The Last First Emperor

Pardon me. I dozed off for a bit.

My friends and I constantly confuse the First (opera by Tan Dun) and the Last (film by Bertolucci) Emperors.

There is no mistaking the works themselves. I ventured to my local cineplex for my second moviecast (what do we call these?) from the Met. The first (The Magic Flute) was marred by bad sound, but was otherwise enjoyable. I didn't understand some of the cuts (Monostatos gets two verses of his aria, but Dies Bildnis is bezaubernd schön gets cut to shreds), but the performance was good and I enjoyed the transfer to big screen.

The First Emperor is somewhat more problematic. First of all the performances were entirely admirable. Placido Domingo remains a wonder and Elizabeth Futral was fabulous. The others were also very good (although why waste Suzanne Mentzer in such a nothing part?). I liked the production to varying degrees, but in general positively.

But the piece itself seems barely worth the effort (not to mention the expense). There are moments of superior music (the opening 20 minutes) and moments of embarrassment (the opening of Act II). The libretto is not very strong.

Nevertheless I'm glad to have gone. And despite my earlier concern, the moviecasts themselves seem to be a hit. But more on that after I've had my coffee and woken up a bit.