In a message dated 10/06/2000 5:16:12 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
thomas8@f... writes:
thomas8@f... writes:
<< Tina--are there any tunes in this opera? Heggie is capable of
writing so well for the voice, I would hate to see him fall into the
common modern pitfall of composing three hours of johnny-one-note
recitative. Tell me it ain't so, Tina, tell me it ain't so! Seriously, I
would love to hear more about this production.
Mark Montgomery
P.S. And does the opera have as strong an anti-capital punishment theme
as the book and film? >>
There are a couple of tunes in the opera. . .it opens and closes with a hymn,
for example. There are moments of "tune" in some of the arias, as well. (I
also might not be a good person to ask, as I don't look for tunes in opera.
I am more interested in the composition echoing the drama, and find that
tunes don't usually do that so well.)
Some of the more engaging parts are where he puts a boogie woogie ostinato in
the orchestra to accompany the moment that Helen and de Rocher first connect
while talking about Elvis, and his use of silence in the orchestra. I was
favorably impressed with his composition, especially given that he's so
young. What the "musical intelligentsia" will think is probably something
else all together. We'll have to wait and see on that one.
I felt the theme to be more about Helen's spiritual quest than capital
punishment. Her character is on stage 95% of the time, and the piece is drawn
through and around her, so it is more about her struggles to forgive what de
Rocher did so she can find his human ness and follow the dictates of her
belief in the teachings of Jesus. Now, if there were an epilogue to this
piece, then it could be percieved as anti capital punishment, as it would
show her giving anti capital punishment speeches all across the country. But
as it ends now, it is definitely a personal and spiritual journey piece set
against that issue as a backdrop, more than anything else. TinaO
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