Uncle Vanya, BBC Four, 10pm, 30.12.20

[smittims]

Yes. I was thinking of anachronisms mainly. For instance, the values and behaviours in 'The Cherry Orchard' make sense only in Russia at the start of the 20th century; 'Carmen' is credible only in Spain at the time Bizet imagined it. To move them to , say, Soweto in the 1960s, makes nonsense.

I suspect they're really hi-jacking Bizet's music, because of its fame and universal appeal, to attract the public .

[Ein Heldenleben]

Yes. I was thinking of anachronisms mainly. For instance, the values and behaviours in 'The Cherry Orchard' make sense only in Russia at the start of the 20th century; 'Carmen' is credible only in Spain at the time Bizet imagined it. To move them to , say, Soweto in the 1960s, makes nonsense.

I suspect they're really hi-jacking Bizet's music, because of its fame and universal appeal, to attract the public .

I’m not so sure . I reckon both the transpositions you suggest would work. Don Carlo or Simon Boccanegra is a different matter…

[smittims]

It's still a mystery to me why, when musicians are ever striving to get closer to what the composer expected to hear, stage producers are getting further from what he expected to see. Did anyone see 'La Clemenza di Tito' on Sky Arts a few months ago? I tuned in at random and had to switch it off immediately. It was utterly remote from the spirit of Mozart.

[french frank]

It's still a mystery to me why, when musicians are ever striving to get closer to what the composer expected to hear, stage producers are getting further from what he expected to see.

Indeed, in another twist, when asked why no use was made of Radio 3's rich archive of classic radio drama recordings, the Arts/Speech editor of the time said that in many cases their 'style' was no longer suitable. I took that to refer to production and performance.

[smittims]

And yet there is TalkingPicturesTV daily showing films and TV dramas from as much as 65 years ago whose style is antique, but oh, how suitable for today's viewers wanting to see something elegant, entertaining and satisfying, in contrast to today's TV drama which only irritates with its mumbling actors and aimless plot.

[gurnemanz]

Productions which stray from what the playwright may have had in mind can offer stimulating or entertaining new angles and insights, even though the whole thing might be considered unsuccessful or irritating. This applies particularly to a play one already knows very well from more conventional stagings.

It sometimes annoys me to turn up for a play or opera which I had not previously seen and might not ever see again and be presented with an aberrant interpretation as my first and possibly only live experience of it.

[french frank]

And yet there is TalkingPicturesTV daily showing films and TV dramas from as much as 65 years ago whose style is antique, but oh, how suitable for today's viewers wanting to see something elegant, entertaining and satisfying, in contrast to today's TV drama which only irritates with its mumbling actors and aimless plot.

I think the key is that people are able - in these cases - to recognise that films, or whatever, are of a different age, can appreciate the differences compared with what's available now and without, crucially, feeling that somehow they're invalidated by being 'out of date' (or out of fashion). That doesn't mean that new ideas shouldn't be tried out, but they live or die according to value they add to the totality of what already exists. Not all new ideas are good - I still can't conceive of the Countess of Almaviva, singing soulfully Dove sono while she pedals on an exercise bike in her gym, as anything but incongruous, detracting from the original. Lika a childish nightmare that you can never forget.