So I had a friend visiting this weekend. I love it when friends visit. Mostly because I have very nice, easy-going friends who usually fall in with whatever plans I make without demur. This means I get to do stuff I've been wanting to do for a while. Like go to the ballet. I know nothing about ballet, or classical music. But I saw The Nutcracker 2 years ago, and really enjoyed it. I've been itching to air out the dress I bought to watch The Nutcracker. I only wore it the one time. So, when Boston Ballet's Romeo and Juliet production coincided with her trip, I bought stockings and we went to the ballet.
It was a visual treat. Spectacular sets and costumes. And the Wang theater is a great venue. Romeo, from what I could tell, had the requisite boyish good looks. Juliet looked ethereal. She was tiny, really. The balcony scene was pure magic. That was definitely my favorite part. For the rest, I was a little disappointed that there wasn't more ballet. It seemed more dance-drama-ish. I did get the goosebumps when Juliet's mother got all upset over her nephew's death. But apart from that..it seemed a teeny bit funny to watch them all drop dead one after the other..sort of domino effect like.
Also, I must have no soul whatsoever. Because the most inane things kept striking me through the course of the show.
Why are the men carrying cushions whilst dancing? Why does the priest carry a skull? Are those storm clouds in the backdrop? I mean seriously...Romeo and Juliet are suffering through gigantic tragedies, and I'm thinking about cushions! (Persons more erudite than myself have provided eloquent explanations for all of the above. Therefore I see no reason to label said questions as inane any longer. In fact, I have now decided that they are all very good questions.)
As a result of which the person sitting next to me had to suffer, because shutting up is not my strong point. (Since the questions weren't dumb , I reserve the right to take this back as well.)
Resolve of the month: I shall learn how to use chopsticks. Either that, or never go to a Chinese/Japanese restaurant again. I was like a bull in a china shop.
It was a visual treat. Spectacular sets and costumes. And the Wang theater is a great venue. Romeo, from what I could tell, had the requisite boyish good looks. Juliet looked ethereal. She was tiny, really. The balcony scene was pure magic. That was definitely my favorite part. For the rest, I was a little disappointed that there wasn't more ballet. It seemed more dance-drama-ish. I did get the goosebumps when Juliet's mother got all upset over her nephew's death. But apart from that..it seemed a teeny bit funny to watch them all drop dead one after the other..sort of domino effect like.
Why are the men carrying cushions whilst dancing? Why does the priest carry a skull? Are those storm clouds in the backdrop? I mean seriously...Romeo and Juliet are suffering through gigantic tragedies, and I'm thinking about cushions! (Persons more erudite than myself have provided eloquent explanations for all of the above. Therefore I see no reason to label said questions as inane any longer. In fact, I have now decided that they are all very good questions.)
Resolve of the month: I shall learn how to use chopsticks. Either that, or never go to a Chinese/Japanese restaurant again. I was like a bull in a china shop.
3 comments:
Thought you would like to know a couple of things that I found -
1.)The famous tune that I couldn't name is the "Dance of the Knights", wiki here
2.)The dance above was marked by Prokofiev as a "cushion dance". Much info about that can be obtained from omniscient google, for eg here
3.)Apropos the skull, here is a paraphrasing in modern English of Shakespeare's description of the setting as the marriage act is about to begin - "A dark cell. A skull, a reminder of the transient nature of earthly existence, lies on the table next to a magnificent bunch of white flowers, a symbol of the joys of life.
Friar Lawrence is conducting a secret marriage service: the bride and the bride groom are Juliet and Romeo. He hopes that his marriage will put an end to the centuries, old enmity between the two families."
I hope some of the mysteries of the ballet are explained (if you hadn't found this out already!) :-)
I saw "Jodhaa Akbar" yesterday. More about that later.
Thank you! I hadn't found this stuff out..no. All quite fascinating.
So you see there is alogical answer for everyquestion however silly it might seem.Google is indeed amazing!!I'm impressed.Very nice!!
Amma.
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