tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11380345.post4831725218359032083..comments2024-03-17T12:16:42.048-07:00Comments on Civic Center: The Turn of The ScrewCivic Centerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12362422142667230626noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11380345.post-825687578859517372008-06-02T12:50:00.000-07:002008-06-02T12:50:00.000-07:00Hemmings' comments are fascinating.What's really b...<I>Hemmings' comments are fascinating.</I><BR/><BR/>What's really bizarre is how it all ended. Hemmings was singing Miles in Venice at La Fenice and his voice broke during a performance (like Peter on <I>The Brady Bunch</I>!). He was as good as dead to Britten from that moment on. The performance was stopped, Britten got very angry, the understudy was brought on and, I believe that was the last contact Britten and Hemmings had. AND! the understudies' voice broke the next night. Oh my.Henry Hollandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15871451112170286316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11380345.post-38323312206321366292008-06-01T22:23:00.000-07:002008-06-01T22:23:00.000-07:00Mike and Henry, thanks for the explanatory comment...Mike and Henry, thanks for the explanatory comments and recommended reading. Much appreciated!Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15625459753618343604noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11380345.post-50924111152777958572008-06-01T20:02:00.000-07:002008-06-01T20:02:00.000-07:00Dear Matty: Don't bother buying the CDs. I can len...Dear Matty: Don't bother buying the CDs. I can lend you everything Britten wrote and which he recorded/conducted (and unlike most composers, Britten was a genius conductor).<BR/><BR/>Dear Henry: I've seen announcements of performances of "Turn of the Screw" in big, inappropriate halls like the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and always wondered if they worked, and am glad to hear that it did. Being in a tiny house with the musicians four rows away, though, was totally cool. It's one of his most difficult scores (the only ones that are harder are "Owen Wingrave" and the two church parables after "Curlew River"), but the music expresses the strange, sick story in ways that are mind-blowing.Civic Centerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12362422142667230626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11380345.post-71745373657297311552008-06-01T19:22:00.000-07:002008-06-01T19:22:00.000-07:00Hemmings' comments are fascinating. I'm reminded ...Hemmings' comments are fascinating. I'm reminded of Stephen Fry's portrayal of Oscar Wilde and Wilde's view of the proper relationships between young men and older men.<BR/><BR/>I'm not much on the Lolita stuff, but I had a very young female student a few years back, 17 years old, in college, a liberal arts major with a shaved head and a boyfriend and both a genius and completely adorable. I've mentioned her in passing, no name, on my blog and said she was cuter with a shaved head than Natalie Portman in <I>V fof Vendetta</I> and I stand by that 100%.<BR/><BR/>She asked me to teach her more math after she passed my Math For Liberal Arts class with ease, and I gladly did so. Nothing sexual happened and she said she had made a similar request of another professor who considered it a come-on and she shut him down completely. She's already got her degree from UC and has gone off to grad school. Of all the people I have ever lost contact with, I would most like to hear from her again.<BR/><BR/>Okay, sad story mode off. Time to buy some Benjamin Britten CDs.Matthew Hubbardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17769958949302039878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11380345.post-57767551436892188832008-06-01T18:40:00.000-07:002008-06-01T18:40:00.000-07:00Timothy and Mike, if you haven't already, pick up ...Timothy and Mike, if you haven't already, pick up a copy of <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britten's_Children" REL="nofollow">the book <I>Britten's Children</I></A>, which in turn is based on a BBC documentary. To say that Britten had "issues" is putting it mildly, but it's a fascinating read. <BR/><BR/>As you note, he's a great opera composer, easily in the top rank. I'll never forget a production of <I>The Turn of the Screw</I> here in Los Angeles, at the much-too-big Dorothy Chandler Pavilion--when the boy singing Miles turned and said/shouted "Peter Quint! You devil!" and collapsed and died, it was like 10,000 volts of electricity going through me--truly one of the most stunning things I've ever experienced at the opera.<BR/><BR/>I'll take the double bass payer, please. :-DHenry Hollandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15871451112170286316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11380345.post-72459182671086513522008-06-01T00:55:00.000-07:002008-06-01T00:55:00.000-07:00Dear Timothy: From what I've been able to piece to...Dear Timothy: From what I've been able to piece together, Britten was a bit like Lewis Carroll (of "Alice in Wonderland" fame) whose most intense/rewarding relationships were with little girls. However, from all accounts, he didn't take sexual advantage of little Alice and the other objects of his affection beyond taking very early nudie photos of them. In other words, we're not talking about a sexual predator, and Britten seemed to be in the same mold.<BR/><BR/>As far as Britten being sexually abused himself as a child, it's only a theory but it strikes me as fairly obvious. The destruction of innocence is a theme that reappears constantly in his librettos (written by others) and in his music. Ironically enough, just like Lewis Carroll with his "Alice" books, Britten probably wrote the most beautiful music for children to perform in the classical literature.Civic Centerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12362422142667230626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11380345.post-48438655725361812892008-05-31T22:54:00.000-07:002008-05-31T22:54:00.000-07:00'a subject close to Britten who was a (non-sexual)...'a subject close to Britten who was a (non-sexual) pedophile and who was probably sexually abused as a pubescent boy himself.'<BR/><BR/>Hey, Mike...can you expound on this or at least cite an authoritative source? I'm curious - it's a provocative statement.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15625459753618343604noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11380345.post-14527336788637718002008-05-31T19:17:00.000-07:002008-05-31T19:17:00.000-07:00This was quite fun to read. I didn't mind Ms. Caro...This was quite fun to read. I didn't mind Ms. Carolo's <I>La Boheme</I>, it was completely conventional. I have a feeling her Aida will be likewise, though I guess I will find out.The Opera Tattlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06817163818697608446noreply@blogger.com