Monkey!

#1 Theatresquirrel

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Posted 13 June 2008 - 06:48 AM

Surprised nobody's talked about this yet here.

Tickets for Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett's 'Monkey: Journey to the West' at the Royal Opera House went on sale yesterday and have all but gone in one day - only a few left. If you know nothing about it, check out the trailer at www.monkeyjourneytothewest.com. It looks like one of the most spectacular pieces of theatre ever seen. Bring on the Pigsy!

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#2 Guest_kylie_*

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Posted 13 June 2008 - 11:20 AM

QUOTE(Theatresquirrel @ Jun 13 2008, 06:48 AM)

Isn’t it directed by the guy who did Poppea and Orfeo at ENO? P is one of the worst things ive ever seen and O was ok but too fussy for my liking.

Not a huge fan of Albarn either. However I can see his talent.

Works like Gadaffi and Tangier Tattoo drive me up the wall. Give me Pinocchio, 8 Little Greats, Sweeney Todd, One touch of Venus (Opera North), 6 Pack (Tête à Tête) Enchanted Pig, Tobias (Opera Group) On the Town (ENO) Magic Flute (Young Vic) I personally think are much better ways of bringing in new audiences. The above projects have their roots firmly deep in the Opera Tradition and so it doesn’t deceive the patron that opera is something different.

Sorry I wish I could be more positive but Opera Co’s reaching out to different audiences in this way but it makes me want to suck eggs

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#3 Guest_Guest_Theatresquirrel__

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Posted 13 June 2008 - 01:31 PM

Eh? This isn't an Opera Company deceptively reaching out to audiences with stuff that isn't really opera. It's being staged at the Royal Opera House but is not a Royal Opera production. It's an original stand-alone venture from last year's Manchester International Festival.

Also, have you seen the clips?

I think for the first time in years (maybe decades) we have a creative team here attempting to move the operatic idiom forward and try something new, fusing animation with staging, acrobats with singers, and old orchestral instruments with new. Why should opera only be written, created and staged in the old ways? It was always allowed to evolve until the mid-20th century, but why stop there?

www.monkeyjourneytothewest.com

Have a look

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#4 Guest_OperaLover_*

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Posted 14 June 2008 - 06:48 PM

"I think for the first time in years (maybe decades) we have a creative team here attempting to move the operatic idiom forward and try something new, fusing animation with staging, acrobats with singers, and old orchestral instruments with new. Why should opera only be written, created and staged in the old ways?"

If you think this, you haven't seen much opera.

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#5 Theatresquirrel

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Posted 16 June 2008 - 10:00 PM

QUOTE(OperaLover @ Jun 14 2008, 07:48 PM)

If you think this, you haven't seen much opera.

Erm, yes I have.

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#6 art87

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Posted 16 June 2008 - 11:25 PM

QUOTE(Theatresquirrel @ Jun 16 2008, 11:00 PM)

Erm, yes I have.

Thanks theatresquirrel for the reminder. I thought I'd signed up to the maillist but, clearly not so there wasn't a great deal of choice. Got myself an ok amphitheatre ticket for the Saturday night though. Can't wait - it looks amazing.

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#7 Guest_OperaLover_*

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Posted 17 June 2008 - 07:36 AM

"Erm, yes I have."

Can you name the last half dozen contemporary operas you've seen?

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#8 Theatresquirrel

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Posted 17 June 2008 - 10:55 PM

QUOTE(OperaLover @ Jun 17 2008, 08:36 AM)

"Erm, yes I have."

Can you name the last half dozen contemporary operas you've seen?

Um, yes. Those would be

Birtwistle's Minotaur
Neuwirth's Lost Highway
MacMillan's The Sacrifice
Dove's Pinnochio
Glass' Satyagraha
Ades' The Tempest

And for all their strengths and vigour and relative innovations within traditional operatic contexts, none of them has attempted all the new things I particularly specified about Monkey. So your point is...?

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#9 Guest_OperaLover_*

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Posted 18 June 2008 - 08:06 AM

OK, let's take two of them: Lost Highway and Satyagraha.

How did they differ from what Monkey is doing? How were they written, created and staged in the old ways?

How did they NOT attempt to move the operatic idiom forward, NOT try something new, NOT fuse film and other media with staging, NOT employ old orchestral instruments with new?

Of course, we can have a more informed discussion once we've seen Monkey and can see whether it fulfils your very high expectations. It could of course actually be quite old hat.

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#10 Guest_OperaLover_*

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Posted 18 June 2008 - 08:29 AM

And my point is that perpetuation of the myth that all opera is old-fashioned, badly staged and in need of a kick up the butt by a passing pop star does the art form a great disservice. It help keeps the aduience for opera small and that for contemporary opera miniscule.

And Mr Squirrel, why is it that you spend ages on this forum talking about the theatre productions you see but never comment on all the opera you go to?

Are you sure your operagoing isn't confined to the occasional visit to the Albert Hall courtesy of Mr Gubbay?

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