Those of us of the Looney Tunes generation (Elmer Fudd in a metal bustier singing “I’m going to kill the waaaabbitt”) have a hard time taking opera seriously. And that’s a good thing. Opera is like wine – it’s wonderful unless there’s some wine pedant around yapping on about “an oaky sheen” and “a florescent bouquet”.
Così fan tutte played in Vancouver last night – Mozart’s opera about – get this – two guys that make a bet that their girlfriends will never be unfaithful, then dress up as different guys and seduce each other’s girlfriends, thus losing the bet, their girlfriends (sort of), and their general happiness and well-being. The fact that they’ve cruelly deceived and manipulated their girlfriends is not an issue – “Così fan tutte”, all women are the same. Continue reading »
“It was the kind of landscape that had a particular type of story attached to it … a story that flapped wings against the moon…

Over the soundtrack, we hear a low, ominous growl (Oi the Beagle doesn’t really have a low, ominous growl in her vocal repertoire – she has a kind of chain-saw rrrRRRrrrYIP! sound she saves for the seagulls that land on our skylight – but, hey, it’s my dream.)