Opera North: The Greek Passion

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

But the original version isn't a Czech opera - it's an opera set in Greece, written in English, by a Czech composer. Strange that the Covent Garden production you saw missed out the few minutes of dialogue that was used in the same production in Austria - a matter of 2 or 3 minutes-worth of material in total. (And which appears to have been restored for the performance seen by the Woolfs on 25th April, as they mention it in their review.)

[David-G]

The Greek Passion is a great work. I saw it at Covent Garden in 2000, and again in 2004 - and earlier with the Welsh in their memorable season at the Dominion Theatre in 1984. I will have to try to get to this production.

[Pulcinella]

A couple of reviews of Saturday night's performance have appeared:

https://bachtrack.com/review-martinu-greek-passion-alden-spence-opera-north-leeds-september-2019

https://theartsdesk.com/opera/greek-passion-opera-north-pertinence-and-power

[Richard Barrett]

But the original version isn't a Czech opera - it's an opera set in Greece, written in English, by a Czech composer

- who had lived in the USA for some time and therefore no doubt had a good working knowledge of English. It's one of the few major works by BM that I don't know at all. I tend to prefer his non-vocal music on the whole, but I would certainly go and see this if it were anywhere near me.

I think the reason some people say that English isn't an appropriate language for opera is that it imposes certain characteristics on word-setting: but then so do all other languages; it's just that, being used to hearing most operas in Italian, French or German there develops a sense that the sounds of these languages make them more suitable for singing. Whereas in fact every language has its own colour, texture, rhythms, accentuations and so on, and any sensitive composer will build these into the way they set its words. Also, I don't see why English should be assumed to be an unsuitable language for opera when it's very clearly not an unsuitable language for popular music.

[Pulcinella]

- who had lived in the USA for some time and therefore no doubt had a good working knowledge of English. It's one of the few major works by BM that I don't know at all. I tend to prefer his non-vocal music on the whole, but I would certainly go and see this if it were anywhere near me.
...

Richard: I don't know how long you'll be over here for when you are on your trip that includes the York concert on 4 October.
Future performances are 21 and 27 Sep, 19 Oct (Leeds), 2 Nov (Newcastle), 9 Nov (Nottingham), 16 Nov (Salford).

[Richard Barrett]

Richard: I don't know how long you'll be over here for when you are on your trip that includes the York concert on 4 October.
Future performances are 21 and 27 Sep, 19 Oct (Leeds), 2 Nov (Newcastle), 9 Nov (Nottingham), 16 Nov (Salford).

Thanks for those details - no, I'm only over for four days and there's a concert on every one! I was contemplating coming back for Mask of Orpheus in November but that's looking increasingly unfeasible too.

[Master Jacques]

I don’t think English is an operatic language. I’d sooner hear a Czech opera sung in CZECH - even if it’s ‘bad’ Czech!

What is your logic or evidence for this statement? Peter Grimes, The Midsummer Marriage, Riders to the Sea, A Village Romeo and Juliet, The Rake's Progress, Elegy for Young Lovers, Semele, Dido and Aeneas ... looks as if a lot of top-flight composers do think that English is quite as effective an operatic language as any other. As others have pointed out, Martinu wrote at least three of his operas (The Marriage and What Men Live By as well as The Greek Passion) in English, and - in common with most other composers who think of opera as drama rather than as a random sequence of pretty tunes - expected all his operas to be performed in this language, whenever they were staged in England, North America or Australia.

So I'd rather hear a good English-language opera - such as The Greek Passion - performed in its original language, thank you! I'll be heading up to Leeds for it next month, with high expectations.

[John Locke]

So I'd rather hear a good English-language opera - such as The Greek Passion - performed in its original language, thank you! I'll be heading up to Leeds for it next month, with high expectations.

There is a 'purist' argument (and no criticism intended by the word) to preferring to hear Jenůfa, set in a Moravian village, to the Czech composer's Czech libretto. But to translate the libretto from the original English to an opera set in modern Greece into Czech on the grounds that the music is 'Czech' appears to wrest all logic from an individual preference. Though one may still hold to that preference, of course.

[Bryn]

There is a 'purist' argument (and no criticism intended by the word) to preferring to hear Jenůfa, set in a Moravian village, to the Czech composer's Czech libretto. But to translate the libretto from the original English to an opera set in modern Greece into Czech on the grounds that the music is 'Czech' appears to wrest all logic from an individual preference. Though one may still hold to that preference, of course.

I think you might benefit from rr-reading Master Jacques's original message. You appear to be in agreement.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

At the premiere of Peter Grimes, some people complained that they preferred operas to be sung in their original language.

[John Locke]

I think you might benefit from rr-reading Master Jacques's original message. You appear to be in agreement.

I am indeed in total agreement with Master Jacques: it was the the earlier poster from whose comment I was dissenting. I was comparing the present case on which Master Jacques had just voiced his opinion with that of, e.g. Jenůfa.

[Bryn]

At the premiere of Peter Grimes, some people complained that they preferred operas to be sung in their original language.

Dutch?

[Pulcinella]

Dutch?

Well, most librettos might as well be written in Double Dutch, for all the sense they make.

[Richard Barrett]

Dutch?

I've seen a couple of operas that were written in Dutch, which was a somewhat weird experience since it's a language one isn't used to hearing sung at all.

[Master Jacques]

Well, most librettos might as well be written in Double Dutch, for all the sense they make.

I rather often find myself lost in admiration for the skills of the librettists responsible for most of the "standard repertoire" (in so far as that exists at all!)

For example, I recently did a piece of work on the changes that Puccini's librettists Giacosa and Illica made, to shape David Belasco's Madam Butterfly into a plot and text suitable for operatic treatment; and though it took them and the composer two goes to fine tune the work, I came out of that study with huge respect, for the way this oft-maligned duo transformed a rickety, ugly duckling into a beautiful, smooth-sailing swan.

They took the play, refined its stereotyped characters, gave it a moral-political point, wrote the whole of the first act (which isn't in Belasco at all) and improved the thing beyond all recognition. So hats off to those maligned operatic librettists, for often doing a difficult - and generally thankless - task so well!