Traviata Trivia

image_pdfimage_print

by Theodore Dalrymple (October 2015)

A few nights ago I went to the opera, or rather to the local cinema in which the opera was relayed live. It was La Traviata from the English National Opera company.

For some reason, which is, perhaps, not difficult to fathom, directors of operas these days feel the need to make their mark by innovative productions, for example by setting Così fan tutte on the Moon, or The Flying Dutchman on Lake Titicaca, or The Barber of Seville in Nazi Germany.  more>>>

2 Responses

  1. Thanks – now I understand why the “Alice in Wonderland” play we saw this summer in Charlottetown, PEI, was so bizarre. It had some resemblance here and there to the story, but was greatly abstracted. I’m not sure we liked that.
    My daughter’s former horse trainer’s grandmother was from Florence. Her father, a shopkeeper, was acquainted with Puccini, and she remembered meeting him many years ago, in the good old days of Madama Butterfy.

  2. Good art is timeless. Always a novel experience to a new viewer or listener, So called new or contemporary productions often miss the mark because in the hands of lesser men, different is confused with good, a little like graffiti, giving Venus a tattoo or Apollo a jock strap.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

New English Review Press is a priceless cultural institution.
                              — Bruce Bawer

Order at Amazon US, Amazon UK or wherever books are sold.

The Great Reset Ad - 2 -

Available at Amazon US, Amazon UK or wherever books are sold.

For the literature lover in your life on Amazon US, Amazon UK or wherever books are sold. 

For children of all ages. Order at AmazonAmazon UK or wherever books are sold.

Order at Amazon US, Amazon UK or wherever books are sold.

Order at Amazon US or Amazon UK or wherever books are sold.
RSS
Follow by Email
Twitter
Reddit
GAB
SOCIALICON