Opera Review
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by Bob Clasen
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Saturday night we watched the opera "Turandot." Beautiful music by Puccini, but an odd story. Turandot is a beautiful Chinese princess who does not like men and does not want to get married. Her excuse is that one of her distant ancestors was mistreated. She comes up with a series of three riddles that any suitor must successfully answer before they may marry her.
Her further decree is that if any question is answered wrong, the suitor is beheaded.
Many suitors come and many suitors die. This does not seem to discourage the suitors, but I wonder why anyone would want to marry a woman, no matter how beautiful, who had killed dozens of innocent young men only guilty of the crime of wanting to marry her. A woman who dislikes marriage that much should be left alone.
The opera is also made difficult by the fact that the star singer, who is supposed to be young and beautiful enough to lure dozens of young men to an early death was, in fact, an older, obese opera singer.
The truly good person in the opera, a young slave girl who takes care of the hero prince's father, is rewarded for her goodness with an early death. At the end of the opera, the prince succeeds in solving the riddle and getting the princess.
If I had beent the prince, I would have jailed the princess and married the honorable slave girl. Oh well. In this opera, evil is rewarded and goodness punished. Puccini died before the opera was finished so perhaps he would have written a different ending. I hope so.
I guess the theme of the opera is that Love is blind and insane.
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Sharie's brother Gordon passed away this week after a long illness. We will be traveling to New Mexico Tuesday, where he resided, to wind up his affairs. Hence I will not be blogging this week, hoping to be back next Sunday.
_________________________________________
by Bob Clasen
______________________________
Saturday night we watched the opera "Turandot." Beautiful music by Puccini, but an odd story. Turandot is a beautiful Chinese princess who does not like men and does not want to get married. Her excuse is that one of her distant ancestors was mistreated. She comes up with a series of three riddles that any suitor must successfully answer before they may marry her.
Her further decree is that if any question is answered wrong, the suitor is beheaded.
Many suitors come and many suitors die. This does not seem to discourage the suitors, but I wonder why anyone would want to marry a woman, no matter how beautiful, who had killed dozens of innocent young men only guilty of the crime of wanting to marry her. A woman who dislikes marriage that much should be left alone.
The opera is also made difficult by the fact that the star singer, who is supposed to be young and beautiful enough to lure dozens of young men to an early death was, in fact, an older, obese opera singer.
The truly good person in the opera, a young slave girl who takes care of the hero prince's father, is rewarded for her goodness with an early death. At the end of the opera, the prince succeeds in solving the riddle and getting the princess.
If I had beent the prince, I would have jailed the princess and married the honorable slave girl. Oh well. In this opera, evil is rewarded and goodness punished. Puccini died before the opera was finished so perhaps he would have written a different ending. I hope so.
I guess the theme of the opera is that Love is blind and insane.
_____________________________
Sharie's brother Gordon passed away this week after a long illness. We will be traveling to New Mexico Tuesday, where he resided, to wind up his affairs. Hence I will not be blogging this week, hoping to be back next Sunday.
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