Klarinet Archive - Posting 000106.txt from 2008/11
From: Susan Hungerford <susan@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Re: Doctor Atomic
Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2008 01:12:39 -0500
Well, I never jump in on this _wonderful_ site, however, this time, I am.
The Met HD productions are great, HOWEVER, they are harming your opera
companies, horribly. As people can go see a production for $15-$20
(depending on the local theatre), with popcorn and Coke in hand, the
ticket sales for the live companies are dying.
Example: Opera Pacific (Orange County, CA) ... the company I worked
full time within, for almost three years, as Production
Associate/Education/Opera Camp Project Director. We officially closed 2
days after the close of the brilliant production of /The Barber of
Seville/. See the news clip for further information regarding the close:
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/opera-company-pacific-2220564-county-demain
Not only are the staff, stage hands, costume department, cast, chorus,
etc. all permanently unemployed from Opera Pacific, but the orchestra
members are as well.
Also, look for the information regarding the Columbus Symphony,
Baltimore Opera and Florida Grand Opera ... they are all in trouble, too.
Please remember this, and give support to your local opera companies and
orchestras ... they all this, despite the fact the Metropolitan Opera is
giving a great package for little cost. Buy a ticket, give a donation,
volunteer ... just help your local companies!!!
Susan Ullom-Hungerford
... former Production Associate who is now an unemployed member of the
entire staff, Opera Pacific
Wayne Thompson wrote:
> I saw the Met production also. Perhaps I have less experience with opera and with modern music than Steve Heinemann or Dan Leeson; maybe my viewpoint is more representative of less experienced opera goers. I was very moved by the drama, and wanted to be moved by the music. Now, 24 hours later, I can't remember the music, and I wish I did, but there was not tunes for me to grab onto. I suppose this is my unfamiliarity Adams music or the genre in general. I loved the poetry, the individual words were so lovingly enounced and presented, and the close ups of the video production made the language even better. In the last aria of the 1st act, Oppenheimer sings words from the poetry of John Donne, and it was incredibly moving for me, yet I didn't understand the poetry or the music to say why it was moving. Interesting; this must be how in beginners in any art enjoy a good work.
>
> And I heard the Contrabass Clarinet, too, Dan, and thought it wonderful and effective.
>
> Wayne T
>
> PS These live Met HD broadcasts are great! We discovered them last season with Hansel und Gretel on New Years Day. I recommend them without reservation. They have the precision and content of good DVDs, but they also have a least some of the ambience of a live Met matinee. Great fun. The next is November 22, The Damnation of Faust. Research your local movie theaters; here in Bakersfield, California, there seems to be no advertising at all.
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Dan Leeson <dnleeson@-----.net>
> To: klarinet@-----.org
> Sent: Sunday, November 9, 2008 12:42:23 PM
> Subject: Re: [kl] Re: Doctor Atomic
>
> Thanks for you input on the matter of Dr. Atomic, Stephen. I was not as
> impressed with the music as you were, but I thought that its dramatic
> purpose was sensational. There was nothing wrong with the music, I just
> found it too angular. But it was the instrumental usage that fascinated me,
> particularly the use of what I think was at least one contrabass clarinet.
>
> Dan Leeson
> dnleeson@-----.net
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Heinemann, Stephen" <sjh@-----.edu>
> To: <klarinet@-----.org>
> Sent: Sunday, November 09, 2008 11:17 AM
> Subject: [kl] Re: Doctor Atomic
>
>
>
>> On 11/9/08 4:01 AM, Dan Leeson <dnleeson@-----.net> wrote:
>>
>>
>>> Saw the production of Dr. Atomic from the Met in NY and in several
>>> sections I heard what has to be the loudest contrabass clarinet I ever
>>> heard or else two contrabass clarinetists blasting away. There was also
>>> what I think may have been an A-flat piccolo clarinet (or else an I-flat
>>> clarinet player who could play up to high A). Anyone know about the
>>> clarinet needs of John Adams Dr. Atomic.
>>>
>>> The opera is very effective dramatically, but musically, that's another
>>> matter.
>>>
>> Sorry, I can't help out with any clarinet specifics.
>>
>> I saw Doctor Atomic early this year in Chicago and thought it was one of
>> the
>> most profound works of art I've seen. I was especially impressed with the
>> music, which I found to be powerful and moving -- harmonically and
>> melodically convincing, rhythmically fascinating, and brilliantly
>> orchestrated. To each his own.
>>
>> Just to be sure, I went to the local dodecaplex yesterday and saw the same
>> performance that Dan did. My initial impressions of the music were
>> reinforced, and I'm looking forward to the release of the recording. The
>> staging and sets (by a different director and designer) seemed very static
>> and were not nearly as compelling as those in Chicago, although that may
>> have been in part an illusion forced by all the close-up camera angles.
>>
>> Steve Heinemann
>> Bradley University
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
>
--
--
------------------------------------------------------------------
