Sex and Opera, oh and a story too

By -

A new opera is coming to LA, "Lovelace: The Rock Opera" detailing the life and times of legendary adult film superstar Linda Lovelace, but the opera is much more about Linda's life and struggles than it is about her role in the iconic film that changed the film industry forever. Linda Boreman was better known by her stage name, Linda Lovelace from the 1972 porn film "Deep Throat." She later denounced the porn industry claiming she was forced by her sadistic husband.

The opera was co-written by Anna Waronker (from That Dog) and Charlotte Caffey (from The Go-Go’s), with the originally the concept of Jeffery Leonard Bowman, who also worked on the project for years before it was presented to the Hayworth Theater. Although Caffey tends to focus on writing pop music, having written the hits “We Got The Beat”, “Vacation”, and “Head Over Heels” in her Grammy nominated band The Go-Go’s and co-wrote Keith Urban’s first #1 hit, is classically educated. Together Waronker and Caffey have created a highly emotional, dramatic, and sometimes hilarious piece about the life of Linda Boreman. In the style of previous smash hit rock operas “Tommy” and “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Lovelace: A Rock Opera” goes from Linda as a pregnant teenager in Yonkers, New York, to her turbulent relationship with her husband, the making of “Deep Throat,” and through to her life as activist and suburban wife and mother.

Caffey is quoted, "The whole thing is music. Not one word is spoken. No dialogue whatsoever. Over 40 pieces of music strung together into a score. There are a lot of catchy numbers and definitely some songs that stand out that will make you cry or laugh or be fun to sing along to, even though the lyrics might be evil, and some stuff to even tap your foot to. “Hide My Soul” and ”I've Done Things I Would Never Do” are the real heartbreakers. The character of Harry Reems has an hilarious song. And Linda’s got an anthem or two." All of this in 90 minutes with 30 different locations. Where "A Burial in Thebes" (see a previous post) is a piece with minimal set, few locations and fairly static stage direction, "Lovelace: the Rock Opera" will seem to fly across the stage.

I'm not in LA this week, but I'll keep you posted on any reviews I find on the net.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Role of Music in Opera

By -
There are numerous books on the topic, and every composer, librettist, director, singer and audience member has their opinion as to what role the music should play in an opera. In a play without music, the words ought to support the meaning behind a character's actions. However, in the case of action movies, often times the action is what tells the story and there aren't words, just images to forward the plot. We might hear music to accompany action, build tension, but the action tells the story. Musicals tend to speak until the emotion of the moment just "has" to break out in song - unless it's something like "Mama Mia" where the dialog is the rails we travel on between songs; the songs themselves, written before the concept of the musical, are the focus of the production, while the story is secondary. Operas are a different beast. The music provides emotion to the words spoken, but it also plays the role of ambience when there is only action. In &quo
Read more

Episode 210b: Joyeuse le départ

By -
Image
Podcast:  Play in new window  |  Download Subscribe:  Apple Podcasts  |  Android  |  Google Play  |  Stitcher  |  TuneIn  |  RSS Provost Cunningham has Transmigrated, but to where! What is Dr Sage going to do with his body? And how can she bring home her friends, Abigail and Erasmus, without also bring home Cunningham? What are they going to say when they find the “skeleton” she’s hiding in her closet? Cast: Eddie Louise Clark  as Dr Sage Chip Clark  as Professor Savant Justin Bremer  as the Narrator Emily Riley Piatt  as Abigail Entwhistle, Calypso & Dean Stewart Written by  Eddie Louise Theme music by  Unwoman Sound Design by  Chip Michael
Read more

The Art of String Quartets by Brian Ferneyhough

By -
Image
When an artist sets paint to canvas, there are brush strokes used for different effects. Sometimes those strokes are subtle, imperceptible; they produce works of art like the Mona Lisa . Other times the very obvious nature of the stroke is the art, as in works by Van Gogh. With some composers of music, the notes on the page are their craft. How those notes translate into an aural experience is what defines some composers as great artists. Brian Ferneyhough has a masterful command of the techniques of putting notes on the page. These techniques are sometimes so subtle, even though written in black and white, they escape detection. Some of what he attempts with his music is just that, to escape detection, to bury the framework, diverting the ear away from the structure, so only the music is heard . The subtlety is so fine it is almost imperceptible. Even though he studied at several institutions, he is considered self-taught, studying scores from Boule
Read more