In the new Trump opera, the Donald is sung by a soprano

In the new Trump opera, the Donald is sung by a soprano

News

norman lebrecht

August 24, 2021

‘Playing Trump’, a monodrama by the Austrian composer Bernhard Lang, has opened at the Hamburg State Opera.

The French soprano Donatienne Michel-Dansac plays the president.Donatienne Michel-Dansac

First-night critics enjoyed it.


photo courtesy: Hamburg State Opera/: (c)Brinkhoff-Moegenburg/Brinkhoff-Moegenburg

Comments

  • Gustavo says:

    Trump has gone green.

    At last!

  • HugoPreuss says:

    I listened to a rather elaborate radio essay on this new opera, including a couple of music excerpts. Sounded pretty interesting and engaging. The libretto is taken verbatim from actual tweets and speeches of The Former Guy. Apparently the upcoming performances are sold out; quite an accomplishment for a contemporary opera.

  • True North says:

    No Kennedy, Bill Clinton, Obama, Hillary…what happened or Biden opera?? Nah. Those blokes didn’t do anything of merit to deserve anything.

    • True North says:

      You are using my alias falsely. Moderator, please delete this comment.

    • Dinesh says:

      Good point!

      Nobody creates lasting plays, operas, etc about people like them in the states. All of the ovations are manic and temporary. Indeed there is no one who can name 10 major achievements each of theses individuals have accomplished. No one knows what any of the living are doing either in the vein of productivity. They all take their spoils and vanish without care.

      As America enters a Biden era begun by enabling terrorists, he stands to be best known for needing the 25th amendment enacted against himself.

      Elections have consequences…

  • Opera man says:

    Well, Trump DOES have a rather high pitched voice.

  • James Weiss says:

    I have no interest here but just imagine if you can the reaction from the press and activists if Barack Obama was played by a white male countertenor in a new opera. There would be riots in the streets.

    • Half-note Barack says:

      Obama is 1/2 white as his mother was white.

    • Save the MET says:

      Frankly, Trump could be performed by a fat castrato/countertenor and they can call it “The Capon Affair”.

    • V. Lind says:

      But probably a chuckle from Obama and Michelle…Trump notoriously has no sense of humour (remember the Correspondents’ Dinner?) and is the thinnest-skinned egomaniac on the planet.

      I do hope Washington Opera imports this SOON.

      • Karl says:

        Trump has a sense of humor, just not a self deprecating sense of humor. He has told some whoppers in his rallies. I loved the one where he said Biden might be taking amphetamines. He said Biden got “a big fat shot in the a$$ and for 2 hours he’s better than ever before” to get though a town hall session.
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pMn6qvlhnA

        • Brettermeier says:

          ” He has told some whoppers in his rallies. I loved the one where he said Biden might be taking amphetamines.”

          I think you might have forgotten your meds. And I think you are a moron. (What a whopper!)

          Could someone please explain humor to Karl? Because, as always, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

        • Petros Linardos says:

          Actually Trump managed to make the UN general assembly laugh. I don’t think Obama ever managed that.

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z4y8OJxlK8

    • Westfan says:

      The idea of TFG as a countertenor/soprano is very telling and quite accurate in my view. He is supremely insecure. Hates being mocked more than anything. His Daddy always told him he was worthless. Been dealing with his inferiority complex ever since. Would never have happened with Obama.

    • Dzshef K. says:

      James Weiss thinks racism is a joke.

  • Alex S says:

    If the critics liked it, then this is additional proof that they don’t know anything.

  • Jean says:

    They are not afraid that Trump would sue them ??
    (In their shoes, I would.)

    After all, they are monetizing the Trump trademark without his permission….

  • John Borstlap says:

    Even if one does not like Trump, one has to admire the fantasy, sensitivity, refinement, musical invention, mastery of form and narrative, and humane expression of the composer’s aesthetics:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VObd-KmPAyI

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMKwU22zhEg

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaBOZ8iOlbQ

    Of course critics like this music, we know how great their musical understanding is and how genuine their support for musical progress. Where would we be without them?

    • PFmus says:

      An appropriately minimal composer for a politician of minimal worth… both are widely experienced in worthless sound bites.

    • Marfisa says:

      Surprising but refreshing that Mr Borstlap finds so much to approve of in a modernist composer. Lang’s Differenz/Wiederholung is fascinating. I look forward to watching (on YouTube) his I Hate Mozart, and Der Reigen.

      • John Borstlap says:

        You believe all of that???!! He’s being sarcastic & had a good laugh after writing it. I find it scandalous ’cause I love it to bits!

        Sally

        • Marfisa says:

          Thanks, Sally, I’d never have guessed. The PA is usually more perceptive than the boss. Now I’m off to read the collected works of Gilles Deleuze, in French, and to think harder about how repetition works in classical composers.

  • A. Nonynous says:

    The addiction that the left-leaning have for Trump is truly remarkable to witness. Trump feeds off of notoriety and infamy – it keeps him in the public eye. And the left give him exactly what he wants. Exactly.

    A serious analysis of this societal psychosis is warranted. I would love to read such a work.

    I try not to think about those folks that I may abhor or dislike. So far in the rear view mirror. Move on.

    I wonder what a Biden opera would be like?

  • Germany and Austria have some of the most racist politicians and political parties in the world, but you won’t see any of those people featured in any operas. There is nothing that gives one more moral acuteness than looking at other people’s countries.

    • Petros Linardos says:

      None of the German and Austrian racists became heads of state. Haider came perilously close to the top, but his demeanor cannot be compared to Trump’s. Only Haider’s death was operatic.

  • Thomas says:

    Well, the original Donald has very small HANDS, so you might just be casting a woman.

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