Macaulay Seminar One at Brooklyn College

1. What are some hidden ways that art influences us in our everyday lives without us realizing it?

2. Should we continue to modify and bring back old approaches to art, such as the current creation of Neoclassical art, or should we focus on inventing new methods of creating art that is appropriate for our time in history?

The past 2 weeks the Macaulay honors class visited the Lincoln Center to appreciate the art forms of ballet and Opera

BALLET

Although my younger sister is a dancer, going into the ballet I honestly did not know what to truly expect. That said when we first began to walk into the building as a class I was definitely astounded. It is by no means an architectural marvel yet the building gave up a sophisticated vibe. When the Ballet started I certainly wasnt expecting the silence that came right after the band started playing. The three dances were absolutely impressive and I was clearly able to see the amount of talent and practice that needed to go into the performance and make it as great as it was. I preferred the second dance about the temptress because I really enjoyed the orchestras slow songs and felt at ease during the performance as opposed to the first which i simply did not like as much and the third which i was surprised about because it wasnt the classic ballet. The Ballet truly opened up my eyes to a new classical world, as previously stated i did not know if i would have enjoyed the show but overall, I can say that it broadened my horizons. If i was given another opportunity I will most certainly go again.

OPERA

Without a doubt the Opera was a huge surprise for me. Walking in I believed I would hate every second of it. That said I took the advice the Professor and Amanda Hicks said and “let it in”. I was astouunded by the performance of Carmen and really loved the story. Being surrounded by friends helped ease me into the situation but i enjoyed the opera much more than i thought i wouldve. 2 things really stuck out to me; If the show was shorter I wouldve liked it much more and that my favorite part was the interactive stage that moved in a circular motion to fit the scene of the show. As Previously stated, I did not believe I would like the opera yet i think the mix of classical music (something i have an affinity towards) and a beautifully written story truly broke through my personal barrier. I loved seeing how every word had true meaning and how their connotations were expressed through the show. I also loved the foreshadowing and was able to really follow along making me know for a fact that I would go to another opera if given the chance and if it is not 3.5 hours long.

Midterm Questions

1) Should a photo of something be considered the artistic piece; or should the actual thing being photographed be considered the art?

2) Is the emotion brought upon due to art the real epitome of the beauty of the piece? or is the actual artwork the beauty?

3) Can a sociopath truly appreciate the beauty of art if there needs to be an emotional connection?

Tuesday night at the opera left me with this feeling of electric energy. Carmen perplexed me the entire show with her seductive, cold, and nonchalant attitude, yet she was still able to put off feelings tenderness and care at the same time. Carmen was full of fire the entire show and I couldn’t wait in every scene to see what she was going to do next. Her seductive nature was first shown in the first scene in a very underrated way. She sang her first song while she was washing her legs where she lifted up her dress to show her body and when the men stared, she splashed them away. What was extremely shocking to me though was the seductiveness and sexuality played in the opera. As a watcher of many broadway plays, I was most definitely not used to characters in a live play being so “intimate,” but it was an eye opener and an experience. A main person who disappointed me in the opera was Don Jose, who at first showed characteristics of a timid solider who loved his mother and his city and who promised to marry Michaela, to a desperate, raging man.
The opera did make me question what true love really is, and it showed me that there are a million different interpretations as what love means to every individual. In the opera, I found it funny how the characters fell in love with each other in a second, but it just taught me that we can’t judge people for how they love.

Going to Lincoln Center in order to watch Carmen was really Cool. Although it was scary not knowing where Mr.Ugoretz was, finally getting into the beautiful theatre was just an amazing feeling. Being so high up from the stage it did bother me, since I had a hard time seeing any of the performers and being able to distinguish one performer from the other. I tried my best during some performances just to try to see who was singing. I really thought that the fact that you couldn’t see the translations from other people’s screens, who were on your side, was cool, but you were able to read off the screen in front of you.

Watching the performance I was amazed by the singers. I mean although it would have been nice to hear the singing a little bit louder, the fact that those singers were able to project their voices so far up was amazing. I really liked all the singing that went on since for the most part the singing when along with the way the performers were acting and it was an amazing show when you combined the two. I honestly feel that the length of the opera wasn’t so bad since according to a friend of mine “most hindi movies are 3-5 hours” so the fact that our performance was three hours wasn’t so bad. Honestly I think that if the performance were longer it would still be a good show, since many people seem to enjoy the theatre partly due to the environment and the experience they have being able to just be engulfed by the show.

Overall I did really like going to carmen. I probably will wanna go see some other operas later in the future, such as ones done by Mozart.

I had some experience with opera before going to see Carmen at Lincoln Center, so I had some idea of what to expect.  However, when the show started and I saw the stage turn, my mind was blown right from the start by the amazing set the show had.  I can’t say that opera is one of my favorite forms of art, but I do enjoy listening to it every now and then.  It is very impressive to see the singers able to reach the back of the theatre with no microphones and only their voice. Actually the whole show was impressive; the set, voices, music, dancing, everything was spot on.

The only thing that I can say was not so great, was the length of the show.  It came out to a little over three hours, but it felt like seven.  I love going to the theatre and seeing shows, but this was just way to long. A part of me feels thats what our culture has turned story telling into.  T.V. shows are only in 30 min to one hour  intervals with breaks in between those!  At the Opera we just had one… It was just so different to see, the singers/actors explain their emotion.  It is usually just implied but most of the time, at the opera, they would sing on about it for quite some time.  They would even sing about an action before doing it! This was a main reason for it being quite long.

Regardless of the length, I did have a few favorite parts, well two to be exact.  Surprisingly, both of these parts were at the end of the show.  My first was when the overture music (which I’m in love with) was playing and the bull fighter was walking in.  The colors of costume, the roses falling, and the music just created such a great atmosphere I fell in love with.  My other favorite part was when the stage turned at the end and there was the imagery between the death of Carmen and the death of the bull.  Says so many things about the opera, some that we went over in class.

All in all I would probably go see another Opera if I had the opportunity.   It is defiantly something everyone should experience even if they come out not liking it.  It is just so different than what we see and hear every day that it will defiantly give you something to think about after you leave.  Next time, I would like to see one that maybe just a little bit shorter!

1) Does everybody have the ability to be an artist, or does it require a particular talent?

2) Theater is often an imitation of every-day life, so would participating in that sort of every-day life be considered an art form?

On my way to the opera I felt so overwhelmed. I kept thinking about how I have time to listen to a girl sing a song for four hours that I wouldn’t be able to understand, while I had so many midterms that week. I really was dreading the timing that we were going to that show and the length od it, too. As usual, when it comes to our trips, I was shocked. The hall that the opera was going to be in was beautiful. This time, thankfully, no one minded when I took photos. The place was extravagant. At first there was a curtain with this red light on it that confused me. Was the light part of the show or was there technical problems? But as the dancers began, my mindset of the opera changed. IT WAS A SHOW! I was so surprised, but I loved it. Even though I didn’t understand what the concept was behind the dancing, it seemed pretty cool to me. Then the story began. I loved the setting. I was actually pretty interested in the story. The subscripts made it feel like I was reading a book, while the show felt like I was watching a musical. But, things got in the way of my enjoyment. Like I said in class, I felt like it was a TV show with too many commercials. I’d have to wait so long for the next sentence to come on because they took so long to sing it. I know that’s kind of the point but it made me lose some interest in the story. Also, in order to see, I had to lean over so that the machine with the subscripts didn’t block my view. After a while, I was drained and just didn’t want to lean forward anymore. Also, it was so long and kind of late and I was exhausted in general. These factors led to me just chilling out for a lot of the opera, instead of being focused like I was at the start. Overall, the opera was an enjoyable experience, with just a few drawbacks.
But I always have fun spending time with my classmates, so that was great, too.

After standing outside for a half hour in the freezing cold, worried that we weren’t going to get in on time, I was relieved to finally see Professor with our tickets. As we got the tickets literally five minutes before the show, adrenaline was rushing through my body. I was running up the stairs so fast to make the show. To me, that was a great start to the show. As I was running up the stairs to the top floor where our seats were, I was amazed by the beautiful building and excited to watch the opera.

Before going to the opera, like everyone else, I expected there to be a person standing in the middle of the stage alone, singing. I did not expect a whole performance and play. The minute the show started, the orchestra played a familiar song and I was immediately engrossed in the music.

I loved the setting of the opera and how everything was changed in between acts so quickly. As far as the opera goes, I think it was a little scandalous. Carmen was the star of the show who wanted the men and would do anything to mock Jose.

I didn’t mind that the language of the opera was not in english. I loved reading the subtitles on my screen and felt that it gave the viewer their own personal perspective and view on the show.  It was like reading a book. Although the setting and plot is the same for everyone, reading the subtitles is like reading a book and helped make it more personal to me.

Another part I loved about the opera was that there were children in the performance. It was so uplifting and refreshing to see kids performing at Lincoln Center. I was a little shocked though that they were performing so late. If I was tired, I could only imagine how the kids must feel!

Overall the opera was a great new experience for me! I enjoyed spending time with the class and watching a fun and cool opera. Hoping to go to another opera in the near future!

Before going to the ballet I expected it to see a lot of girls in pink tutus pointing their toes and jumping up in the air. So when the show opened up and there were men and women wearing white and black costumes, I was shocked.

The first performance was beautiful. It was nice to see how passionate the dancers were.

Before the second performance I read the story behind the performance and was amazed that a story can be depicted through ballet. I did not realize that a ballet was not just about people dancing. But it was a little hard to follow with the story because there were so many things going on at once.

The last performance was my favorite one. I loved the typical story of three sailors looking to impress a woman. The comedy of the performance really had me going. It was the cherry on top of the cake. I expected to listen to classical music and watch performers dance for two hours, but was blown away from the last performance. It was like a broadway show to me, and I enjoyed it a lot. I would love to go to a ballet again!