ByGD
A couple years back, Seattle Opera put on a production of The Wicked Adventures of Count Ory. It was a wickedly funny production with elements of Monty Python and Alice in Wonderland. And the humor spilled out into the lobby with a performance in drag by The Bad Habits. They seem to be a jazz band that formed and dissolved around the opera.
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Seattle Opera’s The Elixir of Love is quite possibly the first fully staged, filmed opera produced under social distancing protocols. With this production, Seattle Opera proves that it’s possible to keep enjoying opera – even full operas and not just recitals – while live performances are unavailable. The filmed format presents interesting opportunities for reinterpretation. And although it’s coincidental (The Elixir of Love was already planned for this season before the pandemic hit) there are ways in which The Elixir of Love is particularly well suited for this type of adaptation. So even though it’s not the same as being there, and not quite as good as being there, The Elixir of Love on film stands on its own as a fun opera experience.
ByGD
I never attended an opera recital before the pandemic. A full opera is so extra, I thought the music by itself would be boring in comparison. But I was wrong. Of course digital recitals are no substitute for live theatrical productions. But they do have an appeal all their own. To me, a major part of that appeal is getting to see more of the personality and taste of artists you only know from in-character performances. Before Seattle Opera’s latest recital, I didn’t actually know either of the singers at all. But their recital was a lot of feminist fun. (And if you think that’s an oxymoron, you’re probably reading the wrong blog.)
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It’s hard to keep up with all the new material Seattle Opera is releasing these days, but it’s a good kind of trouble to have. Most recently, I watched Jorell Williams in recital – can you say “at Seattle Opera” when the recital was actually filmed in Toronto? Let’s say Jorell Williams in recital for Seattle Opera. Williams followed the now-familiar format of introductions against a neutral backdrop and songs performed on-stage with a pianist. But the format was the only unsurprising part of the recital.
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Seattle Opera has been releasing content at a shocking rate this fall – new performances are posted every Friday. After so much new digital content, you’d think that people would know what to expect by now. But nearly everything I’ve seen so far has been a different “type” of production. From the summer’s at-home recitals to a semi-staged production to an on-stage recital, there are so many ways to produce a physically distant opera performance. It’s hard to keep up, so there’s already new content available, but the most recent thing I’ve seen was Seattle Opera’s Pagliacci Highlights Recital.
