Composers have always mined familiar stories for their texts, although Charles Wuorinen, whose Brokeback Mountain premieres tonight in Madrid, has gone back to the source rather than the screen version of this timeless story
Charles Wuorinen's opera on Annie Proulx's Brokeback Mountain is anything but an adaptation of the movie. For a start, the opera features Proulx's own libretto, whereas the author did not write the screenplay for the Oscar-winning movie. As Proulx told me for this week's Music Matters, creating her own opera libretto from her 1997 story was about compressing the already heightened, concise world of the short story still further into the distilled essentials that the characters will sing on stage at the world premiere at the Teatro Real in Madrid tonight. Wuorinen says that he wanted to do something that the film didn't: instead of the beautifying effects of the cinematography on the mountainous landscape of the North American West,...
Charles Wuorinen's opera on Annie Proulx's Brokeback Mountain is anything but an adaptation of the movie. For a start, the opera features Proulx's own libretto, whereas the author did not write the screenplay for the Oscar-winning movie. As Proulx told me for this week's Music Matters, creating her own opera libretto from her 1997 story was about compressing the already heightened, concise world of the short story still further into the distilled essentials that the characters will sing on stage at the world premiere at the Teatro Real in Madrid tonight. Wuorinen says that he wanted to do something that the film didn't: instead of the beautifying effects of the cinematography on the mountainous landscape of the North American West,...
- 1/28/2014
- by Tom Service
- The Guardian - Film News
Theatrical hell-raisers and the art world's enfants terribles take centre stage in our roundup of the biggest risk-takers of 2014
Theatre
Oh! What a Lovely War
Theatre-maker Joan Littlewood was a visionary, an iconoclast and a subversive. Her 1963 "documentary collage" about the bitter ironies of the first world war was way ahead of its time, using popular period song and hard-hitting testimony. Lyn Gardner Theatre Royal Stratford East, London E15 (020-8534 0310), 1 February to 15 May.
Macbeth
Shakespeare's dark tale as you've never seen it before, taking place in a secret location from dawn to dusk. Party with Duncan, bed down in Macbeth's castle on the 27th floor of a tower block, glimpse the witches in an underground car park, and join the feast at which Banquo will be an uninvited guest. The spectres will be bloody – but the food will be vegetarian. LG Secret location, London, 4 April to 31 May.
Grit
This...
Theatre
Oh! What a Lovely War
Theatre-maker Joan Littlewood was a visionary, an iconoclast and a subversive. Her 1963 "documentary collage" about the bitter ironies of the first world war was way ahead of its time, using popular period song and hard-hitting testimony. Lyn Gardner Theatre Royal Stratford East, London E15 (020-8534 0310), 1 February to 15 May.
Macbeth
Shakespeare's dark tale as you've never seen it before, taking place in a secret location from dawn to dusk. Party with Duncan, bed down in Macbeth's castle on the 27th floor of a tower block, glimpse the witches in an underground car park, and join the feast at which Banquo will be an uninvited guest. The spectres will be bloody – but the food will be vegetarian. LG Secret location, London, 4 April to 31 May.
Grit
This...
- 1/1/2014
- by Lyn Gardner, Andrew Dickson, Jonathan Jones, Adrian Searle, Imogen Tilden, Andrew Clements, Tom Service, Mark Lawson, Tim Jonze, Brian Logan, Oliver Wainwright, Ben Beaumont-Thomas, Henry Barnes, Judith Mackrell
- The Guardian - Film News
What more has Courtney Love possibly got to share with us, and how will Steve McQueen fare at the Oscars? These are just a few of the topics that will set tongues wagging in the new year
Pop
Courtney Love's memoir
The question is not so much "what will be in Courtney Love's book?" as "what could possibly be in Courtney Love's book that she hasn't already spoken/ranted/raved about?" Still, her self-titled autobiography has been described as "too crazy not to be true" and should provide her definitive take on her time with Hole and her doomed relationship with Kurt Cobain. It will also, hopefully, spill previously unspilled beans on her relationships with Billy Corgan and Steve Coogan. Oh, and according to an interview she did with Rolling Stone, it was inspired by Russell Brand's My Booky Wook. The mind boggles. Tj
Everything to...
Pop
Courtney Love's memoir
The question is not so much "what will be in Courtney Love's book?" as "what could possibly be in Courtney Love's book that she hasn't already spoken/ranted/raved about?" Still, her self-titled autobiography has been described as "too crazy not to be true" and should provide her definitive take on her time with Hole and her doomed relationship with Kurt Cobain. It will also, hopefully, spill previously unspilled beans on her relationships with Billy Corgan and Steve Coogan. Oh, and according to an interview she did with Rolling Stone, it was inspired by Russell Brand's My Booky Wook. The mind boggles. Tj
Everything to...
- 1/1/2014
- by Mark Lawson, Andrew Dickson, Lyn Gardner, Oliver Wainwright, Andrew Clements, Jonathan Jones, Tim Jonze, Henry Barnes, Stuart Heritage, Judith Mackrell
- The Guardian - Film News
Angelina Jolie takes on Sleeping Beauty while Terry Gilliam tackles Berlioz as the stars come out to confound our expectations in the coming year
Film
Angelina Jolie in Maleficent
Hollywood's most formidable leading lady is back after a relatively quiet spell, in a role playing on her scariness and seniority. This reinvented fairytale is a twist on The Sleeping Beauty, and Jolie is not playing the insipid dormant heroine with her crybaby attitude to finger-pricking but the evilly magnificent Maleficent, the sorceress who casts a spell on the demure young Princess Aurora. How did she get that way? Everything will depend on the script – but Jolie is always a great turn. Peter Bradshaw 30 May.
Natalie Portman in Jane Got a Gun
Natalie Portman is a Hollywood A-lister who first came to prominence in George Lucas's Star Wars prequel trilogy. She was compellingly vulnerable in Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan,...
Film
Angelina Jolie in Maleficent
Hollywood's most formidable leading lady is back after a relatively quiet spell, in a role playing on her scariness and seniority. This reinvented fairytale is a twist on The Sleeping Beauty, and Jolie is not playing the insipid dormant heroine with her crybaby attitude to finger-pricking but the evilly magnificent Maleficent, the sorceress who casts a spell on the demure young Princess Aurora. How did she get that way? Everything will depend on the script – but Jolie is always a great turn. Peter Bradshaw 30 May.
Natalie Portman in Jane Got a Gun
Natalie Portman is a Hollywood A-lister who first came to prominence in George Lucas's Star Wars prequel trilogy. She was compellingly vulnerable in Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan,...
- 1/1/2014
- by Peter Bradshaw, Tim Jonze, Sean O'Hagan, Mark Lawson, Andrew Dickson, Lyn Gardner, Jonathan Jones, Adrian Searle, Tom Service, Andrew Clements
- The Guardian - Film News
Find out who will be judging the competition in each category
Entries will initially be narrowed to a shortlist of up to 10 in each category (ie, five in each age group) by the Guardian arts desk and a panel of independent adjudicators. These shortlists will then be read by the judges' panels below, who will agree on the best under 14-year-old and the best 14-18-year-old in each category. An overall winner will be chosen from these 16 finalists by the Guardian arts editor, Melissa Denes; culture editor of guardian.co.uk, Alex Needham; Georgina Henry, head of culture, Gnm, and Alan Yentob, creative director of the BBC.
Pop
Emmy the Great, singer-songwriter
Alexis Petridis, chief pop critic
Michael Hann, editor, Film and Music
Tim Jonze, editor, guardian.co.uk/music
Caspar Llewellyn Smith, music editor, Guardian News & Media
Visual art
Susan Philipsz, artist
Adrian Searle, visual art critic
Jonathan Jones,...
Entries will initially be narrowed to a shortlist of up to 10 in each category (ie, five in each age group) by the Guardian arts desk and a panel of independent adjudicators. These shortlists will then be read by the judges' panels below, who will agree on the best under 14-year-old and the best 14-18-year-old in each category. An overall winner will be chosen from these 16 finalists by the Guardian arts editor, Melissa Denes; culture editor of guardian.co.uk, Alex Needham; Georgina Henry, head of culture, Gnm, and Alan Yentob, creative director of the BBC.
Pop
Emmy the Great, singer-songwriter
Alexis Petridis, chief pop critic
Michael Hann, editor, Film and Music
Tim Jonze, editor, guardian.co.uk/music
Caspar Llewellyn Smith, music editor, Guardian News & Media
Visual art
Susan Philipsz, artist
Adrian Searle, visual art critic
Jonathan Jones,...
- 6/19/2011
- The Guardian - Film News
The best of your comments on the latest films and music
'I very much agree." You have no idea how delightful it is to see a thread beneath a review begin with those words. So thank you, daveportivo, for kicking off the debate on James Blake's debut album, reviewed last week by Alexis Petridis. What daveportivo was agreeing with was Alexis's warm assessment of Blake's odd and lovely album. "I felt at times he struggled to say what he was trying to say … In certain instances that awkwardness gives the record a real sense of fragile beauty."
"You're probably only going to understand his music if you're immersed in the electronic/dance scene," officialdragon said, "which is why it puzzles me that the media have jumped on him, trying to thrust him into a mainstream who frankly aren't going to know what's hit them. It's like trying to shove Sun Ra on X Factor.
'I very much agree." You have no idea how delightful it is to see a thread beneath a review begin with those words. So thank you, daveportivo, for kicking off the debate on James Blake's debut album, reviewed last week by Alexis Petridis. What daveportivo was agreeing with was Alexis's warm assessment of Blake's odd and lovely album. "I felt at times he struggled to say what he was trying to say … In certain instances that awkwardness gives the record a real sense of fragile beauty."
"You're probably only going to understand his music if you're immersed in the electronic/dance scene," officialdragon said, "which is why it puzzles me that the media have jumped on him, trying to thrust him into a mainstream who frankly aren't going to know what's hit them. It's like trying to shove Sun Ra on X Factor.
- 2/11/2011
- by Michael Hann
- The Guardian - Film News
A number of productions are dragging British theatre away from the grip of realism – with sensational results
"Expressionist" is one of those handy terms that we critics use rather promiscuously. Historically, it was coined by a French painter in 1901 to suggest an alternative to impressionism. Later it was applied to a school of European dramatists in the years from 1907 to 1925. Now it is widely applied to anything that is non-realistic. But, however randomly deployed, it has its value. And what is striking is how applicable it is to much of today's theatre. In the past week I have seen three productions that all, in different ways, could be labelled expressionist.
The most sensational was Simon McBurney's Complicite/Eno production of the Russian opera, A Dog's Heart, at the London Coliseum. Andrew Clements has expressed reservations about Raskatov's score. But the staging is the most exciting and coherent piece of...
"Expressionist" is one of those handy terms that we critics use rather promiscuously. Historically, it was coined by a French painter in 1901 to suggest an alternative to impressionism. Later it was applied to a school of European dramatists in the years from 1907 to 1925. Now it is widely applied to anything that is non-realistic. But, however randomly deployed, it has its value. And what is striking is how applicable it is to much of today's theatre. In the past week I have seen three productions that all, in different ways, could be labelled expressionist.
The most sensational was Simon McBurney's Complicite/Eno production of the Russian opera, A Dog's Heart, at the London Coliseum. Andrew Clements has expressed reservations about Raskatov's score. But the staging is the most exciting and coherent piece of...
- 11/25/2010
- by Michael Billington
- The Guardian - Film News
There's a double helping of the Dane, Wall Street returns, Wallace and Gromit take up presenting – and Robyn goes for broke. Our critics pick this autumn's hottest shows
Theatre
Hamlet
Prepare for the latest battle of the princes. John Simm is first in the field at the Sheffield Crucible; then Rory Kinnear enters the running in a Nicholas Hytner production for the National Theatre. It's not, of course, a contest – but comparisons will be inevitable. Crucible, Sheffield (0114-249 6000), from 16 September; and Olivier, London SE1 (020-7452 3000), from 7 October.
The Thrill of it All
Forced Entertainment continues the British experimental tradition with an evening of vaudevillian capers, Japanese lounge music and tarnished sequins. Nuffield, Lancaster (01524 594151), 12-13 October. Then touring.
Tribes
Nina Raine follows her impressive debut play, Rabbits, with a drama about an unconventional family that has its own private language and rules. At its centre is Billy, who is deaf and...
Theatre
Hamlet
Prepare for the latest battle of the princes. John Simm is first in the field at the Sheffield Crucible; then Rory Kinnear enters the running in a Nicholas Hytner production for the National Theatre. It's not, of course, a contest – but comparisons will be inevitable. Crucible, Sheffield (0114-249 6000), from 16 September; and Olivier, London SE1 (020-7452 3000), from 7 October.
The Thrill of it All
Forced Entertainment continues the British experimental tradition with an evening of vaudevillian capers, Japanese lounge music and tarnished sequins. Nuffield, Lancaster (01524 594151), 12-13 October. Then touring.
Tribes
Nina Raine follows her impressive debut play, Rabbits, with a drama about an unconventional family that has its own private language and rules. At its centre is Billy, who is deaf and...
- 9/14/2010
- by Michael Billington, Peter Bradshaw, Andrew Clements, Robin Denselow, Alison Flood, John Fordham, Lyn Gardner, Jonathan Glancey, Brian Logan, Judith Mackrell, Alexis Petridis, Adrian Searle, Richard Vine
- The Guardian - Film News
Stevie Wonder hits the UK, Toy Story goes 3D, and it's the last ever Big Brother – our critics pick the unmissable events of the season
Pop
Stevie Wonder
Anyone who can't face braving Glastonbury to see the Motown legend's Sunday-night set can head to London's Hyde Park for this headlining show. It's likely to be heavy on the hits, but a little too heavy on the audience participation, if complaints from disgruntled punters at Wonder's recent shows are anything to go by. And be warned: Jamiroquai seems to have been enticed out of retirement to provide support. Hyde Park, London W2, 26 June. Box office: 020-7009 3484.
T in the Park
This beloved Scottish festival is prized as much for its atmosphere as its lineup. And they're certainly wheeling out the big hitters this year: Eminem, Muse, Kasabian, Jay-z, Black Eyed Peas, Florence and the Machine, La Roux, Dizzee Rascal and Paolo Nutini,...
Pop
Stevie Wonder
Anyone who can't face braving Glastonbury to see the Motown legend's Sunday-night set can head to London's Hyde Park for this headlining show. It's likely to be heavy on the hits, but a little too heavy on the audience participation, if complaints from disgruntled punters at Wonder's recent shows are anything to go by. And be warned: Jamiroquai seems to have been enticed out of retirement to provide support. Hyde Park, London W2, 26 June. Box office: 020-7009 3484.
T in the Park
This beloved Scottish festival is prized as much for its atmosphere as its lineup. And they're certainly wheeling out the big hitters this year: Eminem, Muse, Kasabian, Jay-z, Black Eyed Peas, Florence and the Machine, La Roux, Dizzee Rascal and Paolo Nutini,...
- 5/24/2010
- The Guardian - Film News
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