I’m a huge fan of the Old Trouts - Famous Puppet Death Scenes was amazing. I’m also quite involved with opera though to be honest I don’t love all of it.
I was very excited to see Ghost Opera but came away disappointed. I loved the visual aspects of it and the staging, particularly how they used the character puppets and the character singers as independent actors rather than as ventriloquist and dummy. The libretto was moving and funny at times. The setting was intimate and the pocket orchestra was perfect for the venue.
What I didn’t like was the music. At the best of times I mostly just enjoy the more melodic parts of an opera - give some arias and I’m pretty happy. So I’ll give you that I’m more of a populist, but this opera was everything I dislike about modern classical music in general - no (readily) discernible melodies, instruments taking turns plunking discordant notes. I don’t even mind discordant music if it resolves to something more melodic periodically (think Radiohead), but this never relented.
I was happy to see a good crowd on a Tuesday and I hope the show takes on a longer life after this run. It didn’t hit the mark for me but it was a thoroughly professional production and I’m sure it will resonate with others. It makes me sad that Calgary Opera is reverting to a very traditional program for next season but I hope they make a go of it in these difficult times for opera.
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