Covent Garden customers seek money back on sexed-up Lucia
mainThe Telegraph reports that 100 complaints have been received after the ROH apologised in advance for sex and violence in its forthcoming production of Lucia di Lammermoor.
Of these, 40 demanded their money back.
This is starting to look like a self-inflicted wound, a new twist on Donizetti’s plot.
There are 11 performances of Lucia. The house seats around 2200 people. I make that 0.025% of the potential audience requesting refunds. And this is a news story?
I’m not often in London, and only get to 2-3 performances a year at the ROH (many more throughout Europe), but if I’d bought a ticket I’d consider getting a refund too. At the very least I’d want them to know I was there to hear Diana Damrau, and not because Katie Mitchell was directing. I’m coming to a conclusion Kaspar Holten, in directing and supporting such productions, has a fetish for violence and forced sex. That’s fine of course, but isn’t that what the world wide web is for? Such things can be done in the privacy of our homes rather than inflicting it on lovers of great music and the human voice.
Please send your complaint to Walter Scott, since he is responsible for this atrocity. It all goes to show what Scotland would be like if they achieved independence. No wonder they sent Scott to the Antarctic.
We didn’t have such problems when we did Lucia in Scottish Opera that received critical acclaim and more in keeping perhaps with what the composer intended. Where are people’s imaginations these days? Why has everything, particularly excessive violence and forced sex, got to be ‘so in your face’ all of the time? Reminds me of ‘The Romans’ put on in London many years ago which highlighted homosexual rape. A whole load of ‘others’ went off to see it who never went to the theatre to see it, just for that. ‘The Temptation of Christ’ film another example.
What about those of us who have a secret and shameful fetish for unforced sex? When will this be put on stage to challenge the Establishment by these so-called progressive directors?
Don’t they know there are some of us out there who are becoming afraid to confess to such things, in case we are forcibly manhandled back in to the closet.
We know it’s a perversion of modernity and rather out there (‘in here’?), but it’s society’s crime, not ours…
All of the above displeasures with opera directors and their fetishes form the main reason why I ceased conducting opera in Germany some years ago. It became a constant battle to defend the composers and their librettists against such banal, tasteless and gratuitous onslaughts. And the vogue invaded productions here in England at the highest level…ROH and Glyndebourne (an unforgiveable travesty one hear inflicted on Händel)…the best productions are now to be experienced on old LPs, today’s CDs or on the radio.
More power to you. If only more musicians stood up to this nonsense…
Oh dear, 40 people, you say? What will they do?
Notwithstanding the fact that it’s still not an apology…
If you want to enjoy great voices singing beautiful music, go to a concert. Opera is drama. It tells a story. And if that story involves death, violence and pain, you’ll probably see that.
It may distract you from the superstar voices and the music. Equally, it may be exactly what the music exists to express and comment upon. What’s that? You just like music to make a pretty noise? You don’t know what it means? And you certainly don’t want anyone reminding you? Oh dear. Probably best that you stay away from opera houses. They tend to aim their productions at adults. And for god’s sake don’t read the words – you know, those collections of meaningless syllables that exist purely to allow lovely star singers to show off what a beautiful sound they make…
would you people have the decency to at least wait until tonight and start moaning only AFTER you’ve seen it?
The Temptation of Christ was a great film, by the way.