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igenlodeWell, it's an interesting experience to watch two different productions of the same musical on successive evenings, though I wasn't entirely emotionally engaged in either of them. At least this one doesn't seem to have introduced a whole lot of questionably consistent extra backstory.
Although... Carlotta has been leading lady for nineteen seasons? That's definitely a change -- just how young did she start and how few alternative candidates are around? I assume the idea is to make her old enough to be Christine's mother, but it doesn't sound very realistic to me to suggest that the Opera Populaire has only had one leading lady in twenty years.
And there's what I think is an extra line where she says that "these things do 'appen" for the last three years, which is presumably supposed to be the period of time for which Christine has been at the Opera, or at least the Phantom has been actively interested in her. (Though I'm not sure that makes sense; if his aim was to get Christine better roles by making a pest of himself, he hasn't been very effective at it if she is still in the chorus line after three years ;-p)
Also, this Carlotta is apparently a man-eater; she is all over the slave-driver during the rehearsal (and who can blame her? Those are some impressive leaps and fouettés -- I just looked him up, and apparently the actor is a bona fide Royal Ballet star) and then all over the managers once they come within her orbit. (Not much interest in Piangi, though.)
Is Piangi supposed to be struggling to hit his top notes during the rehearsal, in addition to having trouble with the French pronounciation of "Rome"?
The word "Vicomte" has an audible "T" [passim] :-p
Also, "Meyerbeer" is a composer, not Mynheer Beer (or whatever title the auctioneer thought he was using...)
Meg gets a new verse in "Angel of Music" (in place of "Christine, you must have been dreaming" - not sure if the objection was to Meg disbelieving her friend, or the suggestion that this is "not like you" when the plot requires her to be credulous) where she talks about hearing Christine's voice "but the words aren't yours", which is a weird way to put it. Of course the words aren't hers -- she is singing existing music, not having a spontaneous bout of composition ;-p
Christine doesn't seem to faint from terror in the Phantom's lair in this production; she just falls asleep in mid-song for no obvious reason. Collapsing from exhaustion and general adrenalin crash, presumably (she has after all performed her first-ever leading lady role before any of this extra excitement started).
Why does Raoul not after all have his hat when he returns to Christine's dressing-room after going to fetch it? He does have one the next morning in the managers' office ;-D
(And why does Christine dutifully learn her part and attend the "Don Juan" rehearsal after telling everyone at great cost that she won't sing the role?)
[Edit: he does have his hat and outdoor coat when he returns. It's just black on a black stage, and the close-up is cropped so that you can't see that he is carrying it.]
According to the new lyrics, Carlotta has actually tendered her resignation before "Prima Donna" takes place (and Christine is deemed to have done "a moonlight flit" -- but she no longer "burns the midnight oil" -- too literary a reference for modern audiences?)
I didn't like Hadley Fraser's voice :-(
He sounded very harsh and gritty as Raoul -- especially immediately after listening to Patrick Wilson's performance, which was so outstanding on the quiet notes. None of the others made me conscious of their voice quality in particular, as opposed to their characters, but Hadley's Raoul really sounded out of place during "All I Ask of You" -- complete voice/face mismatch. (His voice is downright ugly at the start of the rooftop scene, presumably intentionally as characterisation; he comes across as actively annoyed with Christine at this point.)
I did notice that Christine took some breaths in odd places -- I think we got a "Don't put me through this. Ordeal by fire!" rather than "Don't put me through this ordeal by fire". I don't know if it was by deliberate direction, or simply running out of breath during live performance, but it came across as a mistake :-(
And I can see why people complain about the ending; I definitely got the impression that this Christine wanted to return to stay with the Phantom (though I couldn't see why, unless she just feels really, really sorry for him!) and would have gone back down the stairs to him after giving him the ring if he hadn't shaken his head to forbid it.
The Phantom's prosthetics coming detached are very obvious, as are the singers' intrusive microphone headsets -- one of the disadvantages of filming close-ups of a production designed to be seen from a distance :-(
I liked the detail that you can see the "Act I, Scene 2" and the music written on the "Don Juan" parts in the managers' office -- and that the folders and paper are the same that we see the Phantom working on just before the unmasking. You can also see the actual "Le Figaro" headline "MYSTERY AFTER GALA NIGHT" when Firmin is reading the newspaper coverage!
And now -- since my grasp of stage canon does seem to be reasonably coherent -- I have absolutely no remaining excuses for not attempting to write this story. I've got slightly under three weeks left, and only half the regular writing time I used to have...
I still think it's an idea with potential, but I'm not feeling that fabled thing called 'motivation' that people moan about losing; partly, I think, because this is going to be yet another retelling of the whole canon plot, and I've already done at least three of those (Christmas as it ought not to be, Blue Remembered Hills, and If I Were Vicomte), partly because I just feel so emotionally and physically drained all the time (and constantly riddled by self-hatred and fear), and maybe because I've simply been at this too long. I thought I'd got a clever new twist, but apparently I'm not as enthused about it as all that.
(And I know that someone else is working on the same idea, because she mentioned it to me a few months ago -- so if the simultaneous existence of a deadline and of competition doesn't put a kick up my backside, then what can? I know-- I know that you don't get anywhere if you don't try. But when I've got an idea I don't usually have difficulty even starting, only in keeping going.)
Maybe this one is too long; I can't face another long one with Arctic Raoul still hanging over me (and my failure to do any work on that is not improving my mental happiness or stability.) But I'm not planning to make it a long story, only to pick out 'highlights' in my usual fashion, as I did with "If I were Vicomte", which barely mentions all the parts unchanged from canon at all.
Maybe I'm burnt out. Maybe I'm simply lazy. This is meant to be a hobby for my own entertainment, not an obligation. Nobody will care if I don't write it -- except me. I had a whole load of ideas a few days ago; where have they gone? (Well, actually I think watching the movie knocked the stuffing out of most of the recent ones, which is probably one reason why I'm feeling down...)
Although... Carlotta has been leading lady for nineteen seasons? That's definitely a change -- just how young did she start and how few alternative candidates are around? I assume the idea is to make her old enough to be Christine's mother, but it doesn't sound very realistic to me to suggest that the Opera Populaire has only had one leading lady in twenty years.
And there's what I think is an extra line where she says that "these things do 'appen" for the last three years, which is presumably supposed to be the period of time for which Christine has been at the Opera, or at least the Phantom has been actively interested in her. (Though I'm not sure that makes sense; if his aim was to get Christine better roles by making a pest of himself, he hasn't been very effective at it if she is still in the chorus line after three years ;-p)
Also, this Carlotta is apparently a man-eater; she is all over the slave-driver during the rehearsal (and who can blame her? Those are some impressive leaps and fouettés -- I just looked him up, and apparently the actor is a bona fide Royal Ballet star) and then all over the managers once they come within her orbit. (Not much interest in Piangi, though.)
Is Piangi supposed to be struggling to hit his top notes during the rehearsal, in addition to having trouble with the French pronounciation of "Rome"?
The word "Vicomte" has an audible "T" [passim] :-p
Also, "Meyerbeer" is a composer, not Mynheer Beer (or whatever title the auctioneer thought he was using...)
Meg gets a new verse in "Angel of Music" (in place of "Christine, you must have been dreaming" - not sure if the objection was to Meg disbelieving her friend, or the suggestion that this is "not like you" when the plot requires her to be credulous) where she talks about hearing Christine's voice "but the words aren't yours", which is a weird way to put it. Of course the words aren't hers -- she is singing existing music, not having a spontaneous bout of composition ;-p
Christine doesn't seem to faint from terror in the Phantom's lair in this production; she just falls asleep in mid-song for no obvious reason. Collapsing from exhaustion and general adrenalin crash, presumably (she has after all performed her first-ever leading lady role before any of this extra excitement started).
Why does Raoul not after all have his hat when he returns to Christine's dressing-room after going to fetch it? He does have one the next morning in the managers' office ;-D
(And why does Christine dutifully learn her part and attend the "Don Juan" rehearsal after telling everyone at great cost that she won't sing the role?)
[Edit: he does have his hat and outdoor coat when he returns. It's just black on a black stage, and the close-up is cropped so that you can't see that he is carrying it.]
According to the new lyrics, Carlotta has actually tendered her resignation before "Prima Donna" takes place (and Christine is deemed to have done "a moonlight flit" -- but she no longer "burns the midnight oil" -- too literary a reference for modern audiences?)
I didn't like Hadley Fraser's voice :-(
He sounded very harsh and gritty as Raoul -- especially immediately after listening to Patrick Wilson's performance, which was so outstanding on the quiet notes. None of the others made me conscious of their voice quality in particular, as opposed to their characters, but Hadley's Raoul really sounded out of place during "All I Ask of You" -- complete voice/face mismatch. (His voice is downright ugly at the start of the rooftop scene, presumably intentionally as characterisation; he comes across as actively annoyed with Christine at this point.)
I did notice that Christine took some breaths in odd places -- I think we got a "Don't put me through this. Ordeal by fire!" rather than "Don't put me through this ordeal by fire". I don't know if it was by deliberate direction, or simply running out of breath during live performance, but it came across as a mistake :-(
And I can see why people complain about the ending; I definitely got the impression that this Christine wanted to return to stay with the Phantom (though I couldn't see why, unless she just feels really, really sorry for him!) and would have gone back down the stairs to him after giving him the ring if he hadn't shaken his head to forbid it.
The Phantom's prosthetics coming detached are very obvious, as are the singers' intrusive microphone headsets -- one of the disadvantages of filming close-ups of a production designed to be seen from a distance :-(
I liked the detail that you can see the "Act I, Scene 2" and the music written on the "Don Juan" parts in the managers' office -- and that the folders and paper are the same that we see the Phantom working on just before the unmasking. You can also see the actual "Le Figaro" headline "MYSTERY AFTER GALA NIGHT" when Firmin is reading the newspaper coverage!
And now -- since my grasp of stage canon does seem to be reasonably coherent -- I have absolutely no remaining excuses for not attempting to write this story. I've got slightly under three weeks left, and only half the regular writing time I used to have...
I still think it's an idea with potential, but I'm not feeling that fabled thing called 'motivation' that people moan about losing; partly, I think, because this is going to be yet another retelling of the whole canon plot, and I've already done at least three of those (Christmas as it ought not to be, Blue Remembered Hills, and If I Were Vicomte), partly because I just feel so emotionally and physically drained all the time (and constantly riddled by self-hatred and fear), and maybe because I've simply been at this too long. I thought I'd got a clever new twist, but apparently I'm not as enthused about it as all that.
(And I know that someone else is working on the same idea, because she mentioned it to me a few months ago -- so if the simultaneous existence of a deadline and of competition doesn't put a kick up my backside, then what can? I know-- I know that you don't get anywhere if you don't try. But when I've got an idea I don't usually have difficulty even starting, only in keeping going.)
Maybe this one is too long; I can't face another long one with Arctic Raoul still hanging over me (and my failure to do any work on that is not improving my mental happiness or stability.) But I'm not planning to make it a long story, only to pick out 'highlights' in my usual fashion, as I did with "If I were Vicomte", which barely mentions all the parts unchanged from canon at all.
Maybe I'm burnt out. Maybe I'm simply lazy. This is meant to be a hobby for my own entertainment, not an obligation. Nobody will care if I don't write it -- except me. I had a whole load of ideas a few days ago; where have they gone? (Well, actually I think watching the movie knocked the stuffing out of most of the recent ones, which is probably one reason why I'm feeling down...)
no subject
Date: 2020-10-10 11:51 pm (UTC)The obligation I feel is to the *stories* -- not the readers. The readers don't need me (there are lots of other people out there to fill the gap); the stories do, because they're trapped inside my mind, and only I can let them out. (Now I'm hearing an echo of the Phantom's lyrics: you alone can make my words take flight... only I am my own Christine and my own angel in hell all in one.)
What I meant was that nobody will care if this particular story doesn't get written; no-one else has any particular attachment to a non-existent piece of work. It's just that for me it is no longer non-existent. ("Raoul, I've been there...")
And once a story gets to a certain stage of ripeness, the clock starts ticking; it can stay in suspended animation so long as it remains unformed, but once it takes shape it needs to be written, or it will die.
I've been reading C.S.Forester's essay on the writing of Hornblower, with the usual leap of recognition that I get from most professional writers ('yes, I do that too!') And he talks about the prospect of diving into what you know from experience is going to be hard work in advance, and the 'hangover' feeling of letting the work slip away from you in which rapidly turns into a binge of not-writing; the fleeting guilty pleasure really isn't worth the after-effects.
(Weirdly, I don't actually enjoy reading Hornblower being a masochist; I suspect Forester himself was, because a lot of his books have a nasty and/or futile edge, and I know I am. But it's not something I take any pleasure in as entertainment; watching someone inflicting unnecessary and undeserved punishment on himself offends my old-fashioned sense of morality and purpose in fiction, I suppose.)
Well, from my perspective, "The Writing on the Wall" was to all intents and purposes finished back in May, so it has been four or five months since I had any stirrings at all of 'a new story'. The fact that the actual process of conveying those images onto paper continued, zombie-fashion, for several months, doesn't really register with that part of my subconscious ;-p
(And in fact that story actually went down extremely well, despite all my moaning about the proverbial lead balloon; I ended up with four reviews on each chapter, from five different reviewers, which is far more response than I normally get. Possibly because it featured rather more Poor Erik than usual, of course :-P)
And I quite happily took a conscious break from writing anything at all for several months after the final chapter of Arctic Raoul, having been at it for literally years at that point. Only then you went and gave me a plot idea (and I assumed it would be a nice quick one-shot to write -- for some reason, it wasn't!)
I'm not one of those people who turn up on fanfiction.net saying "I want to write a story, but I don't know what is going to happen in it"; I don't have a 'work ethic' that requires me to turn out a certain level of output on an ongoing basis or lose my identity as 'a writer'. I just... don't want a story to die when I can save it.
(And my definition of 'lazy' consists of 'takes an enormous amount of whiplash to force myself to do anything at all, including things that other people appear to find entirely non-stressful', which of course is also a pretty fair definition of clinical depression. But I never know how much self-pity is justified, and tend to come to the conclusion that none of it ever is, because I'm not going out and therapizing myself to be a happy, productive person. If I'm going to cling to unhappiness as a central part of my identity, then I really can't qualify for pity for it. (Unfortunately on those grounds I can't actually believe in it either, and it's incredibly difficult to explain to a therapist -- who as a rule deal with people seeking to be cured -- that I don't believe I am genuinely unhappy, but would *like to be able* to do so...)