He will burn in hell


I bought tickets to see Mozart's Don Giovanni on a whim yesterday, at the Cork Opera House. I didn't realize that Soren Kierkegaard considered it the most perfect opera ever produced (the things you find out from wikipedia when you just want to get a link for a blog entry), but was interested in doing something besides finding local music in a Cork pub or reading in the apartment.

I had attended a performance at Cork Opera House before - Van Morrison, probably around 2001 or 2002... But I did not remember the details of the design inside. I have to admit, I was not expecting something like the Opera House in Tokyo Opera City or Walt Disney Concert Hall... But I was surprised by how much it resembled a high school auditorium. The stage design did not help matters much, relying heavily on spare low-budget pieces.

But Sandra Oman as Donna Elvira and Majella Cullagh as Donna Anna were both very impressive. And in my morose state of mind, dwelling on the nature of sin and transgression was actually somewhat pleasant! Especially since Leporello does such an able job of presenting an inspiration that this foible-laden spectator could possibly live up to...

And even though Mozart's score is absolutely gorgeous, I couldn't help but wonder why I couldn't enjoy it as much as the music of Glen Hansard. I bought his album with Marketa Irglova, The Swell Season a few months ago and have not been able to stop playing it... I know they released a movie this year, Once, but it had left Austin theaters before I took the time to see it. If I knew how much I was going to fall in love with their music, I would have skipped work to see this movie.

And of course, Hansard and Irglova are playing a series of shows in the US this fall, including one at Stubb's in Austin (!), and I am here in Ireland!!! They also have a show in Prague in two weeks, but I can't tell from the Czech website if it is already sold out or not (the warning from the Frames' website indicates it probably is...)
Maybe I will just go to Dublin and see the Frames instead, and let it go with that...

Posted: Sun - October 7, 2007 at 10:21 PM        

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