https://youtu.be/abd9nkF1fX4
Pardon the painful audio/visual delay.
Monday, February 1, 2016
A Musing on Opera and Why We Do What We Do
On our first day in St. Petersburg, after getting settled into the Hotel Dostoevsky, our group got all gussied up to shuffle on over to the Mariinsky-2 to see the opera. This particular opera -- conducted by Valery Gergiev himself -- was Semyon Kotko, an old Soviet opera.
Though the show was originally written as borderline government propaganda, the presentation of this particular production moved beyond partisan political commentary in favor of becoming a meditation on what motivates us when we fight each other for our ideologies.
The production’s use of lighting in the show -- particularly choice of color -- was the strongest and most notable technique used in this approach to the show. Rather than melding colors with slow fades to light a scene, the designers of the show opted to illuminate the stage with sharp changes of bold hues. The main colors used were: red, green, white, and blue.
Red was used, quite obviously, to emphasize the zeal of the Red Army protagonists. Green was conversely used to highlight the German antagonists. I take this to suggest that these two colors may represent the conflicting ethoses of the two armies.
White was present on stage primarily when characters were plotting and/or scheming. It was also prominent whenever the Cossacks (who presented in this show as cold, unfeeling brutes) came on stage to wreak their mayhem. I suggest that white was to suggest logos.
Blue lights generally came on during very emotional scenes. I think it is safe to say that blue is pathos in this scenario.
It is interesting to note that the antagonists were limited in the colors they were lit by: as previously mentioned, the Cossacks were only lit in white, and the Germans were mostly lit by green with the occasional white. However, the story’s protagonists, in their peak scenes at least, were lit by white, blue, and red on different levels of the stage -- making an oh-so-subtle Russian flag, perhaps?
I think it’s possible, given this lighting scheme, that the playmakers are trying to remind us to keep a balance of our hearts, minds, and spirits as we fight for what we believe in, lest we blind ourselves to our original intentions.
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Friday, January 29, 2016
Mitya's Love in Review
I'm back in the U.S., but the internet is still in Russian
I finally made it home this afternoon! I managed to sleep about 8 hours last night, and I stayed awake and semi-sane through the 3 hour car ride with my mom, sister, niece (1 1/2 yrs old), and nephew (4 yrs old). I gave them all their gifts, and realized I still have a lot to get done for this class by midnight (whoops... )
Although it's a pretty easy transition coming back to the U.S. and everything I've known for... well, my entire life, there are still some things that are weird at first. Like people now understanding everything I say when I'm out in public and having to order all of my food in English.
Although communication with others is definitely easier in my native language (and the only language I'm fluent in), I am going to miss being surrounded by native/fluent Russians speakers everywhere I go. I'm also going to miss having rubles in my wallet (they're so much prettier than U.S. money!) and the awesome feeling of being able to buy lunch for about $3 (NOT at McDonald's).
However, I will NOT miss my fear of ingesting tap water or ice potentially made of tap water, and being self-conscious whenever I speak in English (both somewhat irrational, but they happened).
Russia was incredible, and I definitely want to go back someday. But right now, I am very much looking forward to sleeping in my own room tonight!
Although it's a pretty easy transition coming back to the U.S. and everything I've known for... well, my entire life, there are still some things that are weird at first. Like people now understanding everything I say when I'm out in public and having to order all of my food in English.
Although communication with others is definitely easier in my native language (and the only language I'm fluent in), I am going to miss being surrounded by native/fluent Russians speakers everywhere I go. I'm also going to miss having rubles in my wallet (they're so much prettier than U.S. money!) and the awesome feeling of being able to buy lunch for about $3 (NOT at McDonald's).
However, I will NOT miss my fear of ingesting tap water or ice potentially made of tap water, and being self-conscious whenever I speak in English (both somewhat irrational, but they happened).
Russia was incredible, and I definitely want to go back someday. But right now, I am very much looking forward to sleeping in my own room tonight!
Mother Earth Review
This is a review meant more for general consumption. (I couldn't figure out how to imbed it, so here is the link)
https://youtu.be/HrH8WxHBZ0U
https://youtu.be/HrH8WxHBZ0U
Reflections On My First Voyage Abroad
Until this month, I had never left the country. Not even to go to Canada or Mexico. I'd never even been on a trip for more than a week. So for some reason, I thought it would be a good idea to change all this and ship off to Russia for a month. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I saw Russia's two biggest cities, visited four art galleries, marveled at eight churches (and a monastery), saw twenty-one plays, road the metro forty times, and ate, this is a conservative estimate, one hundred and twenty Russian pancakes. It was a busy, busy trip.
I ended up getting a lot more than I bargained for. I really couldn't have anticipated what it means to be with a different culture, or what it's like to not be surrounded by my native language. These experiences ranged from amazing (discovering the Russian passion for culture, be it literature or theater), to charming (discovering how kind most people were, and having fun conversations in my broken Russian), to frustrating (constant difficulty and embarrassment while ordering at restaurants), to terrifying (being taken aside by security at the theater and asked questions/given instructions I couldn't understand). I'd foolishly thought that culture shock wouldn't be so bad, but by the second week of the trip my language skills were shot, my energy was gone, and my frustration with the country had peaked. Thankfully the frustration waned, and writing this from the US all I can think about is how I can't wait to go back to Moscow some day.
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Developing a Taste for Theater
Having only
been exposed to theater as a child, sans a couple of musicals I had seen during
high school, I really did not have a taste for theater, or even a particular
style I enjoyed. Part of going on this trip was knowing I was going to be
completely out of my element. I was willing to step out of my comfort zone and
experience this, new to me, form of expression. Over the past 4 weeks we have
seen a broad spectrum of performances, from musicals, to surreal nightmares
across a giant stage. Each and every performance has been great in its own
accord, however seeing such a broad spectrum has cause a novice theater goer to
develop a taste for theater. I didn’t set out on this trip expecting to want to
go to theater when I returned, spending a large amount of time has made me
appreciate it. Returning to Russia next fall will allow me to voluntarily
attend some of the performances we didn’t get a chance to see and enjoy.
Accessibility of Theater
A large part of a person's view of theater is based on their access to it. This applies both to their physical capability to attend performances, as well as how open-minded they are and how emotionally connected they allow themselves to be when attending theater. It is for these reasons that I think theater can be a personal experience or it can be a mass experience.
When going into a performance, of any kind really, there's some factors that I like to consider. Not all of these are controllable, especially on a trip like ours, but for me at least this will not be the last of my theater experience. One of the first things to consider is the type of performance you're going to. You should have a sense of what will happen. For example, if you go to an American musical its traditional to clap at the end of a song but not necessarily the end of a solo. If you're going to a ballet, they take bows during and after every act, then again at the end of the whole show.
If you're going to a performance that is somewhere culturally different than where you're from, try to understand what the local people will get out of a show or what they will expect. Knowing a little about their history helps, especially if you're seeing something that might be political. Keeping culture in mind will allow you to better understand, or if not accept, performances or audience reactions that you disagree with.
You should also know why you're going to a production, and who you're going with. Are you going to relax and escape? Are you going to have your thoughts provoked? Perhaps you just want to see something funny, or something beautiful, or even something sad. I think any reason to see theater is a valid reason, even if it's boredom. Having a reason though can help you select a show that will make your evening enjoyable. If you don't want your emotions ripped right from your chest, don't go see Butusov. Go see Talents and Corpses instead. Your theater-going companions should optimally have a similar reason for going as you do.
Along with your reason, you should keep in mind the rest of your day. In the case of our trip, all the shows we've seen have been somewhat under duress. Traveling is always stressful, especially when you're navigating a language barrier. If you're having a bad day, I find it best to leave as much of it as you can at the coat check. No sense in spending money to sit tensely in a seat for 3 hours and not pay attention when you can easily do that at home. If you allow your day to close your mind to the performance, you very well could miss a chance to drastically improve your day. And should it occur that the wrong day and the wrong performance align to make one truly horrid day (as it very well has and could), well then there's always tomorrow. In Moscow and St. Petersburg that means there's always a hundred more shows to watch.
When going into a performance, of any kind really, there's some factors that I like to consider. Not all of these are controllable, especially on a trip like ours, but for me at least this will not be the last of my theater experience. One of the first things to consider is the type of performance you're going to. You should have a sense of what will happen. For example, if you go to an American musical its traditional to clap at the end of a song but not necessarily the end of a solo. If you're going to a ballet, they take bows during and after every act, then again at the end of the whole show.
If you're going to a performance that is somewhere culturally different than where you're from, try to understand what the local people will get out of a show or what they will expect. Knowing a little about their history helps, especially if you're seeing something that might be political. Keeping culture in mind will allow you to better understand, or if not accept, performances or audience reactions that you disagree with.
You should also know why you're going to a production, and who you're going with. Are you going to relax and escape? Are you going to have your thoughts provoked? Perhaps you just want to see something funny, or something beautiful, or even something sad. I think any reason to see theater is a valid reason, even if it's boredom. Having a reason though can help you select a show that will make your evening enjoyable. If you don't want your emotions ripped right from your chest, don't go see Butusov. Go see Talents and Corpses instead. Your theater-going companions should optimally have a similar reason for going as you do.
Along with your reason, you should keep in mind the rest of your day. In the case of our trip, all the shows we've seen have been somewhat under duress. Traveling is always stressful, especially when you're navigating a language barrier. If you're having a bad day, I find it best to leave as much of it as you can at the coat check. No sense in spending money to sit tensely in a seat for 3 hours and not pay attention when you can easily do that at home. If you allow your day to close your mind to the performance, you very well could miss a chance to drastically improve your day. And should it occur that the wrong day and the wrong performance align to make one truly horrid day (as it very well has and could), well then there's always tomorrow. In Moscow and St. Petersburg that means there's always a hundred more shows to watch.
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