tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post1447000924817189447..comments2023-12-27T05:20:26.800-05:00Comments on BAM blog: In Context: My LaiUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-29260898442104694002017-10-09T02:18:25.390-04:002017-10-09T02:18:25.390-04:00I admired the courage of all the participants in a...I admired the courage of all the participants in addressing this difficult subject, and I was very glad a noted Vietnamese musician was a participant. I had never heard of Hugh Thompson and had never known there had been any heroes in the My Lai massacre which had shocked me so when I learned of it years ago. We cannot forget this horror. We can’t let it go.<br /><br />In commenting on the opera, I first have to confess that it is much easier for me to comment on new music after I’ve heard it a few times. I can have a different feeling then. However, in this first experience I felt that there was stiffness and heaviness in the opera—that it was too labored. When that happens, passion is not present and there is no forward motion, no ability to be moved, a deep feeling that yes, this is beautiful and I’m grateful for the chance to look at this awful subject and be stronger for it. I thought Rinde Eckert seemed unsure of what to do. He would often go to the edge of the stage and look out ineffectually. Also, the fact that he is dying and still troubled, not proud of his efforts to stop the massacre, going over and over what happened as if he had somehow been guilty of it, as if he should be tormented while Lt. Calley and his cronies didn’t seem to suffer at all (they must have felt guilty; why didn’t we see that?). He did good deeds and was punished by his inner confusion and anger while deathly ill; why?<br /><br />A major problem for me was the fact that I did not understand he was a hero who tried from the beginning to stop the massacre and not a participant who wished he had acted differently. I didn’t know this until after I had read program notes and the materials that were provided online. The opera should have been clear about it. It should have been complete in itself. I was very confused as I watched. The supplementary materials would then have added to the experience without having the experience depend upon them.<br /><br />It’s also hard to stage, dramatically, someone dying alone in a hospital. It can get heavy and dull. You want to feel you can be a better person through this, and there has to be motion and uplift so that you can have something you’ll be glad to take home with you, without making anything “nice” or falsely pretty. Otherwise you’ll feel empty and hopeless, with no care to see justice done or wrongs righted.<br /><br />There were problems with two of the online materials: no sound on the Kronos Quartet piece, and “Bringing It All Back Home” didn’t come up at all. At least this was true on my iPhone.<br /><br />Could the creators of this opera try again? It would be worth it. I know it’s already come out of very hard work.<br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05661565256601823809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-87519155881980904312017-09-30T12:18:16.218-04:002017-09-30T12:18:16.218-04:00Stunning. Each of the parts, the music, Kronos, Vo...Stunning. Each of the parts, the music, Kronos, Vo's music, Eckert, the videos, was superb, and they blended perfectly in time and space. Anguish of a lonely moral man struggling with a single life-changing event: contemplative, angry, focused, confused, pressured, isolated, those emotions and more oscillating, carrying us with it, and ultimately uplifting. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-63752623774105119722017-09-30T11:45:04.855-04:002017-09-30T11:45:04.855-04:00The most powerful piece I've recently experien...The most powerful piece I've recently experienced All the elements patiently lead us to a fierce crescendo and a bittersweet, swift denouement. A jo-ha-kyu resonance..<br /><br />It shook me up, in the best human being and creative senses. A brilliant work of art, and a layered homage to a brave pilot who tried to, but could not, stop a notorious crime against humanity. Please do go.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15623758071743411361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-32507672476162436152017-09-29T22:44:57.276-04:002017-09-29T22:44:57.276-04:00Extraordinary!Extraordinary!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com