Sleepless in Song's Thrall
A piece of this aria from Puccini's Turandot popped up on an episode of Six Feet Under I watched on DVD today. I'd heard it before in whole or in part in many TV and film scenes and have always been moved by it. Usually to tears or nearly so.
It was hours ago today that I encountered it and even after watching several more episodes plus two movies I couldn't keep it from invading my mind as unfinished tunes often will. So I headed over to YouTube to look for an uninterrupted version. And then ended up listening to several and this one several times.
I don't remember ever consciously knowing which composer or opera it was from before today. I've never watched or listened to an opera all the way through before and I'm feeling culturally stunted by that fact. I've been thinking so off and on for several years and I think it is time I did something about it. So I checked Netflix and found several different performances available on DVD. I'm still dithering over which one to send for. It is disheartening to see that the average member ratings never rise above three stars though. Is that a reflection on Puccini's art, the performances, or the culturally challenged state of Netflix members?
1 tell me a story:
I think it's because Opera should be experienced in person. I've watched plays on DVD and its not the same as actually going to a play. Maybe it's the same for Opera's. When you can feel the passion riding in the singers performance is person is so much different than when you are actually near that person. Just my thoughts.
Post a Comment