How we feel Is an illusion we choose
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Another Queen of Night
I post this because whenever I recommend to anyone the Queen of Night, I always recommend it in the Lucia Popp rendition. It's a matter of personal taste, but what I love about this is that it is somewhat slower than the other versions and as a result, it would seem to me somewhat more difficult to perform and sustain--those high notes in which the Queen's voice becomes the Magic Flute itself are rounded, full, and deep while remaining light and airy. I have read some rather severe criticism of this ritardando; and while it may or may not reflect Mozart's intent, it is certainly within the options for staging. It creates a real vocal showpiece from what is already a magnificent example of same. It really is an amazing example of a virtuoso composition sung by a virtuoso voice. All of which should not be taken to mean that I do not truly appreciate the version posted earlier by Diana Damrau, it's just nice to see what a difference tempo can make. I think we can take
Angel Time--Anne Rice
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Steven,
ReplyDeleteI suspect that too many writers don't understand that it isn't the plot that makes an Austen novel. It's the intelligence and wit in the author, which appears in the narrative, that makes her works so great and that demands rereading.
Dear Fred,
ReplyDeleteAnd a sense of a place, a time, and a way of being. A modern comedy of manners would necessarily NOT imitate Austen because modern deportment is quite different and modern expectations different. And while it is a time-honored tradition to "lift" plots, Austen's are particularly intractable because the plots are driven by the characters and the expectations they have of one another--expectations that could not possibly make it into the modern world in anything that we would recognize as Austen.
You make several good points here.
shalom,
Steven