I was really interested in what you'd make of this. I'm not a huge fan of Rufus Wainwright, but don't dislike his music either. I applaud his adventurousness, and think that the classical world could do with some new blood. But: a classical composer who thought he could wander into a record company's office, toss off some songs he made up on the tube and expect respect would be laughed at, so I'm not sure who thought getting Rufus in would be a good move. Whether you're an opera fan or not, it takes a lifetime to understand the genre's requirements, history and limitations - only then can you start to break the rules creatively, as Shakespeare points out in Sonnet 130. The same goes for pop music of course.
This thing about bringing tunes back betrays the lack of understanding behind the project. I like tunes. However, modernism in classical music posed the central question of how prettiness and order, which tunes represent - though not always the former - can reflect into a world of mechanisation, mass slaughter and so on: a world without direction in a sense. Composers turned to other ways to order their music, or to disorder. Pop music, with some exceptions (Scott Walker?), largely but not entirely turns away from examining and representing the philosophical and existential dilemmas. That's why contemporary classical music is more challenging and experimental than rock and pop: even Glass's Doctor Atomic, which is post-minimalist and melodic, is still experimental. If Wainwright thinks opera is or should be about tunes, he's actually writing a musical.
On the singing style - I absolutely loathe the exaggerated warbling style (coloratura, it's called). Thankfully, this German Romantic/post-Romantic style is very much on the way out, so it'll be safe to go back into the opera house. Finally, everyone - opera's only the preserve of the posh in the Anglophone world. In Italy, it's a lot cheaper than seeing a Serie A match and everybody goes.
6 comments:
Here;s a poser - intellectuals only i'm afraid: what would Theodor Adorno have thought of Rufus' dad - a kind of transatlantic folk singer? 2000 words, on my desk by Friday.
Oh. I don't have a desk...
He'd have despised the feckless, unwashed waster as a distraction from serious social change. My brain hurts far too much to get into the serious discussion you're clearly angling for even though I love that bunch of thinkers. Maybe later.
Hah!
The rigour of the struggle too much for you eh?
backslider...
I have to admit that I don't have a big understanding for classical music myself, its rare for me to fully appreciate it outwith the help of a movie so I'm probably not the right person to say anything however, even though I feel even Rufus's music can be hit or miss I do think it is not necessarily a bad thing for him to put his own touch to music that his not of his genre. Music in my opinion is there to be enjoyed, explored and interpreted on many different levels its how music has evolved from the days when classical composers learnt from one another to when hip hop took elements of rock and pop to become more mainstream. Music can only continue to evolve if there are people out there taking risks, experimenting and learning. On the matter of whether the person doing the experimenting succeeds well that's a matter of opinion.
I couldn't agree more with Scotsman which is largely why I went to see Prima Donna (I am a fan of Wainwright)
Perhaps the reason why Albarn's project was so much more succesful than Wainwright's opera was Albarn's more colaborative approach when composing Monkey (I imagine his previous work with Nyman was of some use too)
Also I will take this opportunity to point out that I have no problem with tunes in opera, I just don't feel Wainwright provided any. It was, to use a rather naff phrase, 'all filler and no thriller'.
I think you're both right - people should cross the borders - loads of classical composers took on folk, jazz and 'world' (I hate that term), and Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead fame has done some astonishing stuff - but you do have to go into it with a clear head and a sense of what's possible.
I'd like to hear Rufus's piece. Ben's suggestion that it's 'all filler' suggests that Wainwright may have been a bit overwhelmed.
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