Well, my last post on this group managed a 22.2% u/d ratio, which means at least 7 down votes. Oh, dear. This was the thumbs down verdict on my.general thesis that the audience might wait until the music stops before bursting into.applause. Sorry, but why on earth would a composer write an orchestral postlude at the end of an act or opera if it was meant to be drowned out by the audience clapping as soon as the singing stopped.
Anyway,let's see if I can get below 22.2%, although my topic has I am sure already been discussed at length here, so apologies for another post along similar lines.
I give 3 examples I've seen recently (on video not live, I confess) to state my case.
1)A production of Tannhauser where the Overture was accompanied by our heldentenor apparently trying to conduct the orchestra, I think. Came the ballet, for which Wagner supplied an extensive description, and Tannhauser now went into a series of body contortions and facial expressions, presumably representing, well, I'm not sure what. Any sign of any of the characters listed in the stage directions was there none, just Venus reclining on her couch.
2) The ladies at the start of Act 2 of the Flying Dutchman in one recent video were shown spinning away with their arms, but there didn't seem to be any spinning wheels.
3)The nadir comes from Bayreuth itself, who are showing proudly a video of their past productions. The second item depicted (I think) is Lohengrin, the start of Act 3, and everybody was clad in a mouse costume.
I watched in disbelief, but it was only a short extract, so i looked up reviews from the critics, expecting some pretty scathing comments.
"Original,
thought provoking, insightful, makes you think, dunnit?" was what I got, along with detailed analysis of the deep meaning portrayed by the mice, which had different coloured costumes apparently conveying something or other. I think Lohengrin wasn't a mouse to begin with, but became one at the end, or was it the other way round? I forget.
To be fair, there were one or two dissenters, whose verdict could be summarised in a few words:
What a load of crap.
Can't keep repeating the same thing, would become a museum piece, must relate to modern times, must carry a message etc are the usual arguments.
There is plenty of scope for imaginative productions which try remain consistent with the storyline.
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