An opera fueled by technology and a plot pervaded by love, Two Boys was an outstanding production — one that I would even go so far as to say that it is a performance that you must see.
Its plot, which is enhanced by beautiful orchestral music and the powerful vocals of the performers, begins with the stabbing of Jake, a young boy, and Brian, Jake’s older friend, being accused of stabbing him — a crime of which he claims to be innocent. Forced to take on this case by her superior, Detective Anne Strawson immediately becomes frustrated with Brian’s preposterous story about a gardener who is a sexual predator and an aunt that is a spy — a story which she believes he has spun in a web of lies in hopes of retaining his freedom for as long as he can, since she thinks that Brian is guilty because he can be the only assailant.
Requesting the transcripts of his internet chats and reviewing the security camera footage from the shopping center, Detective Strawson sets out to solve the mystery of Jake’s stabbing and uncover the true identity of the assailant. Although she becomes frustrated at first, having to read “internet chat language” and use new devices like a computer, Detective Strawson overcomes her shortcoming and successfully pieces the story together and solves the crime.
Set in 2001, during the period and popularization and modernization of the internet that made it what it is today, Two Boys brings a more modern feel to the traditional opera with its extensive use of media — both in the plot of the story itself and in the production. Although some argue against the use of media, such as projectors, in operatic productions, Two Boys, in my opinion, takes full advantage of this media to further enhance the experience of the viewer and to underscore a main theme of it’s plot: technology.
Having both the “primary” and “secondary” events, terms that are applied by Benjamin and Auslander to the live performance of the actors and that which is conveyed to the viewer via media, respectively, only enhanced my experience of the play by making it easy to understand and clear the lines and emotion each of the actors was trying to convey. The media used in this opera added to the “liveness,” a term used by Steve Dixon in referencing the argument between those for and against the use of media in performances, of this performance, and it would not have been as powerful without it.
-John Wetmore (Blog A)
I agree with John in that this play was so exciting to see and truly wonderful. Having never thought of myself as an opera buff, I was shocked to find that I was quickly drawn into the world of the Two Boys story, which John goes into great detail explaining.
In my opinion, the use of media significantly enhanced the performance. It would still have been great without it, but the conversations projected onto the walls and the video chats illuminating the otherwise dim background added tremendous excitement to what I was watching. Seeing the conversations come to life rather than just hearing them sung out loud not only helped me understand the plot line more, but also gave me something to look at rather than just the detective and Brian sitting and singing.
The use of media certainly heightened the “live” aspect of the performance in that it provided a gateway for live speaking and reactions to happen. While watching the chats appear on the stage and immediately after, we saw fantastic dancers that — in synchronicity — depicted the vast, intertwining ways of the web. They, unlike the dancers in de Keersmaeker’s performance, allowed me to figure out exactly what they were depicting. They didn’t have to explain. They would crouch, slide, glide, jump, raise their hands in the air as the projected online conversations were taking place. They made me feel even more thrilled with what I was seeing and made me think of the internet “web” in a different way. It’s much more complex behind the scenes is what I got from the dancers.
I also loved that within such a serious story there were still moments for laughter. When Detective Strawson is first trying to make sense of Internet lingo, I thought it was a riot. I had the same reaction I had when my grandmother got her first iPhone. My generation just ‘gets’ these things and watching the older, inexperienced as an internet-goer trying to make sense of the butchering of the English language used in the chats gave me time for my heart to stop beating out of my chest.
I thought Two Boys was absolutely fantastic and I’m happy we were forced to go see it. Never in a million years would I have gone to an opera voluntarily, but I got lucky and ended up loving it. I’m sure a substantial reason that I loved it was because I am part of the generation that these actors were part of. I know online chatrooms, I text, I get it. Unlike the past two performances we saw, I could finally relate to and understand what I was witnessing. I highly recommend seeing it.
– Kyle Leighton: Blog B
Nico Muhly’s Two Boys greatly is a testament to the argument that media enhances the “liveness” of a performance. While this may be due to the fact that this opera is one that centers on media itself, taking on the convoluted subject that is the Internet, the media used greatly enhanced the experience in multiple ways.
I agree with John’s opinion that the use of media was to the opera’s advantage.
Although Benjamin says “even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: its presence in time and space . . .” the very nature of the internet and mass media in today’s culture is that it lacks a sense of time and space.
The media that our lives are surrounded by lacks physicality and is often built upon nothing but one’s ideas or imagination. Thus, Two Boys invalidates this argument against the use of media as a way of instilling “liveness” in a performance. Its lack of time and space (through its reproducibility) masterfully reflects the nature of the Internet.
Barthes illustrates this concept quite eloquently: “Photographs are a way of imprisoning reality, understood as recalcitrant, inaccessible; of making it stand still. . . . But . . . to possess the world in the form of images is, precisely, to re-experience the unreality and remoteness of the real.”
Auslander suggests the dominance of the use of media in a performance when he said, “The digital aspect is the “dominant aesthetic force” that the live aspect of the performance is incorporated into. This was apparent in Two Boys not only due to the mere size of the projections of the online chats, but also due to its role as the central theme of the plot.
This role of media used also affected the depiction of the characters, but did not necessarily make the “mediatized” characters more transparent or relatable. Brian and Jake’s inner psyches were reflected by their online chats. These chats, however, did not paint an entire picture, as demonstrated by the fact that Jake’s online presence was largely fabricated. The detective, Anne, was the character I found to be most accessible due to the intimate scenes between her and her mother that revealed her sense of compassion. These scenes were not mediatized in any way.
Phelan argues that, “Performance’s independence from mass reproduction, technologically, economically, and linguistically, is its greatest strength.” I do not agree with this, at least in regards to Nico Muhly’s Two Boys. In fact, I think that the reproducibility of Muhly’s opera (that makes it more accessible) strengthens the central theme of the opera, which is that of accessibility (on the internet) and the dangers associated with unrestricted access.
Like the others above me, I also thought that Two Boys was an amazing performance. The plot line, especially the plot twist at the end, left me awed and mind blown. Adding on to John’s teaser summary, I felt that the intermission enhanced this plot twist. When Brian introduces the stories of Rebecca, Jake, “Aunt Fiona”, and Peter, Detective Anne Strawson is in disbelief. However, after going through Brian’s chat history, she realizes that all these stories were true. By the end of Act I, I was convinced that these people were all real. Besides giving us time to stretch and walk around, the intermission allowed me to read the synopsis and talk to others, helping me to better understand what had happened so far and perhaps solidifying what I thought I knew. It was perfectly timed after a dramatic revelation, which left me in anticipation of what would happen next. The length of the break also added to the suspense. Act II then reveals that although these are 4 different people in real life, these were the same people online, all impersonated by Jake. The whole case turned out to be an intricate plan for Jake to die by homicide. This was so surprising to me that I had to confirm what I saw with my classmates as I left the theater.
This powerful plot, which really shows the dangers of the Internet and how easily someone could pretend to be someone else online, is largely due to the use of media. I really liked how they projected different images on the screens to change setting. The ability of the screens to move forward, backwards, and side to side added depth to the stage and gave a different feel to each scene. Regarding the “liveness”, I agree with Kyle that seeing the chatrooms projected on screens made them more real. I could imagine that many of their conversations would never happen in person, but only behind the computer screen. I was able to listen to the sung messages and follow along at the same time. It paired something I was familiar with, instant messaging, with something I was seeing for the first time, an opera.
Overall, going to the Two Boys performance last Saturday was not only about seeing an opera, but the experience itself. I have to admit I’ve never been this excited for a “first-time” event. Everything about it was so grand from the fountain at Lincoln Center, to the architecture of the buildings, the design of the theater, and the formal attire of the audience. I really appreciate that this was for a class because I probably would never have gone to my first opera alone. After this eye-opening experience, I look forward to seeing more operas and I hope that I can enjoy them as much as I enjoyed this one.