The audience for the ROH’s recent production of Lulu were warned that they would hear these towards the end of the first scene of Act II (though if you don’t already know that this work contains gunfire, you probably also won’t know how long the scene is). What the audience wasn’t officially warned about was that the production dispensed almost totally with a set: costumes were monochrome and apart from a solitary chair, the props comprised a few flowers and weapons, and the portrait (always a bit of a problem) was represented by a beam of light.
This approach divided critics very sharply. The audience at the performance I attended seemed happier; overhearing the comments in the intervals, I detected some Bergnot, but not people asking ‘Where’s the set?’ It’s not the most eccentric staging of the opera that I’ve seen (that was in Hannover a few years ago). Generally speaking I was in favour of this approach as I would rather have less than more distraction from the stage; and there really was plenty of colour – but it came from the orchestra pit.
However, there were times when the lack of props did obscure the action: for example when Lulu delivers her object lesson in how to deal with a commitment-phobe by getting Dr Schön to write a letter breaking off his engagement. And because so much was sung with singers facing directly forward into the stalls, you felt a bit short-changed if you were round the side of the circle, as I was. (Memo to ROH: you need to fix the display of umlauts on the back-of-seat surtitles).
I don’t have much to add what reviewers have said the performances, which coped well with the constraints described above. I would like to single out one minor piece of luxury casting: Philip Langridge, who made the Marquis unbearably creepy.
The production was reviewed all over the place, and I’ll select just a few here, from the Guardian, Telegraph and Independent on Sunday. But discussion spilled outside the usual boundaries: the Spectator printed two reviews, one for and one against, and Guardian readers contributed their opinions.
The performance I attended will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 next Saturday evening. (The bloodcurdling scream and weapons-grade dissonance in the trailer are not typical of the opera as a whole!)
After this, I went and bought EMI’s recording of the opera conducted by Jeffrey Tate (B00127ISEK). Here are the thoughts I posted on Amazon:
I can’t really complain too much about a recording at this price, but it’s some way from being ideal. My main problem is the sound quality. Like many recordings of Berg’s operas, it is taken from a live performance, and in this case the balance definitely favours the singers; the orchestral sound is blurred and unclear. I’m sure the recording doesn’t do justice to the playing, but with such a sensuously orchestrated score you want to be able to hear the details.
Several of the singers had a long history of performing this work when only the first two acts were available, and the style of performance is more histrionic than usual nowadays, particularly in the case of Brigitte Fassbaender as Geschwitz. Hans Hotter (Schigolch) was 82 when the recording was made – I wonder if an older singer can be found on a full-length opera recording?
Note that no libretto is included and the liner notes, apart from a synopsis, are extremely brief.
The search for a great recording of the full 3 acts of Lulu continues.
A dishwasher makes your lifetime easier. Rather than standing over a sink washing plates and glasses manually, you merely place them in the dishwasher and press start. A quiet dishwasher needs regular cleanings to help keep it running correctly and also to prevent any odors from filling your house. Regrettably, lots of people disregard the dishwasher when cleaning the house. Cleaning your quiet dishwasher is really a not at all hard process accomplished with several household items.
Remove any dishes which are within the quiet dishwasher. Fill a cup or bowl with bleach and put it on the underside shelf of the dishwasher. Set the quiet dishwasher to the greatest setting. Permit the dishwasher to accomplish a cycle. Take away the bowl or cup from the quiet dishwasher. Fill the soap dish–the area where you place the dish-washing detergent–with a packet of unsweetened lemonade mix. Permit the dishwasher to accomplish a cycle on the greatest setting. Place a bowl full of 3 cups white vinegar on the underside shelf of the quiet dishwasher. Run an entire cycle on the greatest setting to get rid of mineral buildup and stains.
Resource:How to Clean a Quiet Dishwasher
Well, there you have it. Lulu, Schön, Alwa and the rest would have had all their problems sorted out if only they’d had a dishwasher. At the end of the opera Jack the Ripper could have used it to clean his knife.
But I’m not sure Berg would have wanted a quiet dishwasher in his opera. Given his liking for writing the sound of doorbells and other ambient noise into his score, I think he would have enjoyed simulating the sound of a sloshing, shaking, noisy dishwasher with appropriate orchestration.