FROZEN

posted by James Reel

    I may be off the air today (bad colds make bad radio), but I'm back in print. The gist of my latest review in the Tucson Weekly:

Three brave and understated performances provide enough warmth to contradict the title of Bryony Lavery's most honored and controversial play, Frozen. Beowulf Alley Theatre Company is presenting this work entwining the stories of a serial killer, the mother of one of his victims and a psychiatrist who understands the killer better than she understands herself.

    Read all about it here.

HEADS ON A PLATTER

posted by James Reel

    Follow this link to a story recently broadcast on All Things Considered:

    One of the leading opera houses in Germany has cancelled a production because a scene that might offend Muslims could create a security threat.
    The production of the opera Idomeneo features a scene in which a character presents the severed heads of religious leaders—including Jesus, the Buddha and Muhammad. [The Bloomberg news service also mentions Poseidon in this company.]
    The Deutsche Oper in Berlin said police had warned that staging the production could pose a security risk to the opera house, its employees and patrons.

    According to Bloomberg, “German press agency DPA said Berlin police have so far recorded no direct threat to the opera house.”
    There’s an AP version of the story in the Arizona Daily Star. Note that this is a three-year-old production, so Idomeneo has been prancing around with those heads for a great many performances already.
    I avoid discussing religion and politics on this blog—you can find lots of that elsewhere—so I won’t comment on this situation, except to observe the notable absence of one head you’d expect to be in the company of those religious figures: Moses. Of course, this production is in Germany, the nation that brought us the Holocaust a couple of generations ago, after which even a director like Hans Neuenfels apparently would not dare to suggest the decapitation of Moses.
    What do you think—if Muslims and Christians are in for this kind of stage treatment, should Jews be as well, even in Germany? If Jews are off limits, should everyone else be, too? And should Deutsche Oper have dumped the whole production, or even just that one bit of stage business, because officials feared violent reprisals from one potentially offended group, even though no threats had yet been made?

NOT TO MENTION ZHDANOV AND VOLDEMORT

posted by James Reel

    Separated at birth: Dmitri Shostakovich and Harry Potter. Follow the links for photographic evidence.

ADELA PEÑA

posted by James Reel

    So what’s happening with violinist Adela Peña, one of the founding members of the Eroica Trio? According to Playbill, she’s now been permanently replaced in the group by Susie Park. Peña, according to Playbill, “has been out of commission due to illness since February.” That sounds ominous. Violinists fall prey to arm and shoulder problems, which is bad enough, but the word “illness” makes it sound even worse. Well, it’s not. If you dig up the original article in the Illinois newspaper from which Playbill gets its info, the word “illness” doesn’t show up at all. It’s a “fatigue injury.” That’s potentially career-threatening, but it’s not life-threatening, which is a relief. I do wish writers and editors would be more careful with their word choice.

WORTHWHILE?

posted by James Reel

    Oboist-blogger Pattricia Mitchell is going through one of her periodic periods of doubt, wondering what she’s doing in the music biz. I suppose nearly every professional musician, except the most arrogant, has similar doubts from time to time, no matter how well the career is going. (Sometimes the most successful musicians have the greatest doubts, because the pressure is greater, the schedule often more intense.) During her musings, Patty has run across a comment by someone else about how difficult it can be for musicians to “accomplish anything worthwhile.” Our oboist asks, among other things:

    And is the writer suggesting that all musicians really care about accomplishing something worthwhile? I hate to burst anyone's bubble, but I honestly think I want to play music because I love it, and because I happen to be good at it. (And, ideally, I want to "glorify God and enjoy him forever" and music seems to be the way that works well for that purpose, but that desire is often shoved into the background, and being honest I have to admit that.) The fact that it is also worthwhile and, I hope, enriches other people's lives is a great thing. I would love to think that I'm in it for the good of humanity. But I have to be honest and say I doubt that is truly the case. Sad, but true.
    And while music is, I believe, worthwhile, in some ways it's a really a most wonderful "necessary unnecessary". …
    Am I saying music (not just classical, but anything) is entirely unnecessary? … See, here's the thing: I wouldn't want to live without music. I think the world would be a heck of a lot poorer without music. I think that people who are struggling and weary and worn are encouraged by music. I think people who are sad and heartbroken grieve through music. I think people who are in a celebratory mood or at a joy-filled occasion celebrate with music. Mommies and daddies all over the world sing to their babies. Children sing songs as they play alone, and sing as they skip rope and play other games. Teens seem unable to let go of music; it is nearly like food. And movies? Movies are scarier because of music. Kleenex is pulled out more often because of music. Funny scenes are funnier much of the time. Tense scenes are definitely more tense. (When I'm too scared or stressed because of a scene I'm watching on the tube I turn down the sound. Things are usually much less intense that way.)
    But if music were banned, we wouldn't die. Not physically. Emotionally, sure. Spiritually, possibly.

    She makes sense. As I’ve said before, people exaggerate the benefits of music and the other arts. If music were really so uplifting and improving, nobody who listens to classical music would be a jerk. You can read the rest of Patty’s post here.

MORE ON THE TSO WEB SITE

posted by James Reel

    Speaking of the Tucson Symphony, Drew McManus e-mailed me a few details of the very low score he awarded the orchestra’s Web site in his annual survey: “Tucson dropped quite a bit from last year, due mostly to a number of incomplete pages, bad links, lack of secure transaction notices, and lack of contact information for staff members. In both years, they've lost a number of points for not having upcoming concerts clearly listed on the home page and having a very convoluted search feature to find concerts. However, the purpose of the review is to allow orchestras a frame of reference with regard to basic design aspects that allow them to improve upon what they currently have. Regardless of budget size, any orchestra can follow some basic parameters to successfully design an effective website.”
    You’ll find a little chart detailing these point penalties by going here and scrolling down to the Tucson Symphony link.