Holy Blood and Crescent Moon
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Holy Blood and Crescent Moon
by Gerie on 10 Mar 2006 21:32
i'm just discover stuart Copelan's older works and wonder if anybody could please give me a synopsis of "Holy Blood, crescent Moon." i can't find a transcript of the opera hear in the United state . i didn't understand any Italian .
- Gerie
by Guest on 11 Mar 2006 05:32
Stewart Copeland has written one opera. Inspired by his childhood in the Middle East, the percussionist has created "Holy Blood and Crescent Moon," an epic set in the era of the Crusades.
Wall Street Journal. (Eastern edition). New York, N.Y.: Oct 3, 1989.
The story is this:
"Holy Blood" traces the historical conflict between Christians and Moslems, implying equal responsibility for the mutual hostility that endures into the present. The bloody tale starts with Edmund, Prince of the Franks, who arrives in the Holy Land to marry Eleanor, daughter of the Christian King Tancred. He is set upon and wounded by an assassin hired by the fanatical Imam and rescued by Dahlia, daughter of the Moslem Wazir. In the Wazir's palace (the Wazir's library is a beautifully realized room of colored marble and Arabist tracery) Edmund and the Wazir discover a shared love of learning, but any rapprochement is thwarted by Edmund's Christian allies, who storm the castle and slaughter its inhabitants. In Act II, as the Christian forces are about to execute the captured Dahlia, the Moslems, embarked upon jihad, return the favor. It seems that the cycle will continue indefinitely.
But then Dahlia, who is in love with Edmund, suggests a highly unorthodox alternative, and the Wazir agrees: Edmund will marry Dahlia and become King of Jerusalem. But the Imam and his equally fanatical Christian counterpart, the Monk, who is outraged not only by the idea but also by the heresy of Edmund's purported status as a descendant of Christ and Mary Magdalene (the "holy blood" of the title), will have none of it. He and the Imam manage between them to assassinate Edmund.
On paper, the libretto (written by Susan Shirwen) reads like "'Il Trovatore' Goes to Lebanon," and the first act plays that way, but without the musical blood and thunder that would make the absurdities credible. Mr. Copeland, who had never heard an opera before he was asked to write one, reportedly found his inspiration in Verdi and Wagner, and has fallen into many of his models' stock grand opera dramatic cliches. Characters announce their intentions, albeit with excellent diction (the supertitles proved quite unnecessary), and violent shifts of intention come out of nowhere. Dahlia, for instance, falls instantly in love with the Christian stranger and decides she has to marry him and adopt his religion. The text often lapses into doggerel ("My sweet child, this day gives me pleasure/For you are my hope and my treasure"). Mr. Copeland's film writing also doubtless contributed to the unsubtle use of musical motives that announce personality traits a mile off: a softly lyrical tune for Dahlia; pugnacious ostinatos for the religious fanatics. One questionable choice was that of a countertenor for the Imam: the high, remarkably piercing voice of Tom Emlyn Williams made the villain sound more like a drag queen than a menace.
Mr. Copeland's rock roots are most evident in his melodic structures. While quite tuneful, his melodies are based on riffs -- repeated short motifs -- rather than long lines, so a moment that calls for a big aria frustratingly falls back on a recurring phrase rather than developing into something grander. His more linear arias, like Eleanor's "I can't wait to get married"-style song of Act I, tend toward the insipid. The percussion undercurrent, however, particularly in entrances and entractes, gives the music a jaunty lift.
In Act II, set in the Christian court, the libretto gathers some dramatic momentum as Moslems and Christians confront each other. Mr. Copeland's best work is in the choruses (such as the women's plea for peace), and in some well-set juxtapositions between principal characters and ensemble in the events culminating in Edmund's murder, when the Copeland score finally becomes urgent and touching, and ends on a tragic note of irresolution.
To make sure this neophyte's composition got professional treatment, Cleveland assembled a cast and production team with serious credentials. John Garrison sang solidly and affectingly as Edmund; Gloria Parker, as Dahlia, was the other cast standout; Marla Berg, as Eleanor, was an adept actress if a somewhat thin and colorless soprano, and Imre Pallo conducted the rough-and-ready-sounding Ohio Chamber Orchestra. David Bamberger's directing was effective, though no subtler than the libretto.
Everyone seemed to have a fine time with the elaborate fight scenes, which featured rape, murder, surprise leaps through windows and hand-to-hand combat worthy of the best B-movie. But the high jinks went on just a bit too long.
The handsome, representational sets are by Douglas W. Schmidt, and Lewis Brown did the sumptuous costumes.
Cleveland's gamble paid off, if not with deathless art, then certainly by displaying the company's ability to put on a good show without turning a media event into an artistic circus.
Ms. Waleson is a New York-based freelance writer.
Wall Street Journal. (Eastern edition). New York, N.Y.: Oct 3, 1989.
The story is this:
"Holy Blood" traces the historical conflict between Christians and Moslems, implying equal responsibility for the mutual hostility that endures into the present. The bloody tale starts with Edmund, Prince of the Franks, who arrives in the Holy Land to marry Eleanor, daughter of the Christian King Tancred. He is set upon and wounded by an assassin hired by the fanatical Imam and rescued by Dahlia, daughter of the Moslem Wazir. In the Wazir's palace (the Wazir's library is a beautifully realized room of colored marble and Arabist tracery) Edmund and the Wazir discover a shared love of learning, but any rapprochement is thwarted by Edmund's Christian allies, who storm the castle and slaughter its inhabitants. In Act II, as the Christian forces are about to execute the captured Dahlia, the Moslems, embarked upon jihad, return the favor. It seems that the cycle will continue indefinitely.
But then Dahlia, who is in love with Edmund, suggests a highly unorthodox alternative, and the Wazir agrees: Edmund will marry Dahlia and become King of Jerusalem. But the Imam and his equally fanatical Christian counterpart, the Monk, who is outraged not only by the idea but also by the heresy of Edmund's purported status as a descendant of Christ and Mary Magdalene (the "holy blood" of the title), will have none of it. He and the Imam manage between them to assassinate Edmund.
On paper, the libretto (written by Susan Shirwen) reads like "'Il Trovatore' Goes to Lebanon," and the first act plays that way, but without the musical blood and thunder that would make the absurdities credible. Mr. Copeland, who had never heard an opera before he was asked to write one, reportedly found his inspiration in Verdi and Wagner, and has fallen into many of his models' stock grand opera dramatic cliches. Characters announce their intentions, albeit with excellent diction (the supertitles proved quite unnecessary), and violent shifts of intention come out of nowhere. Dahlia, for instance, falls instantly in love with the Christian stranger and decides she has to marry him and adopt his religion. The text often lapses into doggerel ("My sweet child, this day gives me pleasure/For you are my hope and my treasure"). Mr. Copeland's film writing also doubtless contributed to the unsubtle use of musical motives that announce personality traits a mile off: a softly lyrical tune for Dahlia; pugnacious ostinatos for the religious fanatics. One questionable choice was that of a countertenor for the Imam: the high, remarkably piercing voice of Tom Emlyn Williams made the villain sound more like a drag queen than a menace.
Mr. Copeland's rock roots are most evident in his melodic structures. While quite tuneful, his melodies are based on riffs -- repeated short motifs -- rather than long lines, so a moment that calls for a big aria frustratingly falls back on a recurring phrase rather than developing into something grander. His more linear arias, like Eleanor's "I can't wait to get married"-style song of Act I, tend toward the insipid. The percussion undercurrent, however, particularly in entrances and entractes, gives the music a jaunty lift.
In Act II, set in the Christian court, the libretto gathers some dramatic momentum as Moslems and Christians confront each other. Mr. Copeland's best work is in the choruses (such as the women's plea for peace), and in some well-set juxtapositions between principal characters and ensemble in the events culminating in Edmund's murder, when the Copeland score finally becomes urgent and touching, and ends on a tragic note of irresolution.
To make sure this neophyte's composition got professional treatment, Cleveland assembled a cast and production team with serious credentials. John Garrison sang solidly and affectingly as Edmund; Gloria Parker, as Dahlia, was the other cast standout; Marla Berg, as Eleanor, was an adept actress if a somewhat thin and colorless soprano, and Imre Pallo conducted the rough-and-ready-sounding Ohio Chamber Orchestra. David Bamberger's directing was effective, though no subtler than the libretto.
Everyone seemed to have a fine time with the elaborate fight scenes, which featured rape, murder, surprise leaps through windows and hand-to-hand combat worthy of the best B-movie. But the high jinks went on just a bit too long.
The handsome, representational sets are by Douglas W. Schmidt, and Lewis Brown did the sumptuous costumes.
Cleveland's gamble paid off, if not with deathless art, then certainly by displaying the company's ability to put on a good show without turning a media event into an artistic circus.
Ms. Waleson is a New York-based freelance writer.
- Guest
Mmmmm...
by georgygirl on 11 Mar 2006 06:15
Well, I don't know almost anything about what opera should be.
I never heared the music of Holy Blood and Crescent Moon, so this review just make me shock at first
Anyway, SC as a rock & roll and score music man, is awesome to me.
If this was his first opera, I think was good for him to took it as a new risk, with all its consequences.
I never heared the music of Holy Blood and Crescent Moon, so this review just make me shock at first
Anyway, SC as a rock & roll and score music man, is awesome to me.
If this was his first opera, I think was good for him to took it as a new risk, with all its consequences.
Wildy Pelous!
¡Salvajilla Pelous!
from:
¡The Cosmic Race!
¡Salvajilla Pelous!
from:
¡The Cosmic Race!
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georgygirl - Posts: 4076
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- Location: Monterrey, México.
Practice
by georgygirl on 12 Mar 2006 06:06
Practice make Masters.
Anyway, I can't image Stewart being an Opera Master.
I see him as a Rock & Roll Master, and he did it quite good.
Excelent for me.
Anyway, I can't image Stewart being an Opera Master.
I see him as a Rock & Roll Master, and he did it quite good.
Excelent for me.
Wildy Pelous!
¡Salvajilla Pelous!
from:
¡The Cosmic Race!
¡Salvajilla Pelous!
from:
¡The Cosmic Race!
-
georgygirl - Posts: 4076
- Joined: 27 Mar 2005 06:38
- Location: Monterrey, México.
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by conroy on 12 Mar 2006 15:08
A big influence on Holy Blood and the Crescent Moon is the book Holy Blood, Holy Grail. This was a book that theorized that Jesus and Mary Magdeline were married and that they had children whose descendants can be traced modern day France. It was also a big source for the book The Da Vinci Code (which I haven't read) and for the From Hell graphic novel (much better than the Johnny Depp movie). I just read in the latest issue of US News and World Report that the authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail are suing Dan Brown, the author of The Da Vinci Code for plagiarism which might hold up the release of the movie. I highly recommend Holy Blood, Holy Grail and the sequel, the Messianic Legacy as things mentioned in both books kind of foretold a lot of the news headlines we are seeing even today, though the books were written many years ago.
Anyway, Ron Howard really dropped the ball by not hiring Stewart to do the film score as this film was really screaming for him to score it with all his connections to Holy Blood, Holy Grail and everything.
Anyway, Ron Howard really dropped the ball by not hiring Stewart to do the film score as this film was really screaming for him to score it with all his connections to Holy Blood, Holy Grail and everything.
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conroy - Posts: 3452
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by sockii on 12 Mar 2006 16:15
I have a copy of the opera recorded off a public radio broadcast...I quite like listening to it every now and then (though I need to tinker with the sound file a bit, the recording I have is a little off-speed and slow). It IS challenging music, but of course I'd say the same thing about a lot of Stewart's orchestral work--very rewarding the more you listen to it and begin to pick up on the complexities of it all.
It's a shame an official release was never made. I'd love to see a well-produced cd set of it all, including notes & a libretto...similar to Roger Water's Ca Ira release from last year, actually. Holy Blood & Crescent Moon deserves it!
It's a shame an official release was never made. I'd love to see a well-produced cd set of it all, including notes & a libretto...similar to Roger Water's Ca Ira release from last year, actually. Holy Blood & Crescent Moon deserves it!
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sockii - Posts: 4888
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Yes
by georgygirl on 13 Mar 2006 05:02
A CD from this opera, will be a cool work to buy it.
Wildy Pelous!
¡Salvajilla Pelous!
from:
¡The Cosmic Race!
¡Salvajilla Pelous!
from:
¡The Cosmic Race!
-
georgygirl - Posts: 4076
- Joined: 27 Mar 2005 06:38
- Location: Monterrey, México.
by conroy on 13 Mar 2006 23:07
A CD would be nice, but I wouldn't hold my breath. I think he'd have to go back and pay royalties to all the performers. Considering the sheer number of people involved, that'd probably be a nightmare. It doesn't make much economic sense. I think the best we can hope for is they'll rotate their way into Stewart's Vault of unreleased material on here.
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conroy - Posts: 3452
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Oh!
by georgygirl on 14 Mar 2006 06:28
You are right Conroy. I never tought about the economic problem.
Stewart made music and played with an Orchestra, I got Orchestralli CD/DVD and for me this work is excelent in all senses. I like in the DVD when Copeland said almost at the begining of the DVD that is a theater called Stewarldo, and its Smeraldo. And all the DVD, and the CD I think is wonderful.
But maybe this opera about the crescent moon will be like a nigthmare to realesed on CD, but if we can have a little touch here in the Vault, I will appreciate it a lot.
Maybe for Stewart made music to and play for an Ochestra is to much work and not to much money, but I think he enjoy doing it anyway.
Well, is just my reflection about his work as an Orchestra musician.
PS. Sorry for my rusty English, but I am just having fun practicing it.
Stewart made music and played with an Orchestra, I got Orchestralli CD/DVD and for me this work is excelent in all senses. I like in the DVD when Copeland said almost at the begining of the DVD that is a theater called Stewarldo, and its Smeraldo. And all the DVD, and the CD I think is wonderful.
But maybe this opera about the crescent moon will be like a nigthmare to realesed on CD, but if we can have a little touch here in the Vault, I will appreciate it a lot.
Maybe for Stewart made music to and play for an Ochestra is to much work and not to much money, but I think he enjoy doing it anyway.
Well, is just my reflection about his work as an Orchestra musician.
PS. Sorry for my rusty English, but I am just having fun practicing it.
Wildy Pelous!
¡Salvajilla Pelous!
from:
¡The Cosmic Race!
¡Salvajilla Pelous!
from:
¡The Cosmic Race!
-
georgygirl - Posts: 4076
- Joined: 27 Mar 2005 06:38
- Location: Monterrey, México.
by jedsoon on 15 Mar 2006 07:05
thanks to all who have contributed to this discussion. this is the most thorough collection of info i've ever seen on holy blood, crescent moon. it's also comforting to note yet another similarity between stew's and my own attraction to storytelling!
i want to go ahead and put my word in as well for a taste of the opera from the vault, as i agree with conroy that a cd release would be financially untenable. would love to hear!
i want to go ahead and put my word in as well for a taste of the opera from the vault, as i agree with conroy that a cd release would be financially untenable. would love to hear!
-chris
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jedsoon - Posts: 1081
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