Newsgroups: rec.music.classical
Subject: Re: Preparing vs. was-Re: Supertitling
From: dgold@basso.actrix.gen.nz (Dale Gold)
Date: 5 Sep 92 00:01:51 PST
 <1992Aug31.211633.33838@watson.ibm.com><1992Sep02.124921.29301@lloyd.Camex.COM>
Organization: New Zealand Symphony Orchestra

Quoted from <1992Sep02.124921.29301@lloyd.Camex.COM> 
  by chrisi@lloyd.Camex.COM (Chris Ischay):
> In article <1992Aug31.211633.33838@watson.ibm.com> 
  jonms@pi.watson.ibm.com () writes:
> 
>>  A book with all the popular librettos costs 1/2 the price of a ticket.  It
>>  is well worth the time to familiarize oneself with an opera first, it will
>>  be more enjoyable if you're not sitting their confused.  Translations into
>>  other than original language ruin a libretto when not expertly done.
> 
> I tried this approach once and I found it didn't work at all for me.  The
> problem with just reading a libretto beforehand is that it's so divorced
> from the music that it's hard to know during the performance which part
> they're saying when.
>
> Which raises a question:  How do others do their homework before going to
> an unfamiliar opera for the first time?

I *always* try to do as much homework as possible before performing in, or
attending an opera performance.  Librettos and recordings are usually
available for free from the local public library, but around here, they are
usually just about impossible to obtain weeks before a performance.
Unfortunately, I have little time for music other than the music which I am
currently performing, and the idealistic thought of sitting down with a
libretto and listening to a variety of recordings several times in advance
is just out of the question.  However, I think that this is what the rest
of you should be doing :-)
 
I'm playing the Flying Dutchman next month, and although I've spent years
wishing that I could learn to speak fluent German, I know it just ain't
going to happen this time.  While I agree with the sentiments of posters
who prefer a more enlightened approach to listening, I don't find the
sur-titles at all distracting when I don't feel like following them.  In a
couple of weeks of performances of Salome earlier this year, I gained a lot
of insight into the music every night when I could find the time to peek up
at the screen and pick up a clue as to what I was supposed to be playing
about.

I've got pretty poor eyesight at long distance, and unless I'm close to the
stage, I haven't got a clue as to the nuances of acting and facial
expression that might reward an opera listener who can speak the language
and watch the singers.  I did have an interesting experience the last time
I was in New York (about 8 years ago). I got a last-minute standing room
seat for La Boheme with Carrerras and some other famous singers, which was
directed by Zefferreli or some other famous film director.  I enjoyed it a
lot, although it was like standing up for 3 hours looking at a postage
stamp.  A few weeks later, I was in Chicago, and saw the same production on
TV with all the usual television up-the-nostrils camera angles.  The two
extremes helped to put together a wonderful overall impression of the
performance for me, and if I could read the libretto, study the score, and
enjoy these extreme contrasts for every opera performance I attend, I'd be
a very happy camper.

Dale
--
- dgold@basso.actrix.gen.nz
- Korokoro, New Zealand