One of the earliest tellings of the "Beauty and the Beast," the opera has been adapted by Carnegie Mellon University Guest Director James Ortiz with the use of a massive 8-foot-tall puppet operated by four performers, while a fifth provides its voice. The show includes French songs with English dialogue.
10 comments:
I'm already a great fan of opera, and the moment anyone tells me that puppets are going to be used, I get even more excited. The use of this Azor puppet is really unique, and it provides a very educational experience for all of the performers. Over time it's been established with puppeteering that the puppeteer and the puppet need to be a single entity. Most performers are not familiar with how to make that work. By CMU putting on Zemire et Azor, and by using an actual puppet, that is very specific training that would probably not be learned until later in someone's career, if at all; unless they went into that area specifically. Looking at the puppet itself, it's hard to believe that it could be considered light. The intricate gold designs wrapping the body, and the heavy brass look to it all (I know, theater magic) makes me believe that it should weigh about a thousand pounds. It's also impressive that the face is able to emote, since many puppets are perhaps built with basic emotive capabilities if at all. The ability to truly physically expand the character of Azor is again, a significant opportunity for the performers.
As a lot of discussion in the office has been focusing around Zemire lately seeing this article made me realized that I hadn’t really seen any other components of the production and had been solely focused on the scenery elements. So getting to see the puppet that my recollection of was just needing to rig a place to hang the giant was pretty exciting. The puppet is so beautifully done and must me a beautiful thing to experience onstage. I love seeing the integration of puppetry into theatrical work. It is such an interesting vessel to tell stories on the stage and the fact that this puppet has so many people controlling it must’ve been a beast in itself to work out in rehearsals. I think it is a great opportunity for students to have the chance to work with puppets from such a master puppet making and an experienced puppeteer.
It is exciting to me to see puppets brought to our mainstage here. It is a part of theatre that I truly adore and want to work with as much as I can. We have had some in the past, in Stumpy Leg, and Arturo Ui, but neither of these were in the Chosky. It is nice to see puppets presented on a bigger scale here like this. I love the fact that the other two show’s puppets were built in house, because it really is a technical skill that should be explored as much as we can here. To me, puppets bridge the gap between the technical and performing worlds so well because it is literally a character that is being built in a shop and then brought to life onstage by actors in a way that is unlike anything else in the industry. I would love to see a mainstage show done with puppets built here, knowing that it is not a part of the curriculum, I know it is unlikely, but it would be fun!
I think this is so cool and it really reinforces to me one of the things I love about being able to go to Carnegie Mellon, that new things are always being thought of and executed in stunning ways. I would never associate puppetry with the opera but, in this context, it makes perfect sense. When I first heard that this opera was being produced at Carnegie Mellon, I was a little confused because I was not sure how Azor would be portrayed, in a live production. I think the puppet is a clever choice because it allows multiple performers to participate in the production while interacting with something new and because it gives Azor a whole new power. Together with the costumes, set, and lighting, I think the puppet will bring a new energy to the opera and heighten the experience for all audience members. I hope I get to see more puppets being used in future Carnegie Mellon productions because I think they add a new and interesting level to any show.
Puppets and puppets done this well are really great to see on the CMU stage and seeing such amazing things. They have always been a fascination of mine ever since when I first saw some at the Atlanta center for Puppetry arts. I remember being so excited to see them in Stumpy Legs last year and seeing how they really transformed the show and the characters interaction not even just amongst on another but also with the characters themselves. I am really interested to see how the Zamire puppet works in the opera as it is so interesting aesthetically. Puppets are a great theatrical element that I think isn’t used quiet as much as maybe they should and are often type cast into things such as caldrons shows or Opera. Puppets are always though of properly as just another theatrical element and a technique rather then a piece of the puzzle that immediately down grades the production in terms of audience done right they can make the character and sometimes the show.
I genuinely had no clue that Zemire et Azor had any puppetry in it. Last semester, I worked with their costume team during crew and one of the School of Music students tried to explain the plot to me and honestly they said so many words that the whole thing was lost on me quite quickly. I think that the use of a puppet is really interesting. Aesthetically, not my thing, but as far as logistics I like the challenge of it. Seeing a puppet really well done like this is a valuable and really cool experience, and I wish that it was something that we got to gain a little bit more technical knowledge in. Everything done in Zemire et Azor is really beautifully done, and I’m sure it was really interesting to learn how to interact with in the rehearsal.
Meh, it is an oversized Muppet or something cute that Hagrid might look after for Hogwarts. It was cute and corny and never once frightening. His “growls” they talk about enhanced by the fact that all the puppeteers make the noises is absolutely ludicrous, it sounded more like someone inhaling with a lot mucus in their nose or someone having a mild asthma attack. Also there were no sound effects, fog, and the costumes for the puppeteers were rubbish and the actor playing Azor, his costume looked like Emperor Palpatine or Jafar from Aladdin. Everytime it moved all I heard was the muted clanking of plastic and the rubbing of foam. John’s lighting design was the only thing making it at all intimidating and even so it was hit or miss. The voice and puppet were also always on other sides which was just confusing and muddied up the overall effect. The novelty did not outweigh ferocity and grandeur Azor deserved,
I'm so excited to see these beautiful giant puppets on our stage. I loved seeing the video of the beast puppet in action. I enjoy seeing this interpretation of the beast. Oritz’s puppet work is also coming to my hometown, Milwaukee, playing at the skylight music theatre, maybe I can look into ways I could see it. I personally have minimal experience in using giant puppets in productions, but I’d love for that to change. The one time I worked in a show with this type of puppets was little shop of horrors at my high school and we rented a Audrey 2 plant puppet. But the audrey puppet stayed in place, and wasn’t mobile like the beast, which is probably more of a challenge for actors and crew. After reading this article I’m definitely going to make an effort to try to see our production of “Zémire et Atzor”, to see how we use the puppet in action.
Walking into the opera on friday I had zero clue what it was about or anything. I had seen the dresses on the bulletin board outside the costume shop which sparked my curiosity and decided I would go. I was blown away. The acting was on a whole new level compared to Figaro and you no longer saw little voice major heads poking out the curtin due to a lack of understanding of sight lines. The puppetry definitely surprised me the most. I always expect to not like puppetry because to be totally honest when its bad its very bad. But this shows puppetry was amazing. The emotion Azor was able to show blew me away. His movements seem realistic (except for when he Awkwardly backed up the stairs to exit - I assume that was for technical reasons so I will ignore it) And I’m so excited to possibly see the show a third time today as backup spot op.
It’s incredible that CMU can bring in things like puppet artists to work on productions here. The puppet they’ve made for “Zemire et Azor” is incredible. I love how they were able to articulate it and choreograph it to move so fluidly. I also adore the the attention that went into all of the little details on it. It looks like some sort of beast from a fantasy video game. I didn’t get to see the performances with the puppet, so I can’t say how it actually held up or performed for the shows, but from just an objective viewpoint of the puppet alone, I’m impressed. I’ve always thought that puppets were really cool, especially the gigantic or fantastical ones. I used to spend time in my underclassmen years of High School doodling creatures that could be puppeteered and figuring out how they would maneuver. I really hope that someday the things I’ve learned here will help me get to a point where I can work on big projects and beasts like the one here.
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