Girls of the Golden West: someone please explain
Last Tuesday I had the great opportunity to go see the new John Adams opera Girls of the Golden West, with a libretto by Peter Sellars, who was also the stage director. Being a great admirer of Adams’ work, and having never seen one of his operas live, I was quite excited. After the opera...
Mary Queen of Scots: a clash of two musical worlds
Your gifts are your downfall. Last week I got the chance to go see for the second time the beautiful film Mary Queen of Scots by British film director Josie Rourke, starring Saoirse Ronan in the title role and Margot Rosie as her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I. The film was nominated this year for the Academy...
Oedipe: an opera is not just 3 hours of music
L’avenir te dira, si la Sphinge en mourant pleure de sa défaite, ou rit de sa victoire! Future will tell if the dying Sphinx cries for her defeat or laughs for her victory! A couple of weeks ago I went to the premiere of George Enescu’s opera Oedipe, a 3-hour long, French-language setting of the Greek...
Music and emotions: how to talk to your director
I find it very interesting how directors have a very different way of thinking about music than composers. It might seem obvious to both sides, but it's actually much more subtle and much more diverging than I initially thought.