Melayne here from the ESO- I am the Public Relations Manager for the Symphony and I'm here in Lyon, France for the opening weekend of Opera-Lyons' production of Porgy and Bess.
If you've never been to Lyon, I urge you to book your ticket now. This- is a fabulous town... and I will definately write more about it... but this post is about Porgy and Bess- conducted by the ESO's own Bill Eddins.
The first dress rehearsal was last night, and myself along with a few hundred of the cast's family and friends had a chance to partake in the first Opera Lyon showing of this Gershwin masterpiece. The way Opera- Lyon is staging it, is bit different from what you expect. With an almost- all black cast, this production has much influence from today's black culture. The choreography is almost all influenced by hip hop, African and Modern Dance. The backdrop looks like a neigbourhood straight out of Brooklyn, NY- and the costumes-are what you would see on MTV. Along with constant video as the main background set, this modern-day re-telling has a great edge. I can tell that this is a production that the people of Lyon are not going to forget anytime soon.
The opera house itself is very interesting. The outside is incredibly beautiful and old looking. The inside lobbies are metal and plush red, and the hall itself is all black. I think someone was quoted as saying..."its a bit like Darth Vaders bedroom". It seriously is ALL BLACK. Interesting to say the least!
The second dress rehearsal is tomorrow, so I'll definately have more tidbits to share!.
I will hopefully have videos posted soon- so don’t forget to stayed tuned to www.youtube.com/edmontonsymphony. Ciao for now!
1 comment:
http://www.opera-lyon.com/Galerie-photos.531.0.html has some photos of "Darth Vader's bedroom"...
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