saturday, part 1: pierrot lunaire at the mca
i like spectacle, i like gamealan shadowtry, but on puppets, as in the production here, i still range luke warm to fully creeped. especially when their handlers are a squeaky-floorboard, unmasked crowd.. doesn't do it for my suspension of disbelief. that said, the first piece on the program and the schoenberg were beautifully staged and performed, especially by 8th blackbird musicians who move around the stage and are a very animated part of the whole. the costuming for pierrot was also notable- the flutist's garb resembled a highly constructed upside down tulip, the carinetist resembled an inverted bell of his instrument.. a quilted, straight-jacket theme unifying the ensemble with the whimsy of a midsummer night's dream. the soprano rendered her struggle with the muse with precision and moxie with a presence and tone more debra harry than brunhilde. it's reassuring to see "experimental" music given such resources and venue, but really, this is part of the canon, so it ought not be that unusual. this piece is nearly 100 years old.