Author Topic: News Coverage: November 2007  (Read 6802 times)

Offline tpe

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News Coverage: November 2007
« on: Nov 07, 2007, 09:09 AM »


Interesting...

From: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=a3JyDv6GeaDE&refer=germany

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Gay Cowboys Evoke `Brokeback Mountain' as Munich Boos Onegin
By Shirley Apthorp


This is an undated handout photo, released to the media on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2007, of a scene from Tchaikovsky's ''Eugene Onegin''. Source: Wilfried Hoesl/Bavarian State opera via Bloomberg News

 Nov. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Gay cowboys and drag queens doing erotic dances find their way into Tchaikovsky's ``Eugene Onegin'' in Munich.

The Polish stage director, Krzysztof Warlikowski, turns this classic romance into a gay love triangle, and was roundly booed for his efforts at the premiere. Cast and conductor enjoyed a warmer reception.

Lensky loves Olga, Tatyana loves Onegin, and Onegin loves only himself. A little late -- after he has killed Lensky in a duel and Tatyana has married Prince Gremin -- Onegin regrets his former snobbery. That's the way Tchaikovsky wrote it, though Warlikowski pushes the composer's own tormented homosexuality into the foreground and queers the pitch for his characters.

The real relationship in this production is between Lensky and Onegin. The duel scene finds them in bed together, with what looks like the cast of ``Brokeback Mountain'' lurking at the back of the stage (a motel room and petrol station clearly visible -- sets and costumes from Malgorzata Szczesniak). When Lensky tears off his shirt and makes his move, Onegin shoots him. The rest takes place in his delirious imagination.

There is no novelty value left in the outing of Tchaikovsky. Half-naked cowboys and men in ballgowns are cheap cliches. An exploration of the two men's relationship is legitimate, since it is one of the opera's deepest and certainly its most tragic. With more subtlety and professionalism, it might have worked.

Yet, Warlikowski comes from the theater world, and doesn't know how bad it looks when you let the entire cast boogie on the beat in a dance number.

Leggy Tatyana

A pity, because this cast is not bad. Michael Volle, world- weary in the title role, brings depth to the part, while Olga Guryakova's leggy Tatyana gives an impassioned performance.

Christoph Strehl's Lensky is lightweight, yet sophisticated. Consistently clear, his final aria is complex and heart-rending.

Music director Kent Nagano does not fare so well. While things never quite fall apart, they often threaten to. Small ensembles and big choir scenes slip frequently into states of minor disarray.

The orchestra plays for him with a voluptuously full sound, yet chafes at the beat of his no-nonsense tempi, constantly itching to pull back and lend a bit of life to its phrases.

The strings sound positively mangy in Gremin's ball scene, while the oboe suffers horrible torments in the letter scene. It is quite possible that a few shows into the run, this might settle into a lean and exciting interpretation. At Wednesday's premiere, it was definitely not there yet.

``Eugene Onegin'' plays again at Munich's Nationaltheater tomorrow and Nov. 6, 10, 13 and 16. The opera is sponsored by O2 Plc. For information, visit http://www.bayerische-staatsoper.de .

(Shirley Apthorp is a critic for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are her own.)


Offline tpe

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Re: News Coverage: November 2007
« Reply #1 on: Nov 15, 2007, 03:06 PM »



I remember Phil Jackson from his years with the Chicago Bulls.  I am surprised at such a remark.  Nonetheless, I am glad he aplogized.

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Lakers coach Jackson apologizes for "Brokeback" remark
By Elliott Teaford, Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 11/15/2007 12:25:31 AM PST

HOUSTON - Phil Jackson apologized Wednesday for a sexual reference he made during his postgame comments after the Lakers' loss Tuesday night to the San Antonio Spurs. Jackson said it was merely a poor attempt at humor.

The NBA contacted the Lakers on Wednesday and also publicly condemned Jackson's comments. The league did not fine the Hall of Fame coach, however.

"We call this a `Brokeback Mountain' game because there's so much penetration and kickouts," Jackson said after Spurs guard Tony Parker had 26 points and nine assists in a 107-92 victory over the Lakers. "It was one of those games."

"Brokeback Mountain," which won three Academy Awards after its release in 2005, tells the tale of two gay cowboys, played by Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger, in 1960s Wyoming and Texas. It was hailed by critics as a groundbreaking film.

"I want to thank all the journalists and TV people who thought it was humorous in the moment last night for their support in laughing, but in retrospect it wasn't funny," Jackson said before the Lakers faced the Houston Rockets.

"When you take it out of context, it wasn't funny," Jackson continued. "It was a poor attempt at humor and I deserved to be reprimanded by the NBA. If I offended any horses, Texans, cowboys or gays, I apologize."

Asked if he had left anyone out in his mea culpa, Jackson said, "Well, children."

The four traveling Lakers beat reporters did not include the quote in their stories filed after the Lakers' loss at San Antonio. But a Los Angeles TV station and a San Antonio radio station did carry Jackson's remarks, and the NBA learned of them Wednesday. In addition, ESPN aired the audio of Jackson's comments on several of its chat shows during the day.
"The remarks are in poor taste and the Lakers have assured us such remarks will not occur in the future," league spokesman Mark Broussard said in an e-mail.

Jackson agreed that his comments crossed a line.

"We have to understand that some people can do it, and some people can't," he said of his failed attempt at humor. "Coaches can't do it, but (comedians) David Letterman and Jay Leno can. That's something that's appropriate for certain categories."

Medical update

Lamar Odom's injured right pinky was heavily taped, but he was in the starting lineup against Houston. He suffered a torn tendon in the finger early in Tuesday's game against the Spurs, but could not recall how or when he was injured.

"It's OK," Odom said. "It's all taped up, so I guess it's 100 percent."


Offline Asali

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Re: News Coverage: November 2007
« Reply #2 on: Nov 15, 2007, 03:22 PM »
"When you take it out of context, it wasn't funny," Jackson continued. "It was a poor attempt at humor and I deserved to be reprimanded by the NBA. If I offended any horses, Texans, cowboys or gays, I apologize."
It certainly wasn't funny at all, glad he apologised.
"People's minds are like parachutes. To function properly they must first be open." - W.G.P.

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Offline LuvJackNasty

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Re: News Coverage: November 2007
« Reply #3 on: Nov 15, 2007, 08:15 PM »
I had just read that article a little while ago. I know he apologized but I'm offended by his apology!  >:(
If I offended any horses, Texans, cowboys or gays, I apologize." Why are the gay people whom he was most likely to offend LAST in that "apology"? Maybe I'm just cranky today, I don't know.
“What Jack remembered and craved in a way he could neither help nor understand was the time that distant summer on Brokeback when Ennis had come up behind him and pulled him close, the silent embrace satisfying some shared and sexless hunger."

You may say I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will live as one ~ Imagine- J. Lennon

Offline tpe

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Re: News Coverage: November 2007
« Reply #4 on: Nov 16, 2007, 08:31 AM »
On one hand, it shows how much BBM has seeped into popular culture.  On the other hand, it shows that certain things have not changed that much...


Offline tpe

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