers using cell phones,and much much more that would have made great grandad not spin in his grave, but 
whoosh out of it like a rocket. I believe it is available now on DVD. I might try it just for the heck of it.
There was a Eiropean Fledermaus several years ago complete with kinky sex, cocaiine,and all kinds of hideous things,and a Ballo in Maschera by the notorious Catalan director Calixto Bieto 
which opened in a men's bathroom with guys sitting on the toilet and going poo-poo etc.
This is only the tip of the iceberg. The Warsaw Troyens sounds fairly sane by compariosn.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Guys sitting on toilet and going poo-poo??

As for nudity and kinky sex, I'm not sure I wouldn't want to watch these productions.

As many of you here may have realized already, I'm not ashamed to admit to the fact that I do appreciate the occasional production with sexy/attractive females in several states of undress.

However it can get distracting and detrimental. One that I didn't like was the recent Rigoletto with Florez and Damrau. Too much gratuitous nudity that kept interfering with my appreciation of the music. Another one that I can't say wasn't distracting (although I did like it) was Alcina with Naglestad. I kept joking about the fact that the two main characters in that production got lots of screen time but didn't even sing. I'm referring to Ms. Naglestad's gorgeous-looking breasts.

But I won't say that I wouldn't be at least curious to watch such productions.

It's amazing how Wagner works seem to attract crazy stage directors. I saw a Tannhauser that had loads of weird imagery and nudity, such as a crocodile eating alive a topless woman.

On the matter of Star Wars, it is also curious that another Berlioz work has attracted this kind of thing. His Benvenuto Cellini has deserved a DVD with three robots as characters, one of them looking like C3P0. Amazingly, I did like that production. It was very weird, but somehow, it all worked, so you may have a point when you say that we need to see this Les Troyens before passing judgment.

But I'm afraid, man!

Edit - I found the Fledermaus you're referring to, it's this one - and I confess that reading the reviews, my curiosity for it has completely disappeared, I'll pass!










The Meistersingers, though, I couldn't find. All the Bayreuth Meistersingers I found on Amazon.com seem rather traditional.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

Right, that's the point:

extremely silly and stupid staging with cool **** > extremely silly and stupid staging with no cool ****

No **** in these Troyens. That's why it's the worst one.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Aramis said:


> Right, that's the point:
> 
> extremely silly and stupid staging with cool **** > extremely silly and stupid staging with no cool ****
> 
> No **** in these Troyens. That's why it's the worst one.


No ****?
A decent Eurotrash director should include cool ****!
Ok, then, it's been decided, it *is* the worst possible production!


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

As far as I'm concerned, the older the subject the more traditional the staging should be. For instance, I could never get used to the idea of Wotan wearing trouser braces and a frock coat. Although it sounds like the latest in a long line of contemporary (or in this case futuristic) stage-setting monstrosities that have been beyond the pale I daresay the arty-farty brigade will be braying in delight and falling over themselves to waffle on about how wonderfully profound and refreshingly relevant it all is.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

elgars ghost said:


> As far as I'm concerned, the older the subject the more traditional the staging should be. For instance, I could never get used to the idea of Wotan wearing trouser braces and a frock coat. Although it sounds like the latest in a long line of contemporary (or in this case futuristic) stage-setting monstrosities that have been beyond the pale I daresay the arty-farty brigade will be braying in delight and falling over themselves to waffle on about how wonderfully profound and refreshingly relevant it all is.


I don't know if it's my latent arty-fartiness but I LIKE updated Wagner - I'm re-watching the Copenhagen Ring and some of it is so funny - for instance I love the gods hanging out in tent city outside Valhalla while they wait to move in. The updating is not extreme though, it's just presents the Ring more as a family drama than an ancient myth.

However the Troyens sounds beyond the pale in terms of silliness.

Alma: this is the Katharina Wagner Meistersinger:


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