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| AGRIPPINA at The Met - Fall of the Douchebag Empire | |
| Last Edit: singleticket 01:22 am EST 02/23/20 | |
| Posted by: singleticket 01:12 am EST 02/23/20 | |
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| Handel's AGRIPPINA about the Empress of Rome's machinations to install her son Nero on the throne is a long slog of an evening. It has neither a dramatic nor a musical driving force. It does have incredibly exquisite music with arias that cast an enchantment over the listener. Yet tonight was one of the best evenings I've ever had at The Met. David McVicar's production was a great surprise to me, having never liked any of his work before. The production is full of schtick but it's a cornucopia of schtick. And the schtick, highly detailed and tailored to each character, liberates the singers rather than constricts them. There were some great singers tonight and not one of them wasn't up to the physical and comedic challenges that McVicar thew at them. Joyce DiDonato's Agripinna was part Sarah Palin and part bustling Bette Midler. Handel often mirrors or partners Agripinna's slithery vocal lines with a sinuous oboe in the orchestra. Kate Lindsey's coked up Nerone (Nero) moved like a member of a boy band possessed by Satan and was a seamless blending of vocal artistry, physical movement and stage magnetism. Andrew Rose's Claudio (Emperor Claudius) had Trump-like aspects and a great rich deep voice. Brenda Rae's Poppea was physically and musically ravishing. And Iestyn Davies' Ottone with his gorgeous countertenor's voice was the only and much needed emotional well spring in an emotionally arid opera. What makes McVicar's production ultimately triumphant is its rigorous comedic take on appalling human power lust. The farce elements are in the opera itself but McVicar, his set and costume designer John Macfarlane and choreographer Andrew George set so many comedic ideas in motion that they begin to build on each other and give the opera a centrifugal force that I suspect that it lacks. The production's last ten minutes are remarkable political cabaret, chilling in their resonance while remaining very very silly. |
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| re: A terrific production! | |
| Posted by: NewtonUK 12:02 pm EST 02/23/20 | |
| In reply to: AGRIPPINA at The Met - Fall of the Douchebag Empire - singleticket 01:12 am EST 02/23/20 | |
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| ... and some great performances as well. | |
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