Saturday, October 25, 2008
Why I walked out of Doctor Atomic.
Slate Magazine: "First produced in 2005, Doctor Atomic is an English-language opera about nuclear physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer and the first test of the atomic bomb he and his scientific team had assembled at Los Alamos in 1945. It was the test that would decide whether the bomb was ready to be dropped on Japan. And how destructive the device—until then just a theoretical construct—would be."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Overall I found the article incredibly redundant and obnoxiously repetitive (see what I did there) though my favorite part was towards the middle where the author talked about the audience at the met feeling like the show must be good because it is the met, and it has to bee deep, everyone too scared to call BS on those shenanigans. We had a similar discussion in directing class on elitism in art. Which I think this is an example of the type of audiences which many shows attract who say that it must be good because it is opera, not, this opera was good. Because of these feelings, I would be very interested in seeing this show both because of its bearing as a modern English opera, but also to compare my feelings to those of the author.
I'd agree with Teddy, I don't know entirely where the author was going with this review. Modern Opera really seems to be urking the masses lately. Most Opera aficionados will say there's nothing in modern opera, just a bunch of unintelligent noise. However, with the way the theater has evolved technically, I can understand composer's interests for taking Opera to uncharted territories. I don't think I would like Dr. Atomic either.
I think the overall story of "Dr. Atomic" is an excellent option for drama to explore, it sounds like Opera may not have been the best way to explore it. The author said he was interested more in the subject matter than the operatic form which is probably why he was so frustrated. I think I would have had a similar reaction to the author if I saw the opera, but a non-musical would have been a very different experience.
I think that what Kevin is getting at is the proper use of media. The problem with elitism in art often is that art forms are forced into a hierarchy that does not allow the advantages and disadvantages to be seen clearly. If opera is seen as the best, period then we forget what qualities of opera make it a useful story telling tool, vs. ballet or mime or musical theatre or even painting.
Post a Comment