Month: April 2008

High Culture vs. Give the People What They Want

juandiegoflorezThe New York Times’ review for La Fille du Regiment isin, and as I predicted two days ago after I saw the premiere, it was fantastic.

What struck me most about the review is not that Juan Diego Florez hit all 9 high C’s, and not even that he did so twice, after having done the first solo encore at the Met in 14 years. What struck me at all is that there was a ban on this at all.

What? The Met has been too highbrow to allow for anything different? It is a wonder, then, that Peter Gelb (the General Manager of the Met Opera) was quoted in the Times as stating that opera should be “as entertaining and exciting for the audience as it can be.”

Isn’t that what music and opera and art and culture is all about? Give the people what they want? If culture is too highbrow for people, and old and outdated restrictions prevent audience desire from being realized, then the art itself will get scaled back and dismissed as something archaic and out of touch with consumer (yes, consumer) desire. That is what was happening with opera itself before Gelb took the reigns. Nice to see sense come back into the genre. High culture is wonderful, but it still costs money and needs support.

Go Florez, go!

Jeffrey’s Twitter Updates for 2008-04-22

  • Let me be the first to say that Juan Diego Flores at tonight’s Met premiere is fantastic. #
  • He hit those notes one after another. Just wait for the Times’ review to come. #
  • At the Met premiere, with lots of fashionistas. #
  • Natalie Dessay is wonderful in a rather physical role for her. #
  • Natalie Dessay is wonderful in a rather physical role for her. #
  • Juan Diego Florez hit those high notes again and again. #
  • Watching La Fille du Regiment by Donizetti at the Metropolitan Opera premiere. #
  • Alas, the end of intermission. Wondering if other people Tweet during an opera? #
  • At least my microblogging makes for a speedier review than the Times. Perhaps one day they will catch up? #
  • Wonder if my Tweets and blog post are the first opera review of the premiere of La Fille du Regiment? http://tinyurl.com/5z3lop #
  • Helping support a learning session with PC to DVD. I like supporting the tech when I can; brings me back to my roots. #
  • Busy morning at work. Still humming from last night’s opera. #
  • I find it annoying when people use cell phones in the elevator. Do others find it annoying as well? #
  • @maniactive and we can use all the juju we can get. #
  • @maniactive What song did you sing? #
  • @suewolff I love the postmodern sense! Where is the object? #
  • Proofreading an instructional manual. #
  • In project management class speaking about brainstorming and mindmapping software. Anybody know of any good freeware? #
  • @smithjd Thank you, John. My students have now seen Twitter in action! Cool brainstorming software as well! #

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La Fille du Regiment Premiere

I have been Tweeting tonight during intermission for the premiere of the new production of Donizetti’s La Fille du Regiment at the Metropolitan Opera. Featuring Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Flórez, I believe they set a new standard in operatic couples, if only on stage. More ovations and bravos and bravas than I have heard all year. No wonder this new production was sold out before tonight’s opening night. What a wonderful conclusion for my opera season.

I only hope the New York Times gets the review as right as they did with Satyagraha.

la fille