Tea at Trianon: Turandot for Today

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Friday, October 4, 2019

Turandot for Today

Puccini, who loved Asian culture and found great inspiration there, is now considered to be a racist. From CBC:

Even if you've never set foot in an opera house, you've likely heard Nessun Dorma from the opera Turandot. One of the opera world's instantly recognizable arias, Nessun Dorma (None shall sleep) has also had crossover success: it's Hollywood's soundtrack shorthand for bombastic, climatic scenes; a soccer stadium favourite, and a staple for male singers eager to show off their vocal chops. Aretha Franklin — as a last-minute replacement enlisted to deliver ailing tenor Luciano Pavarotti's signature tune — tore down the 1998 Grammy Awards with her rendition.

An opera house go-to, Turandot is being seen by a wider audience than ever, but that increased exposure has also meant that Giacomo Puccini's final work has joined other classic operas being re-examined through a modern lens. As the Canadian Opera Company readies to present its new Turandot, the company is grappling with how to stage the mythical, pan-Asian tale set in a China of Puccini's imagination. Productions of the opera have been criticized for showcasing singers in "yellowface," depictions of racial stereotypes, and Orientalism. When recalling past productions of Turandot he's seen, Toronto performer Richard Lee is blunt. "It's offensive," he said. (Read more.)