Now mind you that picture is a dramatized version, obviously from the 60s, that seems rather reminiscent to Star Wars posters....
See? Anyways I had some serious problems with the opera, not talent wise or musically, but logistically. The plot of Fidelio is long and I'm too tired to summarize so I shall provide you with a link that will tell you all about it. Please educate yourself and then return to reading my blog about it : READ BEFORE CONTINUING.
First off on our list from Opera Club it said that Fidelio was an Italian Opera, which didn't confuse me until I thought about it. Why would Beethoven, who is from Austria, write an ITALIAN opera? Well he didn't. The thing ended up being German, but it made no difference since it's all Greek to me (get it eeehh? I'm so puny sometimes it hurts.) I don't know what was up with the subtitles though, but they weren't really doing their job. It would go close to 5 minutes without changing. I spent half the time thinking, "Man, I really wish I knew what they were saying. That would be nice."
So the person who they had playing Lenore/ Fidelio was really old. Like not just a little, but a lot. She had a plethora of wrinkles but her hair was still brown. To make it worse their idea of turning her into a boy was putting her in a trench coat and pulling her hair into a low pony tail. When that ever or ever will constitute as being a boy I do not know. They could have at least made her wear a hat or something for goodness sake.
The time setting was also majorly confusing. One minute it was in the 40's with all this oriental decoration and costumes and then all of the sudden they were in 18th century Russia! I did not understand. The costuming was mainly unflattering.
Then they had this really weird thing where these Babushkas/random ladies from who knows where came out of the walls and were holding these lockets and doing strange things.... It was way too abstract for me, and since the subtitles didn't help at all I was even more lost. One of the interpretive locket dancers was seriously way too into it. She was so overly dramatic, even for Opera. She was so into it she was about 5 counts ahead of everyone and kept getting these funny looks on her face like someone stepped on her toe but then gave her a present....
Here is my major complaint: The guy who had been locked up for like 5 years had a pot gut. He sings a song about how hungry he is and how a sip of water is heaven sent, yet he looks like he hasn't skipped a meal for about 9 years. Then said guy was in the dungeon and to make it look like a dungeon they put up a curtain of chains. I'm pretty sure I had one of those curtain things made out of plastic dolphins covering my door when I was a kid, but I wasn't in a dungeon. My room may have been a messy disaster, but it weren't not dungeon.
Earlier the other prisoners who had been let out for about 3 minutes their time, but 25 minutes Opera time, sang a whole 5 minute song about how they have no joy, or sunlight, or hope. Why would they? They are in JAIL. It's not Disneyland. Did they expect to go to the Hilton? They are supposed to be punished.
As most are well aware of, I am easily distracted and through the whole show there was a moth flittering around the big stage lights. I must say I watched that moth quite a bit, especially when I couldn't take watching One Pose Sally anymore. No joke all she/he did was stand there and her other pose was putting her hand on her stomach like she was suffering from indigestion.
At the end there did seem to be a hope of something amazing as I saw some confetti start to fall. I of course got super excited and sat up and waited for more to come down since everything is better with confetti and glitter, but no, we got 12 pieces of confetti. Yay..... parttyyy......
I did like the singing and the orchestra and kind of the set. They had this cool rock rubble cascade thing but it had a broke grand piano in it, which I did not understand. It had no significance in the story.
Have no fear I have found what would make opera more enjoyable as a whole: Choreographed group dance numbers. They are just so refreshing and give you something to watch other than someone act like they need some pepto bismol.
P.S. Here is my note on the capital theater. Just because they give you a walkie talkie it does not make you a certified security guard.
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