Cultural News Avoid Mid Wales Opera

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Ardross

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Unless you want a laugh that is . Last night I saw their production of Carmen at Snape which was appallingly bad . More ham than in Parma .

An absurd production which was set heavens knows when as there was a TV in it , on which Carmen showed supposedly Escamillo fighting to taunt Don Jose who then stabs her to death . All the costumes seemed however to be traditional late 19th century.

The earlier bar scene was disfigured by attempts at pole dancing no less by middle aged matronly singers . The gypsy dancing was more like three elephants jumping up and down .

The dialogue was so bad it was untrue an English translation of terrible clumsiness - Michaela who is meant to be seventeen was played by a large blonde woman of about 45 with fake blonde plaits - looking like some middle aged Heidi . Don Jose by a wet toff with all the menace of a haddock. The dangerous and menacing smugglers by a double act like the Chuckle Brothers

To top it all in the final scene the stage rolled back to show what was meant to be a bull killed in a fight but looked like a pantomime cow .

At the end an old man behind me said " well if the first production was like that no wonder it was booed off the stage "

And they wonder why young people don't go to the opera
 
Are you sure they weren't doing 'A Night at the Opera'? Sounds wonderfully entertaining to me - I hope you roared with laughter, to show your appreciation?

I saw a crappy version of 'Don Giovanni' in London, years ago, where in the final act, when old D.G. is consigned to Hades, the trapdoor through which he was supposed to be transported, astride his horse, possibly didn't open well enough. The singer on the 'horse' wobbled precariously for a while, and, having suffered the agonies of being wedged into a prickly, tiny seat, with my knees jammed against the row in front of me, I dearly wished he'd have toppled into the orchestra pit instead.

I've been to the Brighton Centre, which has all the charisma of an aircraft hanger, to see various other productions, mainly because you get to sit on real chairs, which you can move off the backside of anyone sitting too close to you, but in the main, opera-going is an ordeal. Regrettably (or not) during one production of 'Aida' we were greeted by a curtain change, a brief glimpse of an enormous Ra, then another quick change assisted by very visible backstage crew, which slightly dented the illusion of being in ancient Egypt, followed by a smaller Ra, whose sun disk wobbled flimsily. The audience had been polite at first, then there were stifled sniggers, and finally it could contain its mirth no longer - fortunately, all was taken in good humour, though in years past the players should've been pelted with programmes.
 
The appearance of the pantomime cow and then Carmen turning the telly on did lead to widespread guffaws
 
James, perhaps I am being over-sensitive but would you have made this post if it had been a performance by the mid-Yorkshire Opera Society...........but it does sound hilarious.

Colin
 
Colin - I have seen performances by a certain Yorkshire opera company that take the biscuit but they are only semi pro - this is a supposedly professional company and the terrible leads and the director of this farrago are all English .
 
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