Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
I have to admit that this class made me significantly richer in many different ways. Never before I cared about the existence or significance of art, theaters, operas, plays, and many other creatures of people’s imagination. Throughout the course of this semester, I managed not only to learn how to understand the performance, but also found myself enjoying it and being able to appreciate it, knowing that I was able to draw some meaning every time I saw people perform.
The door to my explorations opened with the unforgettable “Cloud Nine” performance by Atlantic Theatre Company. The performance has skillfully transmitted the message of gender confusion in the world, and showed that gender has really nothing to do with sex, and the way people define and perceive their true identities depends on several factors beyond natural physical appearance. It was a wonderful experience to see how Churchill presented the complexities and confusion within a single circle of people: Ellen wants to go to bed with Betty, but Betty wants to run away with Uncle Harry, while Harry has “unusual connections” with Joshua and little Edward, who keeps playing with dolls. Even Clive, who is trying to maintain a perfect family is flawed, hiding from the shame under Mrs. Saunders’ skirt. Caryl Churchill is definitely a very brave playwright.
One of the most impressive performances was “Tosca” by Giacomo Puccini. Before seeing this performance, I often saw similar things on TV, where people were just singing some incomprehensible words and making some movements filled with passion and emotion. This time it was different… For the first time I could just sit in one place and feel the pressure and tension from the climax of the whole story, when Cavaradossi was actually killed, and Tosca could not take the pain of separation from beloved, so she just killed herself by jumping off the top of the castle. Everything looked extremely realistic, and I was amazed by how fast they managed to change the whole setting on the stage between the acts.
The richness of this class was not limited to just seeing performances. One of the most important aspects was the opportunity to discuss and share our reactions with professor and classmates. It was always interesting to see if the meanings we attach to different things, moments, or episodes coincide with those of the peers. Among the numerous skills we have gained or further improved in this class is being able to listen to and respect other people’s opinions. Also, after exploring the North-West Edge, I can surely say that I started living my life more thoughtfully with my head up, instead of being pointed at my feet as I walk around one of the greatest cities in the world – in New York. I started seeing more things around me, which adds a new dimension to life – the one that always existed, but remained unnoticed.The “Cloud Nine” performance by the Atlantic Theater Company at Linda Gross Theater was Great!
One of its main themes seems to be the confusion of gender, which Churchill represents by letting the men play women, and the women play men. Uncle Harry, for example, has nontraditional relationship with a little boy. Churchill shows that matching physical identity with the true sexuality is one of the challenges that people face in life.
Clive tries to hold power over the relationships among his family members. Clive strongly believes that nontraditional sexual identity is a sickness that can be cured with proper discussions and conversations with the patient. One of the main “lenses” that reveal the identities of the characters in Act 2 is the hide and seek game, during which we found out a lot of irregularities in sexual relationships and identities – most of them had to do with Uncle Harry. Act 2 happens in a new setting, and Clive is no longer there, so the rest of the characters – Victoria, Betty, and Edward continue trying to find their true identity.
I really liked the beginning, because the characters introduced the play to us by singing.
This was my first time in the theater, and it was very different from what I imagined and expected, however, I really enjoyed it.
Unfortunately, taking pictures was not allowed there. I took only one picture during the ten minute break, and it is attached to this post.
The experience was… New…
Thank You For Reading This!
Lior Agaronov
Out of all the performances I have seen throughout the course of this semester, “Tosca”, no doubt, was and will remain the most memorable for me.
It was a pleasure to see an opera that incorporated all of the “Romeo and Juliet”-like elements, such as love, life and death, conflicts of people against authority, fights for freedom and independence, blood and violence, but at the same time was completely original and new.
Even though Tosca and her beloved Cavaradossi seem to be the center of the operatic performance, I still believe that Scarpia is the main character in the drama, due to the fact that he has the power to control the actions and fates of both Tosca and Cavaradossi:
he arrests Mario Cavaradossi, the brilliant painter, and sentences him to death in the Castel Sant’Angelo;
he then starts mentally torturing Tosca by offering her Cavaradossi’s freedom in exchange for one night spent together – this, of course, is intolerable to Tosca, since her high moral standards, supernatural love, and loyalty would never let her even think about being with anyone else but her beloved Cavaradossi;
Scarpia lies to Tosca when he tells her that the firing squad will use blanks. Tosca believes his words and feels confident about Cavaradossi’s safety, which makes her kill Scarpia by stabbing him with a knife – Scarpia planned everything ahead of time, so he makes Tosca pay for his death after, when the firing squad actually kills Tosca’s beloved;
Cavaradossi’s death makes Tosca commit suicide by throwing herself from the castle.
It is incredible how Scarpia acts as a driver and catalyst of the drama’s chain reaction, which makes me place this sadistic police chief in the center of all events.With the beginning of every new act I was impressed more and more, since It was just unbelievable, how the participants of the operatic performance managed to change the background and setting in just a couple of minutes during the transitions: the castles, the prison, the huge stairs – they all looked so massive and impossible to move or change in any way by human force, especially in a matter of minutes.
Certainly, the most beautiful moment of the whole performance was the act of Tosca throwing herself from the Castle, when the guards were trying to approach her. She is running up the stairs, and then for a moment the audience can not see her at all… (My heart was dancing at that moment) She appears, looks at the audience, and jumps – we only see her as she reaches a 45 degree angle with the floor of the castle, and then the lights disappear along with Tosca… No special sound effects… Nothing… She is gone… And that marks the end of the performance.
I am really happy I saw this performance. One of the best things I’ve seen in my life. Movie-class visual effects. I cannot express everything in words…
This is a photograph entitled “Bryant Park Breadline” taken by Edward Steichen. Reminds all the people about inequality and social class stratification.
