DR Jay, what was your opera du jour yesterday? I can't think of a single operatic toilet joke to make. Dammit!
I'm still making my way through today's posts, but when one someone asks me a direct question, a direct answer I must convey!
It was a strange double-bill, comprised of Leoncavallo's
Pagliacci and Orff's
Carmina Burana, the latter accompanied by a ballet.
Carmina Burina is sung in Latin, by the way (BTW in internet lingo), so I am in keeping with one of Dear BK's requests for our posts today.
Although the production of
Pagliacci was interesting--updated to the 1930's or thereabouts--the Canio was very weak. A
Pagliacci with a weak Canio is just not a lot of fun, I have to report.
As for the
Carmina Burana, I thought the dancing was OK. At times it did expand upon the music being sung, but there was a lot of redundancy, I thought, to the choreography, and I could have done without the dance involving a live snake. The Dear Mother, however, really enjoyed this approach to Orff's unusual work.
Opera Pacific was saving its money on casting with this double-bill. The Nedda of
Pagliacci sang the soprano part in
Carmina Burana. The Silvio sang the baritone part and the Beppe sang the brief, but challengingly high tessitura tenor part. (He did a terrific job with it, too.)
The chorus plays a major role in both pieces, and it was very good.