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| Another Opinion | |
| Posted by: stan 08:30 am EDT 06/24/18 | |
| In reply to: re: CARMEN JONES Tonight - AlanScott 12:55 am EDT 06/24/18 | |
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| I could not get out of the CSC theater soon enough. Except for the two male leads, Joe and the boxer, I thought the singing was only fair ... I was hoping for the purity, control and beauty of opera, but got brassy show singing instead ... it was also over-miked for such a small theater. I liked the Bill T Jones choreography (5 minutes!). The libretto, by Hammerstein, was stupid, dumbed down (see Ira Gershwin for lifting colloquial speech to poetry). Everyone was working so hard, the opposite of theater happened ... instead of actors becoming real people, we had actors overacting, characters becoming actors. The orchestra, too, was also fair ... the violin's pitch was sharp (annoying) and the horn player --- forget about it --- the ensemble sounded so thin. This show reminded me of the Hamlet in underpants performance at the Public last year --- taking gold and spinning it to straw. Anyway, Bill Brantley was also there last night, and, of course, it's his vote that counts. | |
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| re: Another Opinion | |
| Posted by: JayG 09:53 am EDT 06/24/18 | |
| In reply to: Another Opinion - stan 08:30 am EDT 06/24/18 | |
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| I really enjoyed this version and the brassy show singing, which for me is the point of CARMEN JONES. If you’re looking for the purity, control, and beauty of opera, I’d recommend CARMEN at, say, the Met. This piece isn’t simply a version of CARMEN with lyrics by Hammerstein, it uses Bizet’s music and story and translates them into another genre. I didn’t find Hammerstein’s work at all stupid. In fact, I thought he did a surprisingly good job with this rethinking. But it’s definitely not going to satisfy opera purists who want opera singing. I also disagree with you about the acting, which I thought had a lot of ease and connection to the words (something I often find lacking in opera). And I probably disagree with you about the essence of theater, for that matter. I don’t believe that actors become real people on stage, a la transubstantion. I think they’re real people to begin with, doing their work, either well or badly. I often think of Venn diagrams to compare aesthetic overlap. There are some people with whom I have a huge overlap. You and I, it seems, have very little overlap at all. Nothing wrong with that. We probably shouldn’t recommend shows to each other, that’s all... |
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| Not Hammerstein's point | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 12:23 pm EDT 06/24/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Another Opinion - JayG 09:53 am EDT 06/24/18 | |
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| Have you ever listened to the original cast recording of Carmen Jones? Most of the singing is not what I would call "brassy show singing." That is so clearly not the kind of singing that Hammerstein and the other members of the creative team wanted for the principal roles. Indeed, a Carmen Jones filled with "brassy show singing" is clearly going against a major part of the original intention of the whole project, which was to give black artists a chance to show that they could sing opera. | |
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| re: Not Hammerstein's point | |
| Posted by: lowwriter 02:56 am EDT 06/25/18 | |
| In reply to: Not Hammerstein's point - AlanScott 12:23 pm EDT 06/24/18 | |
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| I saw the show today. The singing was not "brassy." And Anika Noni Rose who plays Carmen sounded wonderful. | |
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| re: Not Hammerstein's point | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 06:56 pm EDT 06/25/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Not Hammerstein's point - lowwriter 02:56 am EDT 06/25/18 | |
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| That's good to hear, although it does seem that some people are perceiving the singing as "brassy." Whatever that really means. I would guess it means that the ladies are belting, which would probably also mean that at least some of the music has been put in lower keys. But it is good to hear that you didn't feel that way. | |
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| Link to where you can hear the original Broadway cast recording | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 04:48 pm EDT 06/24/18 | |
| In reply to: Not Hammerstein's point - AlanScott 12:23 pm EDT 06/24/18 | |
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| Kindly provided by the owners of the rights to the recording, Universal Music Group. | |
| Link | Carmen Jones on youtube |
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| Kitty Carlisle | |
| Posted by: richmurphy 07:11 pm EDT 06/24/18 | |
| In reply to: Link to where you can hear the original Broadway cast recording - AlanScott 04:48 pm EDT 06/24/18 | |
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| That's Kitty Carlisle of "A Night at the Opera" and "To Tell the Truth" fame on the final track, and not "Steve Carlisle" | |
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| re: Kitty Carlisle | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 07:32 pm EDT 06/24/18 | |
| In reply to: Kitty Carlisle - richmurphy 07:11 pm EDT 06/24/18 | |
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| It says Steve there? LOL, that's funny. Kitty works hard to sound right, but she just can't make it. June Hawkins is terrific. | |
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| re: Another Opinion | |
| Posted by: mrs_muster 09:07 am EDT 06/24/18 | |
| In reply to: Another Opinion - stan 08:30 am EDT 06/24/18 | |
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| I was there last night and saw Jesse Green, who was the only one not offering a standing ovation. | |
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| re: Another Opinion | |
| Posted by: bythesea2007 10:01 am EDT 06/24/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Another Opinion - mrs_muster 09:07 am EDT 06/24/18 | |
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| Neither Green nor Brantley ever stand even when their reviews are raves. Many other critics also rather sit during the curtain calls. | |
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| re: Another Opinion | |
| Posted by: Ann 10:03 am EDT 06/24/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Another Opinion - bythesea2007 10:01 am EDT 06/24/18 | |
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| I don't know about Green and Brantley, but I've seen some critics who don't even applaud at the curtain. I understand the reasoning of not standing and don't object to it, though they really can stand out in the crowd (pun not intended) in this era of mass SOs. | |
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| re: Another Opinion | |
| Posted by: bythesea2007 07:05 pm EDT 06/24/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Another Opinion - Ann 10:03 am EDT 06/24/18 | |
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| I have always seen Brantley applaud though never noticed if Green does. | |
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| re: Another Opinion | |
| Posted by: BillEadie 10:42 am EDT 06/24/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Another Opinion - Ann 10:03 am EDT 06/24/18 | |
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| My mentors as a theatre critic told me that critics do not stand at the curtain call. I do, however, applaud each show generously, no matter what I thought of it. If the director has staged a curtain call that is more than cast bows and I can’t look around those in front of me to see it, I will stand to do so. But, it will be a very late stand, and I may stop applauding while I watch. Bill, in San Diego |
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| re: Another Opinion | |
| Posted by: stan 09:11 am EDT 06/24/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Another Opinion - mrs_muster 09:07 am EDT 06/24/18 | |
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| neither did BB -- 2 Times critics! wow | |
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| re: "Everyone was working so hard" | |
| Posted by: Dale 08:59 am EDT 06/24/18 | |
| In reply to: Another Opinion - stan 08:30 am EDT 06/24/18 | |
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| I didn't see anyone sweating! In fact the gals were kinda breezy! The voices singing those tunes made it work! It got an ovation Saturday matinee. |
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| re: "Everyone was working so hard" | |
| Posted by: stan 09:09 am EDT 06/24/18 | |
| In reply to: re: "Everyone was working so hard" - Dale 08:59 am EDT 06/24/18 | |
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| Everything gets an ovation nowadays. I had to stand to see the curtain call. At the evening performance there were even Bravos. I think many people will like this show ... I didn't. It appeared to me that the cast was exhausted Sat night (2nd performance of the day and the critics were there). | |
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