1,064 posts
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Post by bellboard27 on May 24, 2016 10:54:06 GMT
I enjoyed this. The voices were great. The design for the first half was brilliant and mad. The opening scene had the whole chorus arranged on four levels as a huge wood carving slowly coming to life. We had Oedipus meeting his father at a road junction peppered by road works for familiar from the M25 – indeed as he gets angry, Oedipus starts throwing the traffic cones. When he encounters the Sphinx, this turns out to be a mad woman sitting in the cockpit of a wreck of a WWII plane, which springs to life as he approaches. The second half is more dramatic and serious and the design shifts to something more sombre, avoiding distraction from the story.
The opera itself is a mixed bag. It adds to the Greek source material – indeed it has a positive ending. Some of the music is excellent, but at other times it drags. The audience reaction at the end was positive. George Hall in The Stage gave it 2 stars. I can understand his criticism of the opera (but do not share it), but he describes it as visually unrewarding. For this he should poke out his eyes and wander the ROH blind like Oedipus until he sees the light.
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Post by Coated on May 25, 2016 21:49:58 GMT
I loved the chorus pieces, Tiresias and most of all the Sphinx, but probably would have been happier if the opera had less padding. The coup de theatre was great, but at times the staging was getting very static and somewhat boring.
For some reason I only started getting emotionally involved when Antigone started interacting with her father, my friend was gripped by the story throughout the entire second half after having had a nice snooze during act 1&2.
Can't see how this got a 2 star review, but equally thought the 5 star review I've seen elsewhere was perhaps a bit enthusiastic.
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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2016 9:56:34 GMT
I loved the chorus pieces, Tiresias and most of all the Sphinx, but probably would have been happier if the opera had less padding. The coup de theatre was great, but at times the staging was getting very static and somewhat boring. For some reason I only started getting emotionally involved when Antigone started interacting with her father, my friend was gripped by the story throughout the entire second half after having had a nice snooze during act 1&2. Can't see how this got a 2 star review, but equally thought the 5 star review I've seen elsewhere was perhaps a bit enthusiastic. In fact it has received 5 stars from several sources: The Times ★★★★★ Guardian ★★★★★ Independent ★★★★★ Bachtrack ★★★★★ Telegraph ★★★★ Financial Times ★★★★ The Upcoming ★★★★ The Arts Desk ★★★★ The Stage ★★ The stage look a bit like twats if they deviate so wildly from the overall consensus by that much |
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1,495 posts
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Post by Steve on May 27, 2016 9:50:06 GMT
The Times ★★★★★ Guardian ★★★★★ Independent ★★★★★ Bachtrack ★★★★★ Telegraph ★★★★ Financial Times ★★★★ The Upcoming ★★★★ The Arts Desk ★★★★ The Stage ★★ The stage look a bit like twats if they deviate so wildly from the overall consensus by that much Luckily, there's noone on this site that regularly deviates "wildly from the overall consensus." Rudyard Kipling should write a sequel to "If":- "If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you. . . Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And - which is more - you'll be a Tw*t, my son!" |
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Post by crabtree on May 27, 2016 22:41:10 GMT
Come on, surely not one of us gives The stage one iota of credibility. Their reviews are a joke, when they should be astute.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 2, 2016 20:04:52 GMT
NEWSFLASH
STOP PRESS
I would like I join The Stage
And be the 2nd Tw*t
I HATED this
Leaden and boring
The music is terrible
There is usually a reason an opera is never staged
Usually it ain't all that
I just found it so boring
The staging is drab and static
Recently I have found the money spent and invested in new opera productions to be more and more miserly
The artform is all about extravagance
As a result all the ROH new productions look and feel cheap and nasty
As a marker compare to the classic Der Rosenkavaklier and Hoffman Tales at this venue which have grand sets and amazing costumes
They look stunning and offer a wonderful backdrop for the music and singing
Interestingly there is a new Rosenkavaklier coming up next season
I await to see how they will have cheapened this staging
Needless to say I am on my way home
Couldn't bear another hour of it
To add
There were things to look at on stage
A step up from recent stagings of Guillame Tell
Where there were just chairs
But none of it was visually stunning
At all
Most of what was there was done to distract from the awful score anyway
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Post by Coated on Jun 2, 2016 22:32:11 GMT
It is surprising how static a lot of recent productions are. I'm not expecting singers to jog around the stage whilst delivering an aria, but wouldn't mind if I never saw masses of near-stationary crowds on stage again.
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1,064 posts
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Post by bellboard27 on Jun 3, 2016 9:18:24 GMT
It's a good job Oedipus has no eyes left to read Parsley's post!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2016 9:28:24 GMT
I enjoyed it a lot more than Parsley although it was hard going at points. And they lose a lot of points for the extended periods where bright lights were shone into the eyes of the audience (I was covering my eyes for long periods as a result and I wasn't the only one).
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421 posts
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Post by Distant Dreamer... on Jun 13, 2016 11:42:56 GMT
(I was covering my eyes for long periods as a result and I wasn't the only one). You were clearly in the expensive seats which the lights seemed to target hehe! |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 13, 2016 12:05:37 GMT
Yep, expensive seats but on a half price offer  |
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