{"id":32013,"date":"2015-11-23T09:30:37","date_gmt":"2015-11-23T14:30:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=32013"},"modified":"2015-11-22T20:53:28","modified_gmt":"2015-11-23T01:53:28","slug":"the-morning-after-a-poem-for-opera-de-montreals-elektra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2015\/11\/23\/the-morning-after-a-poem-for-opera-de-montreals-elektra\/","title":{"rendered":"THE MORNING AFTER | A Poem For Op\u00e9ra de Montr\u00e9al’s Elektra"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Op\u00e9ra
Op\u00e9ra de Montr\u00e9al, Elektra. (Photo: Yves Renaud)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Here, Yannick could conduct anything,[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

For Montreal is so starved for zing;<\/p>\n

Any opera, kind or cruel,<\/p>\n

No matter, the seats would be full;<\/p>\n

I\u2019d go even if it was The Ring<\/em>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He returned just this week,<\/p>\n

For an Elektra<\/em> made meek;<\/p>\n

Not hothead or loon,<\/p>\n

She wails near the tomb<\/p>\n

She\u2019s welding in Socialist-Realist Greek.[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lise Lindstrom sings manfully,<\/p>\n

In welding goggles she blasphemies,<\/p>\n

But can she dance?<\/p>\n

Not in pants,<\/p>\n

She just moves around randomly.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Clytemenestra can\u2019t sleep,<\/p>\n

She moans and falls in a heap;<\/p>\n

More menopause,<\/p>\n

Than regicide\u2019s claws,<\/p>\n

You\u2019re supposed to feel bad for the creep.[4]<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chrysothemis is an airhead,<\/p>\n

Who really just wants to be wed;<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s remember the fact<\/p>\n

That men like eye contact,<\/p>\n

Onstage, as well as in bed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When Orestes arrives it\u2019s a landslide,<\/p>\n

Finally! Someone with purpose (it\u2019s matricide)<\/p>\n

Alan Held sang in rich tones,<\/p>\n

Even bolder than the trombones,<\/p>\n

And left his sisters, confusing, outside.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Elektra likes to rotate her sculpture,<\/p>\n

And perhaps that\u2019s what gives her the ulcer,<\/p>\n

Because as soon as mom\u2019s dead,<\/p>\n

The joy goes to her head,<\/p>\n

She busts a move and dies from a rupture.[5]<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Then one of many strange choices,<\/p>\n

As Orestes comes out (he hears voices?)<\/p>\n

The siblings are reunited,<\/p>\n

Still confused, not delighted,<\/p>\n

And nobody screams or rejoices.[6]<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Well, what do you make of this bloodbath,<\/p>\n

Made gentle, made sad, not so psychopath?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s better they tried<\/p>\n

Than thinking denied,<\/p>\n

Even if, on the whole, it lacks wrath.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> November 21-28, Yannick N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin conducts Strauss\u2019s Elektra, his first Opera de Montreal production since 2011<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> The stage element of the production is a colossal statue of Agammemnon hanging from the ceiling as Elektra welds it together. The original design called for a stone sculpture but the 3d-printed pieces had so many seams that the effect was lost. Elektra became a welder.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Movement and staging issues plague the OdM. For example: Elektra is supposed to try and seduce Clytemenestra to help her kill their mother. Elektra flatters her sister\u2019s \u201cslim\u201d body. There are lines like \u201cI will not let you go.\u201d They don\u2019t touch in this production.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Agnes Zwierko sings beautifully, poignantly, and not much like a murderess.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Like Wilde in Salome, librettist Von Hofmannsthal invented a death for the immodest female lead. Many interpret this authorial vindictiveness as a fin de si\u00e8cle expression of threatened masculinity. Sophocles has Elektra marry and have a family.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Chrysothemis ends the opera calling out Orestes\u2019s name. He\u2019s inside the palace and covered in blood; when he does not open the gates for his sister you understand that the tragedy has only entered its next chapter (he is already pursued by the Furies.) Having him leave the palace and stand outside with his sister, near Elektra\u2019s statuesque corpse, gives the ending a new and possibly pointless ambiguity.<\/p>\n

Op\u00e9ra de Montr\u00e9al, Elektra, at\u00a0Place des Arts, November 21. Runs through November 28. www.operademontreal.com<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

#LUDWIGVAN<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Want more updates on Toronto-centric classical music news and review\u00a0before anyone else finds out? Get our exclusive newsletter\u00a0<\/em>here<\/a><\/em><\/span>\u00a0and follow us on\u00a0<\/em>Facebook<\/a><\/span>\u00a0or Twitter<\/a><\/span> for all the latest.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A poem as a review for Op\u00e9ra de Montr\u00e9al, Elektra.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":32014,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[118,43,52,4936],"tags":[3835,2498],"yst_prominent_words":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/11\/1-Q-dstrom_Elektra_A9_Yves_Renaud.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-8kl","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32013"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32013"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32013\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32026,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32013\/revisions\/32026"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32013"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=32013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}