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Opera Of All The Ways Essay

Because the Mayer production was live, and the Ponnelle version on tape, there were elements of the former that clearly transcended the latter. There is no substitute for an orchestra, which is why the live performance also imparted more emotional intensity in the music than the recordings that I listened to separately. The stage performers, even though they were not acting out traditional Verdi versions of their respective characters, were nonetheless masterful. Their facial expressions captured the essence of the moment, for the most part. There were times I did not know where Mayer was going with his narrative structure. Yet most of the time, the trajectory of the plot of Rigoletto was preserved.

Perhaps the primary difference in the Mayer Broadway version is the way the audience is meant to feel at the end. After watching...

Gilda's death is not treated with as much sensitivity in Mayer's production. The death is more of a caricature of mafia movies, which might be what Mayer was after, anyway. I much preferred the way Gilda dies in her tragic way, raising questions about fate, hope, love, and desire in the Romantic incarnation of the original production. After all, there are reasons why Rigoletto and other operas are re-performed and produced yearly to faithful audiences. When the directors choose to diverge from the originals, they take a risk. Yet they also have the potential to lure new converts to the world of Opera by showing that operatic themes, music, and narratives have their counterparts in the modern world.

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