International
Theatre Conference: Directing and Authorship in Western Drama
Panel Seven
Saturday
October 25th, 1-2:30pm
Henry MacCarthy,
Ohio University
Abstract: The Angry Mob: Performance Traditions
and the (Mis) Appropriation of Authorship in Opera
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Opera
audiences are the only remaining group of theater spectators that assert
their aesthetic objections by booing the stage performance. This form of
public criticism is deeply rooted in tradition and aside from being
considered rude by some; it remains a valid and acceptable form of
expressing disapproval at the operatic stage. Demonstrations of public
outcry are propelled by an emotional attachment to the piece that is being
performed, in opera the attachment is often to the music component of the
story, divorcing it from the whole. Consequently, the director, whose job
is to tell the story, is perceived as the outsider, the non-musician whose
job is to take care of the stage picture by not interfering with
the music.
Patrons’ preferences are seriously taken into account
when a company is planing a new season. If an opera company introduces new
works or rarely perform operas, it must compensate by scheduling standard
repertoire to meet box office needs. Standard operatic repertoire is
limited to ten or so operas. Audiences know them very well and expect to
see on the stage what they are familiar with; primarily traditional
interpretations that follow the stage directions in the score with utmost
rigor, reflecting a realistic view of the events, settings and characters.
These spectators find a sense of comfort and pleasure in experiencing the
recognizable: an opera production that remains loyal to their first
encounter with the work. A directorial interpretation that departs from
these expectations is therefore considered threatening. Opera audiences
are quick to assert their disapproval, and to defend the opera, claiming
that the director’s interpretation contradicts the composer’s intentions.
Are they really defending the composer or, is it perhaps, their own
version of the opera? Have audience members appropriated authorship of the
traditional productions? Is the director a threat to the status quo,
and if so, should directorial interpretations be regulated? Does this
constitute a form of censorship imposed on the director, or a legitimate
claim for the preservation and perpetuation of tradition? In this paper I
explore possible answers to these questions and the implications they
might have in the future of opera.
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