Went to see a well-known Opera for the first time of my life on Tuesday night. If you’re not sure what an Opera is, according to dictionary.com, it is an extended dramatic composition, in which all parts are sung to instrumental accompaniment that usually includes arias, choruses, and recitatives.
Angie and I sat at the last second level of the theatre (not a bad view afterall, just that the face of the Opera singer seems rather small). As soon as we were seated, we saw many well-dressed ‘angmohs’ in gowns, formal wear and this there is a gentleman don on some kind of Russian Royal Family clothing with such exaggerating pattern that I have ever seen don on a man. Anyway, luckily enough, both of us not under dressed that night.
Angie and I sat at the last second level of the theatre (not a bad view afterall, just that the face of the Opera singer seems rather small). As soon as we were seated, we saw many well-dressed ‘angmohs’ in gowns, formal wear and this there is a gentleman don on some kind of Russian Royal Family clothing with such exaggerating pattern that I have ever seen don on a man. Anyway, luckily enough, both of us not under dressed that night.
Back to the Opera, the biggest issues are the language and the pacing. Although Turandot is set in China in legendary times, the whole Opera is in Italian. Most of the time, I’m turning my view from the Opera singer to the electronic signboards (a screen that shows both English and Chinese translations of the lyrics) and back to the Opera singer again. These really interrupt my viewing experience. Moreover, some of the translation is not that helpful in following the plot.
Example I
One of the scene is about the Male lead singer conveys a message on how deeply he was attracted by Turandot. Somehow, this electronic signboard keeps me thinking about why is the male lead so attracted by a guy. The mistake is instead of translating it to “She is the… and the air is filled with…“, they actually put “He is the… and the air is filled with…”
Example II
This scene is about Calaf, the male lead, vows to melt Turandot’s heart of ice with the fire of his love. When Turandot’s part was over and Calaf started to sing, the screen still shows the same lyrics of what Turandot had just sang. Although I don’t actually understand Italian, but obviously I know they are singing different things.
As mention earlier about the pacing, I'm too used to action movies, which routinely feature shootings, sex scenes, car chases, stabbings, plane crashes, explosions. Whereas in the Opera, it takes three performers as long as 15 minutes to convey a message such as, “We’re bored!'' The performer conveys this by moving around the stage with the accompaniment of an orchestra playing western instruments. Every so often the orchestra makes a different noise and at that instant the performers suddenly stops and stares directly at the audience with an expression of what appears to be excitement, as if to say, `”We are still bored!''
Not forgetting the stage designs. Besides the costumes and some of the props (The big Gong, the weapon, the scroll and the minister's working desk), nothing seems to be oriental to me. In some of the scene, there was this very big humanlike face hang behind the emperor. Till now, i'm still not sure which part of the face means CHINA. Oh ya!!! Even the stairways used were so Roman style.
I know I am not in the best position to make suggestions, but if the Chorus can sing louder, the message on conveying “We’re bored” to be shorter, props used to be more oriental and accurate with on-time translation to be shown, everything will be BRAVO! Overall, the singing of the main lead is pretty good (especially the Liu). I'm glad I did not find spending hard earn money on the Opera is a waste, as it is really a one of a kind experience.
PS: Video on the left is what I found from youtube... Not sure where it was filmed...
