Opera Watch: La Boheme

La Boheme, written by Puccini, first premiered in 1896, and has since become one of the most performed operas in the world. 

I decided to watch the Metropolitan Opera version of this, with Ramon Vargas as Rodolfo and Angela Gheorghiu as Mimi. Act I was very happy, and I was forcibly reminded of James Potter and his friends from Harry Potter, which was kind of a weird connection to make. Also, I feel like Rodolfo and Mimi should win the cutest couple of opera award, because their interactions are absolutely adorable. However, I constantly worry about the fate of opera characters, and I know that Act I happiness can quickly disintegrate into Act III despair and death.

Wow, Musetta is a hoot; I love her. Although at the same time, Marcello and her probably broke up because she was a vain attention whore. But, she’s clever and funny and a lot of fun to watch. She also contrasts quite nicely with Mimi, who slides into Rodolfo’s heart quietly and gently, while Musetta stands on tables and makes big scenes.

Act III: HOLY CRAP WHAT HAPPENED?????? Does anyone else know this kind of couple, who seems absolutely perfect and loving and then just fall apart? Because I know that I do. What’s interesting to me is the implication that Mimi and Marcello have actually become good friends outside of just knowing Rodolfo. She confides in him and asks for his help, and he comforts her and assures her. Marcello is definitely being nominated for best opera friend ever. He’s calm, logical, and understands people’s feelings. 

Here, though, we see a different side of Rodolfo, one that is not necessarily all that nice. He screams at her, and gets madly and violently jealous over little things? He seems depressed and angry. In other news, when he said that Mimi was an outrageous flirt, did anyone else want Marcello to retort back, “You see who I’m dating? Man, Mimi is nothing compared to Musetta, who actually is an outrageous flirt.”. From what we’ve seen of Mimi’s actions, her flirting is limited to small, polite smiles at other boys on the street. Rodolfo should just be adult enough to tell her that this bothers him, but he knows that she loves him, and he’ll just be quietly jealous, and that it won’t affect their relationship. His on-again off-again attitude, and blaming all of their troubles on Mimi, seems very, well, teenager-ish. (FYI, I’m friends with plenty of other boys besides my boyfriend, and if it bothers him, he has never said anything about it, because he knows that I love only him. Thanks, La Boheme, now you’ve got my inner dialogue sounding like an opera characters. Next thing you know, that kind of language is going to slip into my everyday speech.)

What the hell, it’s because he’s worried that she’s going to die of whatever’s giving her those awful coughs? That’s just cowardly, trying to break up with her to save his heart. He should stick with her until the end (if she really is going to die), and just be happy with the time that they have, instead of being miserable. Mimi gives a really nice but heartbreaking aria about parting as friends, so that she won’t hurt him. 

And… now they’re back together, finally admitting that they really don’t want to be apart, at least not until it’s spring again, and they won’t feel lonely. In other news, Marcello and Musetta are fighting again. What a surprise (said no one in this opera, ever).

Act IV: Springtime! And sadly, neither Marcello nor Rodolfo are still with their lovers. It’s obvious that they pine for them a lot, but get on with their lives okay (although they know each other so well that they can tell that the other is still sad). Their little duet about how lovely the times with Musetta and Mimi were is very cute and touching, and is something that a teenage girl would write in their diary after breaking up with their longtime boyfriend. In other news, Marcello is still winning the best opera friend ever, as well as the best side character. 

Along with Marcello, it seems that all of Rodolfo’s friends are, like, the best friends someone could ever want. Everyone pulls together at the end to make Mimi happy before she dies. Which, by the way, is really damn sad. 

Overall, that was awesome. I now know why La Boheme is considered to be one of the best operas. It’s funny in parts, tender in others, and absolutely heartbreakingly sad sometimes too. The characters are relatable and realistic,and the music is superb as well. It’s also uniquely suited to both Christmastime and romantic-time occasions. Guess who’s pulling this one out for Valentine’s Day!!!

Note: The Metropolitan Opera DVDs are an awesome choice for opera lovers. They include a little backstage pass, where you can see how the sets change between scenes, and watch interviews with the cast and crew. 

Live Long and Prosper

~Chloe

Opera Watch: Tosca by Puccini

Tosca, which premiered in 1900, is one of the most performed operas in the world. Coming into it, I really didn’t know much, either about the story, music, or Puccini himself. Puccini composed some of the greatest operas, including Manon Lescaut, La Boheme, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot. There are many recorded versions of all of the great operas, and sometimes it is very difficult to pick just one. I chose this recording, in 2010 in Munich, because it got good reviews. Also, it had Jonas Kaufmann in the role of Cavaradossi. Tosca is essentially a story about passionate love, jealousy, and loyalty. And death. Lots of operas involve death. The main duo, Cavaradossi (a painter) and Tosca (a singer) have so many passionate mood swings in the first act that it makes my head spin. Weirdly enough, the couple reminds me of two of my friends. Needless to say, they have lots of drama. I actually feel bad for Tosca in the first act, because she is manipulated so wickedly by Scarpia. On the flip side, it is her fault for being so suspicious and jealous of Cavaradossi. I mean, can’t she trust the guy a little? One thing that I love about Jonas Kaufmann is that primarily he is a singer, he is also a fine actor. He gets all of Cavaradossi’s little quirks, and properly emphasizes his words with actions and subtle facial expressions. Even how he moves reflects his character: when he was Faust in 2011, he strode across the stage confidently; as Cavaradossi, he scurries and jumps. Now, on to Act II! We get to see more of Scarpia…and his prostitutes (who needs 3 prostitutes at a time? You know what, don’t answer that ). In other news, Scarpia is ruthless and manipulative! He knows that Tosca will obey him because she loves Mario. Cavaradossi is really good at faking an indignant bravado when Scarpia is questioning him. At the same time, he’s pacing and turning, and is holding himself like he’s nervous. I’m also very glad that Tosca realized that her constant questioning of Mario’s fidelity were really kind of silly, and I like that she has stopped being fooled by and listening to Scarpia. Warning: This opera is NOT FOR CHILDREN!!!!!!!!!!! The most interesting thing about the whole torture scene is making me really love Tosca, because her emotional torture is terrifying. If she truly doesn’t know, she feels anguished that she can’t help Mario, but seems to resolve herself to be strong, because he is. Ouch, Mario’s realization that Tosca told Scarpia must have stung, but can you blame the woman? He was going to die, so she saved his life, because she loves him that much. At the beginning, I didn’t really like Floria  a whole lot, but now I think that she’s great, and I want to be loved by someone like that, even if she is a little bit jealous and emotional. Oh my goodness, I did not see that plot twist coming. SHE KILLED HIM! She just took the knife and stabbed him! Well, Scarpia, adieu, but no one will miss you, because you are a terrible person. That’s what you get for torturing people. I’m surprised he hasn’t been backstabbed like this before. I’m impressed by Cavaradossi; even when he is dejected and knows that he’s about to die, he still thinks of Floria, and still loves her deeply. On a side note, I really like the music of this section. So far, I’ve liked the music of the entire opera, but this scene seems to stand out. I’m so happy that Tosca and Mario are reunited! Yay! But at the same time, there’s a little corner of my mind that’s telling me that Tosca doesn’t end happily. Therefore, I’m really worried about this mock execution. If my suspicions are correct, that’s really cruel to the audience and the characters, raising their hopes before dashing them. Oh darn. I hate when I’m right. Well, overall, I actually really like Tosca. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to see a dark, tragic plot with passionate characters. I can see why it’s considered a classic, especially in the Italian genre of opera.

Live Long and Prosper

~Chloe

My favorite female characters. Ever. Part 1: Opera

Carmen, by Bizet, was one of the first operas that I ever watched, so it’s no surprise that the titular character is on my list of favorite female characters. When Carmen premiered in 1875, it was considered very vulgar and scandalous. Carmen herself is headstrong and sexy, and changes lovers as often as I eat breakfast. In the end, this is her downfall, since somebody didn’t give the heads up to Don Jose that Carmen was not monogamous. In today’s culture of punishing women for promiscuous sexual activity, she would be condemned as a slut. However, her motives are to simply be free of any connections (after all, she is a gypsy) and do as she pleases. In a time where women were (and still are) expected to get married and settle down, she stands out as someone who bucks tradition and doesn’t care what others think of her.

Fidelio by Beethoven is not always hailed as the best opera. However, the titular character, Fidelio (actually Leonore) is one of my favorite opera characters. Basically, she disguises herself as a man to rescue her husband, who has been wrongfully imprisoned for several years. Throughout the course of the opera, she assists the jailkeeper and his daughter (who develops a very large crush on Fidelio), and finds her husband, still alive. She rescues him and turns the evil man who arrested him over to the authorities. What strikes me about Fidelio is her bravery and hope. She doesn’t even truly know how she’s going to get Florestan (her husband) out of jail, or even if he’s still alive, but she is going to try anyways. Also, she is very adept at hiding her personality and identity in an unfamiliar situation, doing unfamiliar work. She probably wore pretty dresses and pearls when she was at home, but is very comfortable carrying heavy objects and pointing a gun at the villain (one of my favorite opera moments ever). The duo has a great marriage, in which both parties seem to be equal to each other, and care about each other deeply. I’d bet that after the end of the opera, Florestan is damn glad that he married such a wonderful woman.

Faust, by Gounod, is different from my other opera picks because it does not feature a gun-toting, confident protagonist. The main female character, Marguerite, is what one could call “weak”, “naive”, “impressionable”, and “stupid”. She’s a very sweet, deeply religious girl who is at first frightened by Faust’s passionate advances, but then comes to accept him. But, I’m pretty sure the whole “Don’t have sex, you will get pregnant and die” thing might come from the story of Marguerite. We all have heard the stories about single, teen moms who make bad decisions. Well, Marguerite was the first cautionary tale. However, her redeeming quality is that she recognizes her mistake when she’s in hell; she rejects Faust (and the devil)’s offer of salvation and help, seeing them as they truly are. In rejecting them, she ascends to heaven on her own. At one point in our lives, we were all Marguerites: flattered by any romantic attention given to us, easily swayed by lavish gifts over simple declarations (poor Siebel), vain characters, not knowing what we really want, and unable to see our friends for who they truly are.

Brunnhilde, from Wagner’s Ring Cycle, is actually the origin of the whole “fat lady in armor screaming at the top of her lungs” trope that non-opera watchers believe in. However, she is a rich character who is instrumental to the plot, and ends up fulfilling the Rheingold’s destiny. Wotan, her father, tries to make his sons into free heroes, but fails, and it is ultimately Brunnhilde, whom he casts away, that completes the task of returning the Rheingold to the maidens. Her betrayal of Wotan actually is best described as her performing the actions that her father, bound by his spear and his wife, cannot. Wotan first instructs her to save Sieglinde and Siegmund, but then rescinds those orders, and tells her not to interfere. She chooses the first option because of her compassion and understanding, and is punished by her father by being put into an eternal sleep and surrounded by fire, so that only a hero can save her and make her his wife. When that turns out to be Siegfried (Siegmund and Sieglinde’s son, and Wotan’s grandson), she helps him. When he dies, she is entrusted with the Ring, and casts it back into the Rhine, then jumps into Siegfried’s funeral pyre as the Gods burn in Valhalla. She is a constant role model for me of bravery and free will, as well as power and sexuality.

Honorable mention: Sieglinde

Live Long and Prosper

~Chloe

Opera Watch: Bluebeard’s Castle

Bluebeard’s Castle is an opera, composed by Bela Bartok in 1911, that I greatly enjoy for many reasons.

Firstly, Bartok is one of my favorite composers, both to listen to and to play on piano. Because I have Transylvanian roots, much of his music, incorporating folk songs from that region, resonate in me. Also, his songs are very fun to play on piano.

Bluebeard’s Castle is an opera about Judith, who marries Bluebeard against her family’s wishes, and moves into his castle with him. Throughout the opera, she opens 7 doors, each showing various gory or creepy scenes. The seven doors, in order, are: a blood-soaked torture chamber, a bloody armory, a blood-infused treasury, a garden watered with blood, Bluebeard’s kingdom nestled under a blood-colored cloud, a pool of tears, and Bluebeard’s previous three wives. At the end of the opera, Judith joins the other three, and Bluebeard’s castle is left once more in darkness. 

Wow, Judith is naive! After she opens the first couple of doors, Bluebeard refuses her the keys to the rest and says that she should just kiss him and ask no questions. But, Judith is insistent upon knowing the truth of the man whom she married. Judith and Anna (from Frozen) should get together and have lunch. The opera can also be a narrative about marriage, since at the time of its conception, wives were not supposed to talk back to their husbands the way that Judith does. Though the modern audience does not see their relationship as particularly scandalous or horrifying, earlier audiences would have been disgusted by Judith’s assertive personality. 

Although, I still think that she’s really stupid for not leaving after the first couple of doors. 

The music is disorienting for those not familiar with Bartok’s style, as it differs from “traditional” Italian and French opera. In style, it is most similar with Wagner. Like Wagner, motifs also slide their way through the opera. Unlike Wagner, Bartok does not have about 300 motifs (I’m looking at you, Ring cycle!), but just the one: the blood motif. Once you recognize it, you hear it ALL over the opera. 

Altogether, the opera is a short, enjoyable one-act experience that has one screaming at Judith to not be so stupid. But, one also congratulates Judith for making sure that she has an equal role to Bluebeard’s in her marriage. 

Live Long and Prosper

~Chloe