Today in seminar, we took a little look at two versions of “Washington Square”. The second version was known by the name of “The Heiress”. In these separate films, there were many similarities, but also many differences. In the black and white film, the character ‘Morris Townsend” is played by a young cunning, brunette man. He is clever in conversation upon his meeting with Catherine, especially when he shows her his book of acquaintances to be empty like hers. In the newer colored version, the character played by Morris is a little clumsier, and for some reason, a lot perkier. Especially around her father, where she would squeal for joy like a little girl. We watched both these since we were scheduled to view a broadway productions of “The Heiress” two days later. I found them to be very contrasting. I was also very curious how the ending of the actual broadway show would portray it. At the end of the class, we discussed a little bit about our papers and how we cited them ( when you quote a professional opinion).
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~The Heiress on Broadway 10/17/12 Naomi~
This Wednesday we went to see ‘The Heiress’ on broadway with Jessica Chastain (Catherine Sloper), Dan Stevens (Morris Townsend), David Strathairn (Dr. Austin Sloper), and Judith Ivey ( Aunt Lavinia Penniman). This was my second straight Broadway play, the first being ‘Death of a Salesman’ with Andrew Garfield and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
I enjoyed seeing the play adaptation of the book Washington Square even though it was not entirely what I had imagined the world of Washington Square to be. This was the first play that I saw, musical or straight, where I knew the basic story before I saw the show. As a result of this prior knowledge I was constantly looking to draw comparisons between the play and the novel because I had already built up this idea in my head of what each moment should look and sound like.
Although I enjoyed the play overall, I don’t feel that Dan Stevens did a good job of being a jerk. I liked him too much to be Morris Townsend. I pictured Morris as very aggressive and arrogant and a little impatient with Aunt Penniman. Stevens’ interpretation was too sincere, that I almost believed that he actually loved Catherine. The only time that I felt that his ‘Morrisness’ showed was when he was running to hide the cigars and brandy that he had been helping himself to in the Dr.’s absence.
Additionally I respect Jessica Chastain’s interpretation of Catherine, but I felt that at moments she was overtly awkward, to the point of rivaling Aunt Penniman as the comic relief of the play. Drastic changes is her voice such as getting deeper when she told her father “I’m getting married” were more comedic than I had expected Catherine as a character to be (although I acknowledge that it was not Catherine who interpreted herself as being funny, but rather Jessica’s delivery of the line that was comical). Nevertheless, I feel that Catherine hit a stride when she forced her father to write her out of his will. I enjoyed Jessica’s interpretation of a stoic Catherine Sloper who has been broken by both her father and suitor, and I loved Jessica’s performance in the final scene of the play when she locked Morris out of the house, turned off the lights and walked up the stairs. The image of her walking up in that beautiful gown only lit by lantern is etched into my mind.
Along with the ending of the play, which was different from the novel, and much more dramatic. I liked how David Strathairn played Dr. Sloper as very remorseful. You could really tell that he missed his wife, and although he was very harsh with Catherine I liked how in the play Catherine forced him to write her out of his will, as oppose to him doing it on his own. I didn’t like how in the novel Dr. Sloper didn’t trust Catherine and decreased her inheritance. I thought that it was nice that in the play you could see that in the end, despite his disappointment in Catherine, he still loved her, and felt bad that Morris had broken her heart. In the book I felt that Dr. Sloper took too much enjoyment in telling Catherine “I told you so” after Morris jilted her.
All in all, I enjoyed seeing ‘The Heiress’ on Broadway, and I am grateful for the opportunity, especially because it is in limited run.
~Naomi
The Heiress – 10/17/12
On Wednesday, I went to see my second Broadway show called The Heiress which is based of the novel “Washington Square”. I noticed that the plot line was very similar but the ending was quite different and unexpected but I liked the concept very much. Catherine was still portrayed as being awkward and clumsy but only around her father. Jessica Chastain used a deeper voice to make her seem awkward. I expected her voice to be shrill actually because shes supposed to be overly sweet but Jessica’s version was definitely very effective in making Catherine seem naive and awkward. Throughout the play, Dan Stevens portrayed Morris as being genuinely in love with Catherine and it ended up making the audience find no flaws in the dynamic between the two but as the play neared to the end, the dialogue definitely showed that Morris was indeed as greedy as Dr.Sloper thought he was.
The ending was different from the book and it was much more fierce. Catherine’s voice was still low and monotone but it no longer seemed awkward but confident and blunt, as if she knew what she wanted for herself for the first time in her life. I enjoyed the twist because I wasn’t expecting Catherine to leave Morris under the false impression that she wanted to marry him when she actually just wanted to humiliate him. I think the ending make the show what its worth.
Even if we were in the balcony, I was still able to get a good view of the characters and I thought the scenery was beautiful. The lighting they used made morning seem like morning and night seem like night. It added to the effect of the whole story and I realized just how much of a role the lights play. For instance, Morris left Catherine the first time after he promised to marry her. And as the lights kept getting brighter, I realized how much time was passing and that Morris did indeed lie to her.
I like how on Broadway, you can hear the immediate response of the audience. When something was funny, the audience would laugh automatically and the experience is much more lively than watching it on screen. Even if the setting was only on stage, the drama of the story never made the scene boring no matter how long we had to look at Catherine’s living room. I noticed that the dialogue was slightly altered but some of it was the exact wording from the dialogue in the movie, The Heiress. I also noticed that the way the words are said are equally as important as the way the actors behave because the audience could be sitting very far away and not be able to completely see their facial expressions but would have to get the gist of the mood by listening to how the dialogue is communicated.
Overall, I enjoyed the experience of watching The Heiress and am looking forward to more Broadway plays.
10/15/12 – Swathi Satty
In today’s class, we discussed the role of different time periods on music. As different periods passed, our perspective on what’s racist and what isn’t has drastically changed. What could’ve once been assumed to be racist now, wasn’t then even though the music might contain stereotypes about different cultures. They might have believed this depiction to be accurate because they’re real cultural exposure was limited as they learned about other cultures through paintings viewed and what was learned in the confines of their studies.
Another musical talent was the name of Mendelson who used his life experiences and turned them into art forms. This related to the conversation of racism because in his piece, “Scottish symphony” might sound racist but was only what he thought was a proper depiction of scotland from what he experienced there. Mendelson also wrote a piece that was universally well known which is the wedding march from “A midsummer Night’s dream”.
For plays, composers were paid to write “incidental music” which would be played between breaks in plays and Mendelson was one of them. His vast educational background, allowed him to understand what Shakespeare’s plays would be most appropriate with. While this piece was intended as incidental music, it is often played by itself because of its depth and individuality.
We also compared the script of the play to the reading in Washington Square. In our discussion of Washington Square, we discussed Catherine’s physical characteristics and the actresses chosen to play her in various films. An actress of simple features would best be fit for Catherine. In this novel, James purposefully set the story back 30 years (1850) because in 1861, the civil war started which James did not want to make part of the story. Economically, 1850 was calm so no economic factors would have to be mentioned because that could drastically change the story. The name of the novel is Washington Square because it evokes a feeling of calamity because the environment is very pleasant, even today. It also makes the storyline vague because if the title was something along the lines of “The heiress”, the readers will already be aware of what the story might be about.
We started with an older movie called the Heiress. In the film Washington Square, Catherine is shown as being very awkward and the disappointment was apparent on Dr.Sloper’s face. But the lines about the significance of the dress Catherine wore was cut out, which is puzzling since it cuts out the fact that Catherine lives to impress her father. In comparison to the Heiress, this was filmed with many more angles, making Catherine seem much more awkward. But the storyline has definitely changed drastically. In the book, Aunt Penniman was supposed to introduce Catherine to Morris Townsend but in the film, Aunt Penniman only saw him after trying to get Catherine out in the open. In the Heiress, she might have been awkward but she was definitely much more elegant. Morris was also displayed as being classier in the Heiress than in the film Washington Square. Another difference is that Morris and Catherine were basically meeting for the first time but in the book and the Heiress, Morris was already aware of who Catherine was.
10/10/12 Andrew Garafalo
In class this Wednesday, we discussed our mixed impressions and opinions on the opera “Turandot”. I found myself to be in agreement with most of my classmates, that I enjoyed the music, stage display, and vocal capacity, but the language barrier limited my experience. The discussion of Lui’s role in the play was interesting. I learned it is a common theme of operas for woman to die without having too much impact on other characters. I found the dicussion about the quick exit of the orchestra to be amusing and relatable to when I used to play the sax in band for a long time.
During the second half of class we were visited by Prof. Sirotta. I really admired him for his intense passion for music. He seemed to get very caught up in it, and this made him more interesting to listen to. His recollection about his first musical experience was fascinating. To be able to remember something so long ago takes a very good memory and perhaps some ideal environmental memory ques. I wish I could remember my first musical experience. My parents did play a lot of Beatles for me as a kid but I can’t be too sure.
The process of creating his piece over many years on the computer, and using musical technology to create a symphony orchestra is pretty cool. Professor Sirotta’s discussion and demonstration of variation in music was also interesting and very relatable for me. As a guitarist, something I often do is take a riff I hear, play it several times, then make personal changes. The original chords are still used of course, and for the most part, the original melody can still be played over. The pieces by Brahm that he played for us were very good, and excellent examples of melodic variations. I particularly enjoyed the one with the timpani. I found myself tapping my foot, becomming engrossed in the music.
October 10, 2012
James Baldassano October 10, 2012
In todays seminar class, we did a lot of discussion, getting right into it in the very start of class. Being that it was our first session since watching “Turandot”, we of course discussed it and how we felt about (for most of us, most likely) what was our first opera. It was truly an unusual experience for others, as well as myself. I found out that other classmates felt as I did. We all shared a mutual appreciation for how incredible the music was, as well as the scenery, but found the plot a little difficult to really indulge one’s self in. Nevertheless, it was a fantastic experience to have under my belt.
What really stood out about todays class was our visit from Professor Sorata (forgive my botching of his name, I didn’t catch the spelling!” and he seemed very excited about something he had accomplished. He had composed an entire symphonic piece. It was a Rhapsodic variation of Jewish Folk songs. We went into the definition of the meaning of a variation of a song. It is when you take a previously written song, and given a personal interpretation of it, keeping the general sound, but adding inflictions and more complex rhythms. Professor Soratas was very interesting, for he played us a recording of it. It had a very distinct sound, and since earlier in the class he performed a piano version of the original, we could definitely hear the similarities between the two. You could sing the original whilst listening to the variation piece. This was not how all pieces worked though, sometimes the variations strays from the original, with no more than mere traces from its predecessor piece. It was a very interesting experience for me, as I like to write songs in my spare time for piano (not nearly as magnificent) but it was definitely interesting, as I intend to make a variations on Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata”.
Epiphany- 10/10
It was really difficult for me to come up with a topic for this response. In my prior blog entries, there was always a topic or an idea that I wanted to write about. Thankfully, while I was thinking about something to write, I had an epiphany.
During class, Professor Sirotta brought up something interesting before he gave his lecture about variations of music, his epiphany. He spoke of his first memory of listening to music, back when he was five years old. The professor said that he remembered listening to an older family member sing a Jewish folk song. In all honesty, I thought he was stretching the truth but just a few minutes before I started writing this response, I believed him.
While I was thinking about a topic for my response, I looked through my class notes and mentally ran down all my memories of the class. I cannot say for sure but I believe my brain established some sort of a connection between Professor’s Sirotta’s talk about his epiphany and my own first memory of listening to music. I visualized myself sitting on a floor and in front of a television with my back laying against the bottom portion of a couch. I was watching The Lion King, specifically the beginning part in which, Circle of Life, was playing. I cannot recall exactly how old I was but the room I was in throughout the visualization was in my old Russian apartment. I was probably either 5 or 6 years old, around the age the professor was in his epiphany.
I am so thankful for this response, it let me reminisce about a significant moment in my life. Hopefully, the next response will have a similar outcome.
10/10/12-Swathi Satty
Today, we discussed Turandot and the first topic that came up was about Liu, who was the faithful servant. She could’ve been used as the foil character, as Naomi mentioned, to the princess because she was so selfless and didn’t see herself as worth anything whereas the princess was very aware of her high status. So her being the complete opposite of the princess was used to create a foil within in the opera. Her death was also not as relevant as the pursuit of the prince. This is common in Operas since the secondary characters don’t often get attended to as the main characters do.
Elisa noticed that while the audience applauded the actors/singers for minutes at a time, the orchestra was quick to get off the scene. This could be because playing instruments for hours at a time is even more physically exhausting than singing on stage for the same amount of time.
In regards to the music played, the music wasn’t what most would consider Chinese music today but was the 20th century depiction of what Italian musicians believed Chinese music would sound like. The music was probably based off of stereotypical perspectives that existed during that time which would now probably be considered racist. In this very opera, certain types of intervals are used to present the impression of the scenario on set given off to the audience. For example, 5ths are used for primitive cultures which would depict them as being violent and aggressive which is a modern day example of racism. In Turandot, Liu’s music had a lot of fourths in her music in her melody making it sound quasi-Chinese allowing the listening subconscious to perceive it as being Chinese. This was present but wasn’t the main focus of the opera. It’s a challenge for the creators of operas to make it exotic but palatable and not overtly racist so they would have to be selective about the instruments used in the orchestra.
Fantasia is based off of a piece by Mark Warhovksy. Even if he was a musician, he never wrote down any of his music until he met another musician who discussed with the bigotry of that age. Professor Sirotta is going to perform with his orchestra is by Mark Warhovsky. I learned that the words and the melody of the a certain piece can trigger past memories in its clearest form which basically states that music is as a personal as it gets. The words mixed with the tune can also convey beautiful messages as shown in “OYFN Pripetshok” which many consider the second Jewish anthem because of the deep message embedded in the tune of the piece and its words.
Many musicians use the melody to shrine the instrument and at the same time show off their skill which goes back to previous discussions about vocalists/instrumentalists trying to give off a message while showing their musical capabilities. Variations in tunes shows the change in music styles in cultures and age. Normally, the variations follow the tune precisely even if the music sounds more and more complex; basically the same framework exists with new harmonies. Sirotta, like many other pieces, brings in the variation after introducing the melody and the tune in his piece which he will perform in the orchestra this Sunday.
Wednesday, October 3rd James Baldassano
Instead of having class on wednesday, October 3rd, we did something that I never did before and will remember for a while. For the first time in my short 18 years of life, I attended an opera! It was a famous one at that, the acclaimed masterpiece known as “Turandot” by Giacomo Puccini. The story was about a land where a law was created in which “Any man who desires to wed Turandot (the princess) must first answer three riddles. If he fails, he will be beheaded.” It was a very interesting plot, but to be frank, not my cup of tea. Don’t get me wrong, I thought the music was just as impressive as it was fantastic, as well as the breathtaking scenery. But I found it difficult to follow the story line (probably since it was in a foreign language, and in order to look at the translations, I would have to stare at the back of the sea in front of me), and confused at many points. Maybe its just my immature mind not yet accustomed to the mature entertainment of an opera, but maybe one day I will grow to appreciate it! This is how I was at first with classical music, but I absolutely love it now, especially Gustav Holst.
All in all, it was interesting to be introduced to a whole different cultural experience. It is something I can say I’m happy to of given a chance, and maybe I will grow to appreciate it, for I can learn to appreciate anything with good music, especially a beautiful rendition of “Nessun Dorma”, even if it isn’t Pavarotti singing!
Monday, October 1st James Baldassano
On monday, October 1st, we had a very interesting seminar class. We took a look at a variety of voice pitches. We started off with the bass, which was the lowest pitch of the male range. We listened to an aria which was performed in the bass pitch, which I found very interesting, how such a deep voice could sing so beautifully. After that, we listened to the next highest pitch, which was a baritone. In addition, we listened to a few female voices, such as Habanera from Carmen. Other famous pieces were the aria from the Don Giovani. My favorite by far, however, was the 3 performances of Nessun Dorma by Pavarotti. With each passing performance, his emotion, as well as his range, aged like wine. His high C’s sounded more elegant and beautiful, his tone and pitch also became much more pleasant (not that they weren’t to begin with” with each video. His last performance ever at the 2006 Olympics, were something that truly gave me chills. It had a power of such magnitude, that it was literally heard around the world. My second favorite was Habanera from Carmen, which was an upbeat song about a promiscuous female. My third favorite was Largo al Factotum (Figaro), which was another upbeat song about a servant who is more loved than his master.
All in all, this lesson was a true eye opener. It opened my taste to a different area of music. Since I have already had a passion for classical music, especially Gustav Holst, the transition to appreciate opera music was easy.
