KPBS: Any opera is a challenge to produce. But the director of San Diego Opera’s "Turandot" had to cope with a heroine she didn’t initially understand as well as sets and costumes coming from two other productions. But these elements all came together to make a beautiful show.
2 comments:
That is quite a beautiful set. I am always impressed by Opera scenery since it is often huge and highly detailed, which can lead for an interesting challenge. This set is certainly huge, but in a different way. This is huge and abnormal. It is not a standard large beautiful wall set, it is very complex with a lot of highly sculpted figures and shapes. I wonder how these pieces were fabricated. Is it a mold type thing or more of a subtractive carving process. I was also hoping this article would talk a little more about the set then it did. I suppose I misunderstood the headline, but I thought the headline meant that stages would be talked about, and alas, they were not. It is cool that the set is paired with a different costume scheme and was made to work out just fine apparently. I think it would be great to work on opera one day.
What immediately struck me when I clicked on the article was the set. Everything comes together to create a fantastical world. I think it’s very interesting that this opera is directed by a woman, but she stated "There is nothing feminist about this story, nothing at all". I appreciate that she is not beating around the bush about the story. Even though I don’t support the story, the director is very aware of the issues in the piece and trying to change it. To me that really helps, but at the same time it does not diminish the original problems of the script. Even though it looks absolutely beautiful the question becomes, Why would you want to produce this opera? Once again there are complexities and it’s not a straightforward answer. Ultimately, I don’t understand her explanation of how trying to change the story. I don’t think that trying to reframe the story actually does anything
Post a Comment