16 June, 2011

ps a note about queenie

Hey there Mr. Opera Casting Person!

You got to judge me yesterday, but now I shall judge you, ok?

When the feedback I get is "sang it amazingly, her queen didn't seem 'evil' enough", you, my friend, lose 2 points.

If you think that ANY director in their right mind would ever tell a queen "you're angry/evil" in EITHER the 2nd or the first aria, you are wrong.
Yes, the COMMON FOLK who think of the opera characters as 'good' or 'evil' can say that yes, Sarastro is 'good', and queen is 'evil'. Therefore when they hear the aria, they think 'mean', 'angry', 'evil'.

But if you'd stop and pay two quick seconds to the WORDS and the DRAMA of the piece, you would realize that the queen is just about anything BUT that.
She is SAD, defeated, SOMEWHAT vengeful, longing for a daughter whose capture has broken her heart and made her vow never to be in the company of a CERTAIN man ever again. She is actually power-LESS (as her power was taken away by her OWN HUSBAND and given to SARASTRO). She is mustering every last strength she has and HOPING that her pleas and sighs will convince a. Tamino to go on a mission FOR her, and in the 2nd aria she feels BETRAYED and sure, is 'angry' at her daughter, but is also trying to get her to DO something to her arch-nemesis.

So, ANGRY? EVIL? No.

Minus two for you there, my friend. But thanks for liking my high notes anyway.

1 comment:

grahamophone said...

...and Rigoletto's got to have a funny hat and Carmen has to wave a fan. Don' they realize auditioning is about the singing and stage presence, and interpretation is what rehearsals are for? What are you supposed to do - read their minds?? A new Fach flavor - clairvoyant coloratura. Sheesh. Word to your mother, girl!!