Hey guys!!
So now DC has an opera thread too. This place really is becoming a destination for discussion of all things gay. I remember when I first came to DC, it was for the slash/fanfiction discussions. Now I hardly ever go into that thread.
So...the BBM opera topic has resurfaced. Good. I was not around here at DC when this topic was discussed in the past. And I have only seen rather fleeting discussions of it on other BBM-related boards, and opera-related boards. Like the rest of you, I think that BBMis the kind of story that is well-suited to the medium of opera. The tragedy is certainly of a type that has found a home in opera since the beginning of the art form. Although rendering BBM on the operatic stage will require a great deal of imagination on the part of the composer, librettist, and the director. I did not travel to Holland to see the Dutch play, but I hope that an English translation it makes it to a theatre here in the States soon.
I tend to agree with Jack's vocal breakdown of the characters. Except Randall. I don't see him as a counter-tenor, but rather as a bass. In the movie, he was cast as someone who was bigger and more "manly" than Ennis, so a bass would fit well. Agguire and L.D. Newsome could also be basses. You know, the whole "villain" thing. Where I do think a counter-tenor could be put to good use would be as the Spirit of the Mountain. Yes that character came out of my head. I think that--especially in opera--personifying the mountain will work well. I see him as a quasi-narrator. And he could appear at various points in the drama sometimes singing, sometimes just observing. Thus effectively illustrating that Brokeback got them good, and will always be with them.
Unfortunatley, we may not see a BBM opera for years...possibly a decade or more. New opera is so difficult and costly to produce. I am working right now with a dedicated team of volunteers at the Delaware Valley Opera Company (in Philly) to bring a new opera about the Romanoffs to the stage. A number of us are working to create a budget for the project. And the composer will not start work on writing the opera until we have secured funding--even though the whole thing was his idea to begin with. So the team is also busy hunting down grants as well. Marketing a BBM opera also has its challenges. Looking at the typical opera-going audience, there are still alot of conservative ticket-buyers and susbscribers from the Mature generation. They would have a hard time with the gay theme. I think that it will be easier for baby-boomers to buy since they are not as up-tight about such themes.
Milo
