ByGD
Like K-dramas, opera recitals have shot from “not a thing I watch” to “primary form of entertainment” for me during the pandemic. I watched everything Seattle Opera put out last fall. I think I might have missed some things around the holidays, but I’m back on the opera recital bandwagon with Andrew Stenson’s late January performance.
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.)
ByGD
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.
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Coming from the extremely privileged position of someone who has only ever been exposed to opera through live performances of full productions by one of the country’s top opera companies in one of the world’s best acoustically-engineered opera houses, I’m surprised by how much I’ve been enjoying the virtual fall opera season. I’m getting new perspectives on the music and the performers. And it’s no substitute for dressing up and going out, but there is a certain pleasure to be had in experiencing opera curled up on the couch in your PJs with a cocktail in hand. I most recently enjoyed that experience with Seattle Opera’s release of Marcy Stonikas in Recital.
