The Jon Blog

On Leaving Early

I (almost) never leave a show at intermission.

Once, when I was working at Colorado Shakespeare Festival, I had the option of watching the second half of a really annoying production of "Coriolanus" (on which I had built props -- shields and stools, notably) or... getting in my car and driving to the bars in Denver to get laid. Shakespeare lost that night.

I was with my mom at "Phantom" last summer, and the cast was just terrible and we just said, "Fuck it," and walked out at half-time.

There's maybe one or two other times; I am not totally sure.

But this evening, I added one to the inventory.

I was at "The Magic Flute" at New York City Opera. I just couldn't get into it. The small chamber orchestra didn't carry that great in the New York State Theatre, but even so, some of the cast couldn't carry their voices over it. I also got rather perturbed at some of the tempi the conductor chose.

I found the sets boring, the cast second rate, the lighting totally uninteresting, and, to top it all off, they sang it in English. I know it used to be de rigueur for operas to be translated into the local language, but somehow, for me, I want a German opera to be in German.

Besides, "Die Sternflammender Konigin" sounds WAY better than "The Starblazing Queen," even if I didn't spell it right in German.

Posted by Jon at October 10, 2003 03:40 AM | TrackBack