I’m reading Returning to Reims right now, and Eribon is really good at articulating the politics of class and poverty. He described how the French working class turned far right when the left politicians purposely dissolved ways for their electorate to define themselves positively. He also says that a part of this process involved becoming the technocrat “we’re all in this together” left, at the expense of an antagonistic, class conscious identity. The technocrat left won’t stop trying to “bossify”. We’ve lost the ability to even define our goals in non-corporate terms. You’re a boss, I’m a boss. We’re all a boss and our ideological enemies are always conveniently placed to hinder the left becoming the force for positive identity that it used to be.
Returning to Reims was one of my favorite books of the 21st century -- and was also a theatrical production starring Nina Hosssssssss. Anyway, Eribon is one of the few writers who seems to understand what's going on right now, rather than accusing the poor of racism, homophobia, etc. He has a new book out, which I have yet to start because I've been immersed in the 19th century reading group material. But I will report back on it.
I twinge when I see a production that is being advertised as a reinvention, but I see your point that operas and plays from centuries ago *could* be re-set in interesting ways with careful thinking about the time and place the work was composed, the story it tells, and the potential for a setting in a different time and place that could enhance our consideration of it, rather than distract from it (as the majority of such productions do now). But too often the artistic director thinks that taking something "ripped from the headlines" will make do - contemporary references that the intended audience will very easily get, even if it doesn't make any sense. Such as doing Julius Caesar with a Trump lookalike. Or this: https://apnews.com/article/mozart-opera-ai-yuval-sharon-detroit-860d6f5e2408fca7600c4f52620e21da
I think the most disappointing thing about The Cherry Orchard was that it left the audience adrift, in that certain characters were poorly introduced — if you hadn't read or seen the play you would have no idea who a couple of these people were and how they related to others.
It had a feeling of, “well, we have all seen The Cherry Orchard here, right????” But man, some people haven't. There is an anxiety about doing something new over doing something well.
Casting Trump as Cesar is hilariously dumb, but also I have seen so many Wagner operas staged in Nazi Germany, we get it!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m reading Returning to Reims right now, and Eribon is really good at articulating the politics of class and poverty. He described how the French working class turned far right when the left politicians purposely dissolved ways for their electorate to define themselves positively. He also says that a part of this process involved becoming the technocrat “we’re all in this together” left, at the expense of an antagonistic, class conscious identity. The technocrat left won’t stop trying to “bossify”. We’ve lost the ability to even define our goals in non-corporate terms. You’re a boss, I’m a boss. We’re all a boss and our ideological enemies are always conveniently placed to hinder the left becoming the force for positive identity that it used to be.
Returning to Reims was one of my favorite books of the 21st century -- and was also a theatrical production starring Nina Hosssssssss. Anyway, Eribon is one of the few writers who seems to understand what's going on right now, rather than accusing the poor of racism, homophobia, etc. He has a new book out, which I have yet to start because I've been immersed in the 19th century reading group material. But I will report back on it.
Nice! I’d love to hear what you think. All of the insights in Reims are points I’ve never heard anyone articulate so specifically before.
I twinge when I see a production that is being advertised as a reinvention, but I see your point that operas and plays from centuries ago *could* be re-set in interesting ways with careful thinking about the time and place the work was composed, the story it tells, and the potential for a setting in a different time and place that could enhance our consideration of it, rather than distract from it (as the majority of such productions do now). But too often the artistic director thinks that taking something "ripped from the headlines" will make do - contemporary references that the intended audience will very easily get, even if it doesn't make any sense. Such as doing Julius Caesar with a Trump lookalike. Or this: https://apnews.com/article/mozart-opera-ai-yuval-sharon-detroit-860d6f5e2408fca7600c4f52620e21da
I think the most disappointing thing about The Cherry Orchard was that it left the audience adrift, in that certain characters were poorly introduced — if you hadn't read or seen the play you would have no idea who a couple of these people were and how they related to others.
It had a feeling of, “well, we have all seen The Cherry Orchard here, right????” But man, some people haven't. There is an anxiety about doing something new over doing something well.
Casting Trump as Cesar is hilariously dumb, but also I have seen so many Wagner operas staged in Nazi Germany, we get it!!!!!!!!!!!