Opera Assignment

Tariq Hassan

Professor Blanka Roundtree

Art 211

27 Sept. 2016

Tristan und Isolde

            Tristan und Isolde is a powerful story that uses a large amount of staging to set the feel and emotion for the entire opera.  The 1983 performance of Tristan und Isolde is designed by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle with a performance by the Beyreuth Festival Orchestra.  Released in 2008, the 1983 recording of the performance highlights intrinsic staging that sets the mood and maintains elements of earlier performances of the opera.  This paper will discuss personal observations as well as a discussion of the mise en scene throughout the opera. 

            The original Tristan und Isolde was released by Richard Wagner in 1865.  This was a piece of Wagner that came later in his career, after some public renown regarding his release of the “The Ring” (Chafe 3). Based on information regarding the release of Tristan und Isolde, it was viewed with some concern prior to its release because the opera performers were taken aback by the new way of performing some of the music elements (Chafe 10).  However, in terms of Wagner’s own emphasis on his performances, Tristan und Isolde included, Wagner stressed specific types of performances with specific settings in mind, sometimes going so far as to push for the construction of new opera houses for his work (Chafe 10).  It is the assumption that Wagner’s performances were unique, especially as it pertained to the physical setting of the opera to compliment new formations of singing combinations.

            The opening of Tristan und Isolde met with mixed reviews and also varied depending on the location of the opera’s performance and often with an initial emphasis on music rather than the setting of the play.  Rizzuto (7) discusses a large number of primary sources pertaining to Tristan und Isolde, but fails to provide any initial critical response to the setting and arrangement within the opera, often with responses focusing on the complexity and uniqueness of the music.  Shirley (par. 5) reflects on the initial opening of Tristan and Isolde and highlights that the staging of the play is unique in that the emphasis is on the music, rather than the setting, and uses it to highlight and emphasize the desire in the overall tone of the opera. Both Shirley (par. 2) and Zychowicz (par. 1) identify that the initial staging of Tristan and Isolde utilizes a heavy reliance on medieval props and costumes.   

            Tristan und Isolde, as produced and recorded from the 1983 performance, in Germany places the opera in a medieval setting, but does so in the capacity of large, over-sized key prop elements that dominate the overall stage.  In viewing the opera, there is a sense of largeness beyond the characters with the setting, it is used to frame their story, even if it is non-responsive and only occasionally changing based on the act.  As someone who is not familiar with opera, the oversized elements of Isolde’s dress almost seems comical, but one also has to be mindful of the viewer who is outside of DVD/online viewing audience.   In reflecting on the mise-en-scene and the overall influence it has on the viewing audience, this central location of the imagery, such as the tree framing the whole stage, sets a tone of passion, and the sail, central to the ship, frames the exploration occurring in Act 1 (Moura par. 3).

            The entire play has elements of nature throughout as a key part of its mise-en-scene.  There are rocks and a still life of water, which looks full of motion based on the way that the mist is used to roll across the stage.  Later, although still near the rocks and water, there is a ship present, but the rocks have a prominent place in the scene, again highlighting nature present in the opera.  Finally, the tree that is present has a swaying motion to it, again with the performers of the opera interacting/engaging with the tree either through role in around its roots or getting leaves in their hair.  As most of the reviews of the initial Wagner play and follow-up analysis point out, the play is about passion, which is complimented by these portions throughout the opera performance from 1983. 

The way that colors are distorted with minimal efforts and tricks also stand out throughout the opera.  The use of fog throughout the play is a unique technique and as it rolls across the stage, especially with rocks around it and the still painting of the ocean, it creates the illusion of movement for the viewer.  The overall lighting of the also plays on the scenery present as well, often illumining behind the main stage prop,  giving a progression of time or a time of day for the action as it occurring; it is through the use of color on the background that changes the sense of action rather than an announcement.  What is kind of interesting about the color too is that the colors of the clothing of the opera performers also changes, eventually becoming darker and darker as the opera continues, eventually becoming almost the color of the background, which might actually be a metaphor for a return to earth.

Based on all of the information provided regarding Tristan and Isolde, it is discussed as an opera that has undergone multiple interpretations with the mise-en-scene affiliated with it.  Zychowicz (par. 5) discusses that the current staging in the 1983 production is the result of the lineage to a 1903 production by Roller, a style that has been used by many in operas since his initial style entered into the field.  The reason why Tristan und Isolde was utilized by Roller has to do with the unique play itself, centered on the musical changes in how opera was performed, new for its time (Shirely par. 5).  As a result of the sense of change and creativity with the music, it was an ideal opera to start with in changing the field of scenery and giving more allusion to the larger view of the world and nature.

Works Cited

Chafe, Eric. The Tragic and the Ecstatic: Oxford University Press, 2008. ProQuest Ebook

            Central. Web. 22 September 2016.

Tristan and Isolde. Directed by Daniel Barenboim, performances by Beyreuth Festival     Orchestra, Chevalier de Cornouailles, and Johanna Meier, Unitel Classica, 2008.        Accessed on 25 Sept. 2016 from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdjFBW-S3z0

Rizzuto, Thomas. The Critical Reception of Richard Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde in the English-

Speaking World. City College of the City University of New York. Accessed on 25 Sept. 2016.

Shirley, Hugo. “The opera that change music: Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde.”  Gramophone. 

Accessed on 25 Sept. 2016 from: http://www.gramophone.co.uk/feature/the-opera-that-changed-music-wagners-tristan-und-isolde

Zychowicz, James. (2008).  “WAGNER: Tristan und Isolde.”  Opera Today. Accessed on 25

Sept. 2016 from: http://www.operatoday.com/content/2008/05/wagner_tristan_.php

Week 3: Broadway

I lost a fair bit of time on the website of Angel de Quinta’s Stage Door Blog.  Immediately I was drawn to the performance by Bea Arthur.  I think that Bea Arthur is known to people of my generation because of her popular culture role in Golden Girls, but she had had a performer presence way before the Golden Girls.  Bea Arthur is unique because she has a different voice; it’s more raspy and harsh, but it’s still really enjoyable to listen to, especially in the context of a performance that is engaging in dialogue with the audience at a slower tempo.   

I also spent time watching the performances of Hair that occurred on popular television, such as the Smothers Brothers and on Late Night with David Letterman.  The reason why I was interested in these is because I know that Hair was a pretty critical narrative on the Vietnam war, with a lot of the focus of some songs on drugs and sex.  I had also forgotten that “The Age of Aquarius,” which had mainstream popularity, was a part of the show Hair.  In watching the two clips, it appears that one, the David Letterman one may have been a revival.  Something that stands out is that they kept the ethnicity of the characters very similar to the original one on Smothers Brothers; which stands out because it’s a key element of the play and well, sometimes with movies they re-arrange some of the racial elements. 

I also really enjoyed the clip from the 1986 Tony’s; it really gives an appreciation of how people on the stage cannot only sing, but also move.  This is especially true of persons who maybe a bit older in age, and once again, Bea Arthur! This time singing an expert from Sweeny Todd, which is awesome. However, it still would have been awesome if Angela Lansbury, one of the stage performers of the show, sang it.  There is a cool video of her later on, sadly, not singing at first, but she sings later on.  I actually may have ended up away from Angel’s Blog, watching most of the 1986 Tony Awards, as they have it on YouTube in its entirety, which is a pretty spectacular show in all of the famous performers in it, inclusive of Bernadette Peters singing Gypsy. 

The final note regarding the Broadway performances, in the 1999 Tony’s, presented by Rosie O’Donnell, they have Pattie Lapone singing “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina.”  It was interesting because I could finally tell that she was the person who sang the original cost recording.  What is interesting is that Pattie Lapone has been on the Showtime series, “Penny Dreadful” recently.  She was a powerful character, but did not have a singing role, it is interesting to realize just how powerful of a performer she really is when you couple her Broadway skills, much like Bea Arthur. 

Opera: Madama Butterfly

Nezvanov’s (2006) animated interpretation of Madama Butterfly is very beautiful and quite enjoyable, but it lacks some of the details an explanation within Madama Butterfly that I believe is present in the actual opera.  The Metropolitan Opera (n.d.) provides a very detailed synopsis of the story, which actually helps understand the depth of what is occurring in Nezvanoy’s (2006) animation.

The animation itself utilizes a lot of clever symbolism, such as Butterfly’s water breaking; which literally, it is a glass with water breaking.  There is also a clever element in which the child keeps the mother grounded and there is a connection between the two.  Later, it is the pulling away of the child and the tugging on the string that ultimately kills Butterfly, as she is unable to live with the situation. 

I assume that the music that is in Nezvanoy’s (2006) adaptation is the actual opera score.  This is an important point, as the music really serves to create the emotion, otherwise, the portion in which Madama is dissembling herself would be pretty creepy as just animation.  Nezvanoy (2006) does a wonderful job of setting the story to the music that is present, which is a key point of it.

Metropolitan Opera, The. (n.d.).  Synopsis: Madama Butterfly.  Retrieved from:

            http://www.metopera.org/Discover/Synopses/Madama-Butterfly/

Nezvanov, M. (2006).  Madama Butterfly.  YouTube Video. Retrieved from:

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E387c5RAhK4&feature=youtu.be&iframe=true&wi dth=80%&height=80%

Origins: Creativity

Origins: Creativity

This is a story regarding Dr. Cuero, I will admit, he talked about how he slept on the floor, would watch the roaches, and think about their behavior.  I hate roaches, but I can respect an individual who wants to look at something, find it fascinating, and is just curious in general about it.  It gives me a bit more of a new perspective on it, but at the same time, it is something that gives me the shivers.

I think a big thing out of Dr. Cuero’s experiences is him discussing how others would tell him he was wrong, or they would look at him differently, but he took that as an opportunity to go about his life and explore different areas, to persist.  Dr. Cuero discusses how he was not hampered by what other people thought, but instead, wanted to go forward taking advantage of all the opportunities that he encountered throughout his life.

Another element that comes up in the video, that really stand out to me, is the students who are talking about Dr. Cuero, and they do work for him in the lab.  The one student makes the comment, “you have to fix it yourself,” which is really powerful, as Dr. Cuero has made it a point throughout his life to fix it himself.  At no point does he rely on someone else, nor does he feel as though he is entitled to anything.

Although these elements come from the pre-interview portion of the video, I think that they do a great job of shaping information around Dr. Cuero and his experiences.  However, in listening to Dr. Cuero talk, one thing he notes is how an individual finds experiences and ideas through the process, it is not about getting from point A to B, but the entire process is important in allowing for additional ideas and exploration.  I think that sometimes as a student that is overlooked quite a bit with a big focus on grades. 

Week 2

ASCII art and ACII conversion is both a new and familiar concept to me.  In the past I have seen ASCII art, but sometimes on an e-mail signature, or on a discussion board forum.  The process that is occurring on GlassGiant.com or Picascii.com is a lot more detailed than things that I have seen before.

My first instinct when testing out images was to see what some of the limitations are for conversion and representation.  I utilized a copy of van Gogh’s “Starry Night” from The Beauty of Transport (n.d.).  I quickly found a limitation for ASCII conversion, as “Starry Night,” especially without color, does not convert well.  This makes sense because much of “Starry Night” is an image that relies on perception of texture and depth to create an image.  However, utilizing the examples that are present on Chris.com/ascii, one can see that images appear stronger if they have more straight lines or clear level of definition.  An artistic term for this would be a still life, as it is still life portraits that seem to convert the best.

An aside thought is that Chris.com, the website, is pretty unique based on its URL, which would seem highly coveted on the internet.  The author indicates an original date of 1994 for the website, which is pretty cool.

The image that I created using the GlassGiant.com tools is shown below.  The original image of "Starry Night" was taken from "Beauty of Transport" (n.d.). 

 Beauty of Transport, The. (n.d.).  Vincent van Goh: Transport Artist.  Retrieved from:

https://thebeautyoftransport.wordpress.com/2014/10/08/vincent-van-gogh-transport-artist/

Week 1

This is my initial post in my blog for Art 211.  I know that this post is a bit belated, as I will now send my link to my instructor.  I'm not the strongest in blogging, or creating websites and URLs.  I realized that I named my entire blog, "Week 1" and that was not really the catchy name that I wanted.

In thinking about this class, I am excited, I have not been a strong fan of traditional art classes, as I do not have a natural eye for technique in artists paintings.  In this class, even going through syllabus and going through the information that has been provided so far, the art makes more sense to me, at least in terms of visualizing what is going into it. I am someone who can barely draw a stick figure, so recognizing that there is an option for an art credit utilizing some computer enhancements or media, I feel a lot more comfortable with the content of this course.