Composer: John Adams
Librettist: Alice Goodman
Librettist: Alice Goodman
English National Opera
New Production
Sat 25 Feb - Fri 9 Mar 2012
Running time 2hrs 55mins
Running time 2hrs 55mins
I have never been particularly attracted by the idea of this opera, but since this is the first production in England I decided to give it a go.
Unfortunately, it is not very good. I love John Adams' music, but there is not very much of it here (except right at the end). It is all very thin. The sung parts (always the most difficult thing for me) are also artificial, unrewarding and stilted. The libretto is, frankly, meaningless irrelevant gibberish for the most part (again excepting the final aria) - "let the tent of your exile be blown away in the gale" - sounds like something from "I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue". The production overall is uninspiring, with overdone anachronistic references to the West Bank wall, and some fankly ridiculous (ludicrous even) choreography. Can you give credence to Palestinian terrorists dancing like something out of Saturday Night Fever?
The best bit is, unfortunately, right at the end, with Mrs Klinghoffer's "grief" aria. This is pretty good. The music approaches Adams at his best, the singing appropriate, relevant and heartfelt, the lyrics pertinent, and the staging effective (the concrete walls close-in on Mrs Klinghoffer and the Captian as if to trap and intensify her grief and his feelings about how he has had to deal with the situation. But Mrs Klinghoffer's final line - "I wanted to die" - is not really explained.
I think that there could have been a much better opera here, but post 11 September 2001 I am not sure that this opera really has much relevance anymore. It seems almost quaint. Palestinian nationalism and Muslim fundamentalism have gone a long way since October 1985. This opera is over 20 years old now (writen 1990/91). I don't think that it is very good anyway, and the political landscape has changed so much that it no longer seems relevant.
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