June 24th, 2010
Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg
I went to the Cincinnati Opera last night, and my first, most overwhelming, most lasting response: WOW!
I wasn’t sure I could handle 6 hours of opera, but the hours flew by, being exposed to the talents of the cast, the art of the sets, the energy of the audience. Having the tickets I had certainly helped, too. First balcony, first row, dead center. The acoustics and the view were spectacular. I loved being able to see into the pit, get to experience the musicians as artists and people rather than recordings.
The story was Shakespearean, filled with confusion, convoluted planning, star-crossed lovers. There was word play (I was able to catch some of the German, but the supertitle translations helped, too). There was cross-generational conflict. There was love of plot, characters and progression.
Given my background (my far, far away background, of say, high school), I love the performing arts. I miss being a part of a stage production, miss feeling the wave of music hit me as I take in a breath to push my voice into an audience. I miss that rush. But experiencing the wave of music, in terms of vocal and instrumental, on the other side of the stage was a welcome reminder of the energy that music, poetry, art can give.
The story behind the music, too, helped to inspire me to do everything I can to preserve a love of music and the arts in the next generation of my children.
So, my basic review: Never let a sub-textual title of “The Six Hour Opera” keep you from experiencing Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg.
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I’m looking forward to seeing the performance on Saturday. Traveled from San Diego to see it. Meistersinger is performed so infrequently that it’s often worth traveling for. There’s a small group of Meistersinger fans that travel around to see it live in the theater.
(BTW, back in San Diego I help staff the art show at Comic-Con, another show worth traveling for.)
Be sure to stop back here to tell me what you thought of the Cincinnati performance in relation to other shows you’ve seen.
And since I’ll be traveling to Comic-Con, I’ll be sure to stop by the art show, too.
Meistersinger was FANTASTIC. Our seats were 1st row balcony, a little to the right. The 3rd act as 2 hrs, but when it ended, it thought. What? It’s over already! A friend saw me in the first row of the balcony looking at the procession going through the audience and commented later saying I looked so engaged. I said, yeah, I was blown away. Really, I was moved. It’s incredible music and such a great libretto. The English translation was brilliant. I’ve seen productions in Seattle (1989), Denver (1992), and San Francisco (2001). They are all special in their own ways, but I thought this one was top-notch. The orchestra alone was worth traveling to hear. Cincinnati residents are fortunate indeed to have such an ensemble in their midst. In light of the may cancellations many principal roles…and the conductor, is testimony to the resourcefulness and dedication of the company to assemble the talent needed to make this memorable production such as success. This was my first visit to Cincinnati, and I will make it a priority to visit this fine city again, perhaps for the venerable May Festival.
On a totally different subject, please visit the Comic-Con art show in San Diego. Say hi to me or any of the staff. We are a pretty fun group. Enjoy the art, and support artists whose art you admire. We love our artists and I think you will, too.