Le Grand Macabre [Blu-ray]

A difficult work given an outstanding production
Although it may be one of the most popular works of contemporary opera, you aren't going to see too many productions of György Ligeti's only opera, Le Grand Macabre due to its demanding nature and its limited appeal to a rather specialised opera audience. So when the Liceu in Barcelona (with La Monnaie in Brussels and the ENO in London) decide to put on a rare production of the work and go as far as to make a world premiere video recording of it, you can be thankful that the challenge of finding an appropriate look for the all-important visual representation of this work has been given to La Fura dels Baus, the experimental Catalan production team perhaps most in tune with such an unusual work and capable of relating to its status as an "anti-anti-opera", which is not quite the same thing, as you might imagine, as just an opera.

Le Grand Macabre most certainly isn't "just" an opera, but it is one that fully exploits the full range of dramatic, musical and singing...

Well done - but not for everyone
Gyorgy Ligeti wrote his opera "Le Grand Macabre" in 1977 and revised it in 1996. It is based on the play of the same name by Belgian playwright Michel de Ghelderode. Essentially the title is also the main character - a "grim reaper" whose real name is Nekrotzar ('czar of the dead') figure who enters the town of Breughelland during its apocalyptic last hours - or so his grim announcement goes. As the narrative progresses, we see figures from the town who represent various forms of human debauchery; almost a complete roster of the "Seven Deadly Sins" Various characters illustrate drunkenness, sexual excess, greed, abuse of power and so forth. The catch is we see - in what the playwright considered a satire - that the merchant of death may be deluding and fooling himself while mankind goes on (as is revealed very near the end.) In the opera, and in this performance, the roles that seem the most well sketched - nearly caricature - are a self absorbed but weak king, the town drunk and a...

Not Your Mother's Opera !
Whew! I first heard this bizarre opera on the original 2 CD release. It is a stark and startling apocalyptic romp through an end-of-everything scenario. Now that I have seen this Blu-ray release, I am even more startled. The staging is just mind-boggling, with the main set including a giant naked woman from whose various orifices characters enter and exit. A warning...the language is frank and shocking, with some words I never heard used in an opera before! Jarring and a joy to watch, this is a worthy addition to anyone's modern opera collection. I highly recommend it.

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