The Antisocial Socialist

Went to see OperaQ's reimagining of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Dido and Belinda, with chickenfeet last night, and I need to tell you about it, because there is now a queer opera company in Toronto, and they did a genderswapped Dido and Aeneas focusing on Belinda's POV, set in a vaguely post-apocalyptic future, in a chapel. And it was everything that I hoped it would be. The singers filled the space (which is apparently usually a difficult space to work in, since it's long and narrow, but they made it work for the production), the costume and makeup design was fantastic, and they managed to somehow get humour into what rather a dark story about a melodramatic emo queen committing suicide. I was wondering how they would manage the singing, since gender is a social construct but voice pitch and range are not, but it really worked, even (especially, in the case of the sorcerer), where it was transposed.

I'm pretty excited about this company. We were comparing it to Opera Atelier's production of the same opera, which made the inexplicable choice to write a very condescending prologue since "no one reads the Aeneid anymore." Despite the fact that no one in this production looked like they were out of high school, they pulled off a much more mature, sophisticated interpretation, modernizing it for a contemporary crowd while still respecting said crowd's intelligence. I'd have done away with some of the voiceovers because I felt that the music and staging spoke for itself, but beyond that, really impressive stuff, and I can't wait to see what they do next.

So this was total Music Week for me, in which I approached the level of Having a Life that I might have been at pre-surgery. (Of course, I am now totally exhausted, but that's to be expected.)

On Wednesday, chickenfeet2003 had scored free tickets to see Salome at the COC, which I had been wanting to see. It was completely fantastic. Everyone's singing was gorgeous, and Atom Egoyan's staging was suitably unsettling. Erika Sunnegårdh in the title role was particularly interesting, as she played Salome as a vulnerable and fragile girl rather than as a confident seductress, making her demand at the end far more chilling as a result.

Last night, rbowspryte, the_siobhan, and a bunch of others went to go see the always-fabulous Billy Bragg at the Danforth Music Hall. Also wonderful, of course. He was still giddy over Thatcher's death, which was quite cute, though the setlist was less on the hardcore political end than his famous banter was. I shall have to get ahold of the new album, as I quite liked the songs on it. The audience was weird as shit, though; there were a bunch of soccer hooligans in front of us and a girl in a sequined Union Jack dress who insisted on debating him for reasons probably explained by some mind-altering substance or another.

One of his best ever songs, which I can never get enough of no matter how many times I hear it, with whichever lyrics (alas, it does not show his new beard, which, in a shallow aside, is a really good look for him):



At any rate, music bliss, for two very different ends of the musical spectrum that I'm into.

Speaking of which, I already squealed about this on The Face, but for yet another musical obsession of mine, there is new Skinny Puppy:



Finally, the new Unibroue is called Seigneuriale, for those who were asking. It's very strong, though, so if you're on Oxycontin and have a gigantic hole in your spine, you should probably lay off it for a bit. Did I say "you"? I meant "me."

If you can make it out to Einstein On the Beach at Luminato, you should, because OHDEARGOD it is incredible. Four-and-a-half hours of (as I put it on The Other Place) epic minimalism, with mindblowing staging and musical virtuosity. And at the end, who should come out on stage but ZOMG PHILIP GLASS HIMSELF.

Geeking out hardcore right about now.

Yesterday I managed three things in one day: gaming, Against the Grain Theatre's production of Seven Deadly Sins and Holier Fare, and a midnight MRI. Guess which one of those three was not remotely fun?

Anyway, I was really impressed by the performance. You can read chickenfeet2003's more detailed review here, but basically, I'm going to have to go on another mad music hunt for Exciting Music (other than the Reich piece, it was all new to me). And I'm going to have to attend their production of Britten's Turn of the Screw because they are quite an impressive little theatre company.

The MRI was less exciting. They put me in a tube and blasted loud beeps and clangs at me. It was nowhere near as beautiful sounding as anything by Kurt Weill. Sorry cyborg_kitty100, they did not allow me to bring a tape recorder in the machine, but I'm pretty sure I can reproduce the noises if need be.

In other news, misslynx's alcoholic cupcakes are a thing of wonder.

I scarfed a whole load of cold medication and went to see the COC's production of Iphigenia in Tauris yesterday with zingerella. It was the second time I'd seen the opera—two years ago, Opera Atelier put it on, and I went with the kiddies.

This production was essentially the opposite of the other one that I saw, which had awesome staging and good music. The music in the COC's production was exquisite. Susan Graham sang Iphigenia and she was breathtaking. The staging, alas, left something to be desired. They went uber-minimalist with it—the set consisted of bare walls, with scene changes marked by chalk and water, and everyone was in black. I think it might have worked up close, maybe, but from the fifth ring, all you could see were bare legs and floating heads.

It doesn't help that the opera itself is a) transitional, with gorgeous, tragic arias and oddly upbeat choruses, and b) lulzy in the way of Greek drama. I think the concept behind the staging was to bring some of those contradictions to the forefront, especially in the last scene, which, as zingerella put it, looked a bit like the end of Hamlet with dead bodies lying all over the stage, and sounded like a triumphal march. I think it would have worked in a different setting, but at the Four Seasons, not so much.

( the plot )

So, yes, I quite enjoyed it. Rigoletto tomorrow with chickenfeet2003 and lemur_catta. There is an awful lot of opera this week, considering that I have the plague.

+ Went to see Death in Venice at the COC with chickenfeet2003 and lemur_catta. It was a gorgeous production, with impressive singing. It was also very true to the novella, which means that it was curiously detached and stylized. (You are supposed to want to punch Aschenbach in the face, right?)

- Still sick. Less than I was last night, where I—this is very rare for me—passed up going for a drink afterward in favour of crashing out at home. I slept a great deal and feel better, but I still might not even need makeup to look like a zombie today.

+ Zombie Walk today! I think I am wearing the absolute worst clothing ensemble ever put together by a human being with working vision.

- My internets are being very, very flaky. If you are trying to reach me and I don't answer, be advised that it is not because I am a rude and nasty person, but because I am connecting to the outside world via two tin cans and a piece of string. To top it off, Yahoo! has decided to reroute all of my LJ-based e-mail into the spam filter, which I only discovered yesterday.

i wil l never fail to be amazed at the ability of one eaarring to like evaporate
srsly where is it my room is not that big
i am maybe going to search all night though it would be logical to wait for tomorrow when Ia m less drunk.

u dropped it somewehere. It's bugging me.

in other news tonight was GREAT and local people plz check out Dido and Aeneas at Winchester T?heatre.

confidential to chickenfeet: I got home okay and in one piece and the cab driver even gaveme his phone #.

Midsummer Night's Dream is fabulous, people. Go see it. Truly weird music, gorgeous staging, and it's lots of fun.

However, on the cab ride home, the driver saw fit to hold forth on my life or lack thereof. Apparently I should get married. I should go home and sleep and then propose to my boyfriend. Every religion says so. Otherwise sex is a sin. Then he gave me a copy of the Qur'an. I told him that I already had one (I actually think that I have more than one) but I don't think he believed me, even though I said goodbye to him in Arabic. He told me to give the Qur'an to my mom.

*sigh* Do I really seem like I need this much help with my life?

I was talking to a friend who had recently returned from China. He and his girlfriend were of Chinese descent but had never actually been there—they'd gone there for work and didn't speak Mandarin, and they'd felt very odd and isolated. He was both grateful for the experience and saddened by how much an outsider he'd been.

He told me about the place that they were living, and suddenly I was whisked away in a flashback scene. I was having dinner with the couple on their backyard patio. It was a beautiful summer evening. We were drinking wine. I wanted to be there for real.

I noticed that they had beer bottles with bamboo shoots in them. "That's pretty," I remarked.

"Oh, they're for the pandas."

As if on cue, a huge, dirty panda came snuffling out of the bushes. It shambled over to where we were sitting and plucked the bamboo out of the beer bottle. Then it roared and I woke up.

I was not happy to be awakened from this dream. I mean, PANDA!

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EDIT: Hey Toronto people, does anyone want to go to the opera with me? $20 rush seats for Eugene Onegin. I've seen it before (in Moscow—I'm a bougie fuck) but it'd be cool to see the CoC do it too.

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EDIT II: Via Feministe, Postcards From Yo Momma is about the cutest thing ever. I just spent the last ten minutes or so laughing my ass off. (And now I can't send anything to it because my mom reads my blog.)

This is my favourite so far:

Look who finally learned the computer.
Look who finally learned the computer. Dad set me up email ACCOUNT AND ALSO SHOWED ME HOW TO GO ONLINE.I DON’T KNOW WHY EVERYTHING IS SUDDENLY WRITING BIG LIKE THIS, SO JUST IGNORE IT. SO HOW WAS THE CONCERT YOU WENT TO WITH FRIENDS/ CALL ME SOON. THIS WRITING IS WEIRD SORRY, LOVE MOM.

I just slept for 12 hours straight. It was really wonderful, and I needed it, and I resolve to go swimming more often.

Anyway, a few of you seem interested in my opinion of Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, though I can't imagine why. In short, it is getting hyped all over the place, and—it actually deserves that hype. I'd never heard or seen it before, and it is pretty much made out of win.

( The opera itself )

( The new opera house, and the arts in Toronto )

Threepenny Opera tonight!