I get along really well with the artistic director and conductor of Berkeley Opera, Jonathan Khuner. Although I think we have some aesthetic differences, there is a lot we do agree on, particularly in terms of shaking up accepted performance techniques in opera. He does it musically and I do it dramatically, but we discuss each other’s interpretation with an openness and flexibility that actually makes musical-dramatic collaborations seem natural. (As I was asking Jonathan to shorten a fermata for dramatic purposes, my friend Cori Ellison said, “Don’t try that kind of thing at San Francisco Opera!”)But we do seem to be at a disagreement upon one bit of staging: a sex scene between Ramfis and the priestess during Act II, scene I. On the downstairs level of the set, Amneris is getting made up with a sense of erotic anticipation for Radames’s arrival; upstairs, that erotic longing is turned into very uncomfortable and unenjoyable intercourse between one of the country’s most powerful figureheads (Dick Cheney meets Ted Haggard for us) and a woman we see in the first act as a mouthpiece of the system. This happens during the grotesque little dance that is usually a happy “dance of the Moorish slaves,” which must be one of the ugliest ideas in the opera. Part of the consideration for staging the scene in our way grew out of a wish to bring to life that sense of shameless exploitation of one person for the pleasure of another, more powerful person.
[SNIP]
I also have to wonder why this scene involving sex is the one raising some eyebrows: why aren’t the scenes of gruesome violence the disturbing ones? We have plenty in our production, from the very first scene to the very last (in our production, Amonasro’s army overthrows the country and kills the king, Ramfis, the priestess, and everyone else in the system). Aida is quite literally on the brink of suicide from the beginning of the opera, and she and Amneris both suffer disturbing beatings at the hand of their fathers. So why is it sex that ruffles feathers? And in fact, why are sex and violence constantly linked activities in our culture, with sex somehow considered more dangerous?
Archive for July, 2007
Sex and Aida
Sunday, July 15th, 2007Reflected Light
Sunday, July 15th, 2007
Environmental Ambiguity
Monday, July 9th, 2007Highly efficient fluorescent light bulbs are widely touted as environmentally friendly, but they have created a recycling headache for the EPA and local governments. More often than not, their toxic ingredients simply end up in landfills, where the chemicals can leach into soil and water and poison fish and other wildlife.The bulbs contain mercury and should not be tossed in the trash like regular light bulbs.
“They’re very efficient, but once they’re used up they become a ticking toxic time bomb,” said Leonard Robinson, chief deputy director of the California Department of Toxic Substances Control. “They need to be captured and recycled.”
The bulbs remain a good choice for the environmentally conscious, however, because the amount of mercury they contain is less than what is generated in the production of the extra electricity required to light an incandescent bulb.
This is your brain on crank
Monday, July 9th, 2007
Red
Thursday, July 5th, 2007
Powered by good vibes
Wednesday, July 4th, 2007Vibration energy harvesting is receiving a considerable amount of interest as a means for powering wireless sensor nodes,’ said Dr Beeby. ‘The big advantage of wireless sensor systems is that by removing wires and batteries, there is the potential for embedding sensors in previously inaccessible locations.’According to Dr Beeby, over the years, there has been a growing interest in the field of low power miniature sensors and wireless sensor networks, but an area that has received comparatively little attention is how to supply the required electrical power to such sensors, particularly if the sensor is completely embedded in the structure with no physical connection to the outside world. He believes that the VIBES generator could hold the solution.
Let us neither forget this
Wednesday, July 4th, 2007In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Why we celebrate the 4th of July
Wednesday, July 4th, 2007Lest we forget amidst the Bar-B-Ques today.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
