Last night I was watching "The Real World" episode where the cast gets
invited to Anne Rice's house for dinner. Upon hearing the authors name, my
thoughts turned to her novel "Cry to Heaven", and how much I enjoyed reading
it. It then occurred to me what a great story this would be for an opera.
Think, it's got sex, love, lust, betrayal, & revenge. More importantly, it's
about a strange, but also extremely interesting era.
In order to really do Rice's story justice, Opera companies would have to
spend a lot of money on set's and costumes. Rice used so much delineation in
her story, that one felt like they were whisked back to the Baroque era; a
time when castrati ruled the operatic stage. You could almost smell the
waters of the canals, & hear the gondoliers singing as they sailed them. So
you see, this production would have to be a lavish one in order to take you
there the way Rice did. Heck, I would attend such a production for the sets
& costumes alone. Well, that's if they could come close to Rice's depiction.
I think that the hardest part would be the casting. Not for the male
(fully developed) & female parts, but for the castrati. Because of my voice
type, my first inclination was lots and lots of countertenors. However when
I thought about it, I remembered that the castrati had androgynous
appearances. Well, at least in the face they did because of the lack of
facial hair. Not only that, but many of them were sopranos (as is Tonio the
main character, & several others). Perhaps women would be the best choice to
convey that androgynous appearance. Then again, a clean shaven CT can look
boyish. IM sure Asawa could pull off a boyish look. But then again, there
is the soprano singing thing. The best CT's out now sing in the Alto/Mezzo
range. The few male sopranos I have heard are not very good (except for
maybe Randall Wong, and the guys at La Gran Scena). Perhaps a mix would be
best like they do in baroque operas performed today. A few CT's, a few
sopranos (definitely for Tonio, unless there is a fierce Male soprano that I
don't know about), and a few Mezzo's. Maybe even a boy soprano to play Tonio
as a young boy. What do you think guys? Wouldn't this be an interesting
story line for an opera? We have a book about castrati & a movie! Why not
an opera? Maybe some composer with a Baroque feel will read this, get out
the blank staff paper & make it happen. Don't mind me folks, it's just my
operatic imagination doing overtime. Anyone enjoy this book as much as I did?
Best Wishes,
Kenneth Ealy
|
