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I had a chance to finally see Evita recently.
I found it confusing [even with helpful explanations provided] and flashy without a lot of substance seemingly to it. The songs are almost catchy, but can't seem to compete with ones from Jesus Christ: Superstar for memespace.
It did inspire me to go dig up some books on Argentina and read them.
posted at 09:05 PST (-0800) (comments disabled) permanent linkI know, everyone has already seen Jesus Christ Superstar. But I never had. I hadn't even heard more than one song from it. I'd heard people rant and rave about it for years without having any especial interest in it. I had quite enough of Jesus when I was a kid.
That said, the songs in this are infectious. It's a week since I saw it and I'm still singing snippets from it. I saw the 1973 version so I can't compare it to other versions. I've never seen it on stage.
If I were able to carry the part off, I really liked the songs and role of Judas Iscariot. My second choice would be the Caiaphas with Herod a close third. I'm more the Herod look and sound, I suppose. Casting in general on this was amazing, specifically that of Jesus, Judas, Mary and the Caiaphas. On several occasions, I forgot they were acting and got caught up in the narrative.
The framing of it, with the crew taking a bus out in the desert, doing the show and then leaving at the end [all save one] was a nice touch and helped invite me in beyond the fourth wall. I was caught up by the tale and enjoyed myself immensely.
No response here to this interpretation of the martyrdom of Christ; if you really want someone else's opinion, ask a Christian. But if you want some catchy songs and absorbing acting, this is pretty spiffy.
posted at 12:21 PST (-0800) (comments disabled) permanent linkI'm not sure why an opera about a Gypsy among the Spanish is sung in French, but I rather liked this version of Carmen.
Of course, I say that having seen no other version.
I say that unable to recall having seen any other opera.
I would not, however, say it's my favorite opera, despite its reputation as such, world-wide, in different languages. It's the story of a Gypsy and what may be her desire to die in order to atone for the damage she's wrought upon one man's life, or perhaps she's pursuing the freedom to be herself even if it kills her, or maybe she's a femme fatale, so eager to pull strings without considering the consequences, that her end is as foreordained as it is irrelevant to her decisions.
In any case, the casting for the title role was great on this version and everyone else was pretty decent. It's a film of a proper opera and so the cameras are distant from the action and it wasn't always immediately obvious to me where my attention should be. It's subtitled, but only in places where the French becomes interesting. For phrases the translator presumes everyone knows, no subtitling. That caused some disorientation. But the music is memorable and even familiar, though the only images I associate with it are Bugs Bunny cartoons of Bugs as a matador. Hardly inexplicable.
posted at 05:34 PDT (-0700) (comments disabled) permanent link
