REVIEW: Don Giovanni

November 13, 2012November 13, 2012 nina.j

Don Giovanni

Don’t tell anyone that I ate a scone in the back of the Power Center- I know its not allowed. I grabbed one as I was leaving class last Monday evening, bypassing dinner, and rushing to a dress rehearsal of the opera ‘Don Giovanni.’ I am in a Romance Languages seminar called ‘Don Juan’ and my professor scored us special access to the final run through and I was so glad she did because I was out of town for the actual performance. I have never witnessed a dress rehearsal of such an extravagant production. It was very interesting to watch such a dramatic performance in such a small and relaxed audience.

I know nothing about opera and have never been to one before, but because of this course I am very familiar with the story of Don Giovanni. I have read multiple versions on French, Spanish, Italian, and English, seen clips of several theatrical renditions and films, and now the opera. So I certainly understood what was happening on onstage. But even if I hadn’t studied the tale beforehand, I think it would have been very easy to follow along for several reasons.

First of all, the Italian lyrics, written by DaPonte, were translated by director/professor Robert Swedberg into sur-titles that flashed above the stage throughout the show. Second, the actors were excellent in their facial expressions. I may not have understood their language but the cadence of their voices and the gestures of their bodies made very transparent renderings of emotion. And lastly, the story is folkloric and archetypal. It may be a negative stereotype of a man- a libertine who philanders just a little too much- but it is a caricature that everyone can recognize and laugh both with and at.

Before the opera, Robert Swedberg visited our class to discuss his process of translation to the stage. One key comment he made that liberated me to enjoy the production was this: “In opera, you must suspend your disbelief.” It takes a leap of faith to dive in swim around with the performers, but once you release realistic expectations it is very fun and free. In real life, these people would not be singing to each other spectacularly, nor would they be reciting the same thing over and over again for twenty minutes without interruption. They would not be gesturing like puppets or disguising their identities without question or coming back from the dead to belt one last aria. After three hours of engaging in the colorful, brightly lit story, I learned that in this particular kind of theater the audience must not resist the escape into fantasy if they want to enjoy the experience.

In debriefing the performance in class today, my classmates expressed mixed reactions. On the one hand, the singing was impressive, extravagant, and almost super human. The acting was dynamic and the story came alive on stage in certain ways that it cannot on paper. On the other hand, some translations seemed confounded. For example, it was unclear that the story was set in New Orleans and exhibited no indication of this outside the explanation in the program. That detail seemed to be confusing. But then again, I suppose you are bound to find at least some disagreement with the production among a class of students learning every detail about this particular tale.

The most contested issue among the audience I shared the opera with was that at the end Don Giovanni is dragged to Hell by demonic, sexy women dressed in body suits that made them appear unmistakably nude. Huh?! In other versions, a masculine, God-like/King-like figure has the final say on Don Giovanni’s damnation. Robert Swedberg explained that this direction is a way of circumnavigating mechanics of the staging (there is no trap door that could appear to lower Don Giovanni into Hell). In this opera version, it is the women who seem to be seeking the long-awaited revenge. This alteration changes the tone and the message of the story greatly! Is Don Giovanni being punished for his treatment specifically of women or toward societal standards as a whole, including men?

Ladies? Gentlemen? What do we think?

Next time a U of M venue puts on an opera, I highly recommend attending! It’s not something I ever imagined myself being fond of but I was very entertained and impressed by the art form. And if you want to learn more about the Don Juan story, my suggestion is to start with Johnny Depp.

PREVIEW: Don Giovanni

November 4, 2012November 4, 2012 nina.j

Don Giovanni

It’s the classic story of that guy who gets around. Don Juan, Dom Juan, Johnny Depp, Don Giovanni, it’s always the same old thing. In Spain, in France, in Italy, and now at U of M, the story repeats itself one more time. This weekend, The School of Music, Theater, and Dance will perform the age old tale of Don Giovanni, a ‘legendary lover’ who ‘makes one too many notches on his bedpost.’ The opera masterpiece is directed by Prof. Robert Swedberg and stars both graduate and undergraduate students from the department. With music by Mozart and lyrics by Lorenzo da Ponte, this piece is one of the most famous operas ever performed. The libretto will be sung in its original language- Italian- but fear not, surtitles will be projected above the stage to guide all you English speakers out there.

I am currently enrolled in a Romance Languages seminar devoted entirely to this elusive and seductive character, Don Juan. As part of the course, we will be attending the opera. We are also engaging with both the actors and the players behind the scenes. Prof. Swedberg visited our class last week to discuss the process of creating such an opera. He spoke of the liberties he took in adapting the story for a modern audience. For example, the plot takes plays in New Orleans instead of Italy, and in the end Don Juan is dragged to hell by…well I don’t want to ruin the surprise but there is a slightly alternate ending the the original tale. It sounds like it will be a dramatic and exciting performance, sure to please. I’ve never been to an opera at U of M so you can certainly count on seeing me there!

The show will be held at The Power Center on:

November 8 at 7:30 pm//November 9 and 10 at 8 pm//November 11 at 2 pm

For more information about the performance, including buying tickets, click here.

Enjoy the show!

REVIEW: Earth Without Ice

October 27, 2012October 27, 2012 nina.j 2 Comments

Earth Without Ice

On Thursday October 25, the Kerrytown Concert House hosted an ‘Out of the Box’ musical performance, arranged and enacted by professors from several departments: Henry Pollack of Geophysics, and Steve Rush and Michael Gould of the School of Music. As part of the Abacus and Rose: SciArt Live series, which pairs scientists with artists, the trio of scholars created a stylish, modern piece called ‘Earth Without Ice.’

The performance consisted of a series of noises that soundtracked a slideshow of images projecting from screens on stage that faced the audience. The ‘immersive sonic landscape’ was composed of ‘found sounds’ taken from the Huron River. The photos came from Dr. Pollack’s visual journal as part of his most recent transit of the Northwest Passage from Alaska through the Canadian archipelago to Greenland. They featured vast oceans, floating chunks of ice, inuit peoples catching and gutting fish, elders laughing together, youngsters playing, seals and polar bears splashing, open earthen landscapes, and lots and lots of factories. The contrast between the natural images and the industrial environment was striking. The music was appropriately mixed to match the effect of the scenery. The recorded, manipulated, and live noises created an unusual interplay of sound which caused a strong affect on the curious audience.

The inspiration for the content came from Dr. Pollack’s recent book ‘A World Without Ice.’ The style, however, seemed to be inspired by a hybrid of John Cage’s Water Walk and Andy Goldsworthy’s nature photography. I liked the performance a lot. It conveyed a strong message about expressing the danger of climate change through artwork. It was a very unusual performance, but equally entertaining and certainly out of the box.

REVIEW: Almost, Maine

October 15, 2012October 15, 2012 nina.j

Almost, Maine

For two weekends running, the Department of Theater and Drama presented the romantic dramadie ‘Almost, Maine.’ Set in rural northern Maine, the play consisted of nine vignettes, each taking place somewhere in unorganized territory at 9 pm on the same cold, Friday night. The stories told of couples who lost their romance for one another and rekindled it (or not), or of long lost loves reuniting to find each other different (or the same), or of friends becoming lovers or strangers becoming friends: a hiker camping in a lonely man’s yard; a woman running into her ex-boyfriend at the bar on the night before her wedding; two male friends reconciling their heterosexual affection for each other; a woman who left town after high school and returned to find her sweetheart engaged; a pair of strangers who meet in a laundromat and discover what it feels like to love each other through pain. Each story line is independent of each other, but eventually they all intertwine and create the dynamic story of a rural town community.

It was last Thursday night and I had just arrived at home after my last class before fall break. I was exhausted and ready to watch some Netflix in bed when my housemate spontaneously invited me to join her as an audience member. I knew nothing about the play, just that the script was written by John Cariani of ‘Law and Order’ (so it must be interesting) and apparently it is the most frequently performed high school production in America. Oh, and of course, our good friend Maddie Sharton was performing in it. I always love supporting friends who are active in the arts and I haven’t seen many student theater pieces at U of M, so I decided to go on whim.

I am so glad I did! I was incredibly impressed by the skill of the actors and the professional quality of the entire production. The set design was very minimal. Each vignette featured maybe a simple bench and a lamp, or a pile of snow, or an open doorway, but it was always evident where the story was placing its audience. The lights were etherial and fantastic, very reminiscent of the Northern Lights, which played a key feature in several of the scenes. The language of the script was evident in its symbolism and word play but also very accessible and easy to follow. There was even a sense of magical realism in the playful, imaginary romantic coincidences. I liked how, because the story was built on sub plots, there was no main star. Every character played an equally important role in creating the heart warming tale. After seeing this one performance, I feel sure I will see several of these faces on the professional stage in a matter of years.

The cast was comprised of all BFA in Performing Arts students. It was produced and directed by faculty in the department. Click here for more about ‘Almost, Maine’ and check out the School of Music, Theater, and Dance Facebook page for more on upcoming events.

REVIEW: Aspen Santa Fe Ballet

October 14, 2012October 14, 2012 nina.j

ASPEN SANTA FE BALLET

Last weekend, the Aspen Santa Fe performed at the Power Center. It was a rainy Sunday and I spent the morning eating brunch at a hole-in-the-wall cake shop on the Old West Side called Jefferson Market and then watching the matinée performance. The indulgent outing felt both classic and obsolete: When was the last time I, a.) attended a ballet or b.) went to a matinée that was preceded by brunch on the town? My only justification was that going to the performance was required for my ballet class. But I am very glad that it was because the dance itself was truly a spectacle.

The show was visually stunning, incredibly professional, tightly rehearsed, and impressively physical. The presentation was a breath taking combination of artistry and athleticism that I have rarely seen. The costumes revealed a great deal of skin and muscle on both males and females that really made me wonder how many crunches they all do per day. Half the drama of the show was simply the chiseled appearance of their abs and buns. I’m serious.

The piece was comprised of three acts; Square None (2012), Stamping Ground (1983), and Over Glow (2011). Each act differed from the next in its score, its choreography, its costumes design, and its lighting scheme, but it was clear that they were intended to be a part of a unified, coherent performance.

The first piece used grey lighting and darker musical tones while the second used no music and bright lighting. The first two appeared to make commentary on modern culture: the first was structured around bionic, wind-up-doll-like gestures. The second was very animalistic and primitive, using the body as a drum to make rhythms rather than electronic sound. (The second piece was by far my favorite; it was the most animated, relatable, and story-like whereas the other were more theoretical and abstruse). The last piece was the prettiest, with pastel colors and graceful lifts, leaps, and pirouettes. It was lovely to watch, but was my least favorite act because it felt sort of flat in comparison to the creativity in the previous two.

One thing I have not mentioned yet is the fact that this kind of ballet is not like Swan Lake or The Nutcracker. It’s not classical ballet, its neo-classical; its contemporary. It uses the same structure and techniques as ballet (straight legs, delicate fingers, turned out feet) but also incorporates movement that more resembles modern dance. Contemporary ballet allows for a greater breadth of movement and does not adhere as strictly to the lines set forth by the original forms of classic ballet. In many ways, especially after seeing Aspen Santa Fe’s performance, I find myself drawn to this genre. It is still both pretty and recognizable, but also fluid, creative, and unusual.

Sunday brunch and a matinée at the Power Center is one of the easiest assignments I’ve ever been given. Oh, and one last fun fact about the costume design from Square None was that it was designed by Project Runway celebrity contestant Austin Scarlett. Who knew.