RUSALKA at the De Munt opera Brussels

Dvorak's RUSALKA . At the La Monnaie / De Munt Opera, Brussels. March 3, 2012, Dress - orchestra rehearsal!

A full house with people of all ages, but - remarkable - a lot of teens. Curtain goos up before you realize it and then ?... You will not believe your eyes! The most unbelievable set and a "Jacques Tati " prelude, going on, and on, and on. At the end I almost wet my pants with the blind man at the "M" entrance. Frankly, I would have loved it to see the WHOLE thing twice! Oops... Then I likely would have wet my pants! (BTW, no, its not "connoiseurs" inside talk! But I really don't want want to give away any clue at all! When you have seen the production, you will damn well understand every word and hint I wrote in this opinion!)
And then the music starts. Yes, it is great music anyway, and the orchestra - not as famous as the Amsterdam Concertgebouw but always top quality - was now "Incredibly I Love Dvorak!!!" Mind you, this was the first dress- orchestra rehearsal. It must be rocking on opening nite! (4 insiders: nope, *I* call it Dress - Orch. R.! not O.D.R. like usual)
During the first intermission I was reminded that Opern Welt, the German opera magazine, called De Munt the opera house of the year last year. Well... so far in my operatic-theatrical-dance life of almost ... Oh Jeez no? Shit indeed, 50 years already... I have seen many great productions. But this is one of the most genial theatrical productions ever. It reminds me btw very much of the 1990 (?) Broadway production of "An inspector calls" . One difference, there it was REALLY raining on stage. An unbeliavable amazing effect, and I guess... No for sure, the team wanted it too originally.) If you think you have seen it all after act one, you're wrong!
The NICE MATIN wrote once "C'est la fête à l'Opéra de Nice!" . Well, this is a real feast too. In Nice it was also raining balloons in the house, not here. ;) As a lighting designer I'm very often irritated due to the poor quality so called "something differend" or new, or the newest or actually just eh... Mai bpen rai in Thailandees. This lighting is genuine geniality too. I , yes ME, was really fooled almost until the end of act one. Yes, it's the set, but it's the lighting who does it. Not only the use of colors Lee 115, 113 for effx or 174, but the whole lighting was almost as if it was my design. Don't know who did it but I gues he or she has the same books of Richard Pilbrow, Josef Svoboda, c.s. as basis. Did I mention the brilliant costumes yet? When you like shine and glittering splendor, ask for this designer. The ..... Scene (sorry, no give aways) was just knocking me out. Of course, some Americans will hate the production for all the nudity and explicit sex scenes! LOL! Even the inflated dolls were going wild in the window of the Sex-shop alias Bridal shop aka the Butcher. ;) Oops... Well , not a real given away clue. ;) I always love to quote Harry Kupfer after a boring production : "nah, dem ist ja wirklich gar niks eingefallen. " (yes, that's an inside joke!) This director has not only a stunning amount of humor and fantasy, it also works! Ideas for the stage are fine, but they are often not working, especially in opera. Her you get so well timed acting, you forget that they are opera singers. ;) Of course, opera singers are supposed to sing well. Do I need to say more? After 20 minutes into act three, tears came into my eyes and, without an handkerchief, I got into trouble after the climax of the opera, actually the whole second part of act three. So I wet my shirt and original Looney Tunes Mania tie too.
For those who (don't) know me: due to 2 T.I.A. 's my short turm memory is a disaster. My long turm memory is stil amazing. But guess what? After each act I knew exactly what happened. Actually, except for beeing fooled during act one, every scene is written into my memory as if I was a assistant-director. Is there a Neurologist reading this? Can you explain what happened? It must be some endorfines or so...
So, opera lovers and opera haters, don't mis it! DO NOT read the story in a book or on Internet! You don't need to and actually, you will get something completely different! Yes, I am talking about RUSALKA ! And believe me, no I'm not losing my mind. The only thing I feel sorry for, is that it wasn't opening night, an thus no party I usually try to avoid. I cannot lie and it's not funny to have to tell to, or about, people you like the often sad truth. Now I would rave about it, at the party I mean. ;)