Gallery Critiques

Student 19 Spring 2000

I. Please summarize the content and theme of the event you attended. If you attended a play, please summarize the plot and main characters. If a recital, please list the pieces and any relevant information you learned about them from the program notes. If a gallery exhibit, please list some sample works included there and some information from the display notes.

I attended the Magic Circle Opera's "A Childhood Miracle". It was a spectacular musical (opera) put on by a New York based company, which travels around the country performing. The set was extrememly simple, with only two chairs and a small symphony in the right-hand corner. The main characters included Violet and Peony, two young girls who are sisters; their father, Mr. Lindsey; their mother; and an aunt. It was a very simple story line which displayed the imagination of the two girls and the way in which their father ignored the unimaginable. In the dead of winter of the early 1900's, Violet and Peony became antsy, as little kids do, and wanted to go to the store with their father. However, he wanted some alone time, and instructs them to stay at home. They decide to play outside in the now instead, while their mother and aunt swed and conversed inside. The girls were instructed to put on their coats and then headed for the snow covered yard. They began to dance around and sing about wanting a playmate, as Primrose was sick in bed. Violet and Peony wanted to create someone human like, someone who was full of energy to play with. They were singing about wanting "a fine brother" to run and play in the snow. The orchestra played a song that sounded like snow flakes dropping on the ground. The flute and the violin played a duet in this peice to provide the audience with great sound effects. Within seconds something spectacular appeared in the air; it was as if "Heaven was coming down into peices" according to Violet. A tall man in all white appeared from above and stood very still. The music became soft; it was like the introduction to the supernatural, delicate figure. After they danced and the ice brother sang about his "Long Trip," the girls began to fight over him. They each obviously had some affection for him, especially Violet. Soon after, the mother and aunt came outside to see what all of the fuss is about. To their surprise a man in all white stood near. Next, Papa came back from his trip to the store and saw the strange man. He thought the man was messing with his daughters and grabbed him by the neck. The xylophone played notes that bounced from key to key. It was like the tragic momemt in the opera; the "oh no" moment. Eventaually, Papa made the girls and their snow brother come inside even though they tried to explain that he would melt. Without any thought their father forced him inside, out of the cold to sit by the fire. He began to melt before the families very eyes. The violin played a sad solo as if to wish the man farewell. It even sounded like funeral music. The piano plays as the girls run away to look for him. Deep in the night they saw a subtle light, and he floats away toward Heaven.

II. Please ANALYZE the materials presented in terms of how they relate to our class materials. Consider the following points in your analysis and respond to as many of them as are relevant: What uses of color, line, shape, texture or rhythm were evident in the work(s)? Do any aspects of the performance or works in the exhibit illustrate functionalism? Realism? Idealism? Art and the Ordered Cosmos? Art as Self-Expression? If so, in what ways does the material illustrate these aesthetic schools of thought? Please list specific features of the performance which support your points.

Before the actual opera actually started, a young group of students put on a short performance to lay the foundation for what was ahead. The group of students were part of a program called "Lets Listen". It introduces children to getting involved in extracurricular activities and teaches them how beneficial service to the community is. I believe this particular opera belongs in the aesthetic schoool of functionalism. The story "A Childhood Miracle," was used as a tool for teaching children and even adults to work together, to listen to what others are saying, and to use the full thought process before making decisions. These children were picked from a large number of students to perform as an ensemble which literally means "work". It taught them how to deal with competition, how to work with many different age groups, and how to work with many different types of people to achieve one common goal. This special concert version was much like the real opera, but a little shorter, without costumes, and without singing. They also read their lines from a script placed in front of them. The real opera performed by the New York based company also falls in the school of functionalism as it exists for a particular purpose: teach a lesson. The father, quick tempered and somewhat arrogant, showed how ignorance can lead to trouble. He did not stop for one second to listen to Violet and Peony's story about their creation. They tried to explain what would happen if their snow friend would go inside, into the warmth. Their father became anxious and annoyed, eventually shoving the boy inside. This lead to disater, as the snow man melted and the girls were crused. If Papa would have really thought it through and thoroughly listened to his girls, he could have saved a few broken hearts and a snowman.

III. Finally, please list any other significant features of the performance that may not have been covered above. Were there any special themes or topics that were emphasized in the work(s)?

Although this was a short, to the point story line, I believe that the orchestra did an excellent job of expressing the music according to the emotions and actions of the characters. I have never attended an opera before, but I have a new appreciation for it. The characters must run around on the stage, sing extremely difficult notes, and dramatize what is going on--all at the same time. It ooks so much easier than I believe it truly is. The orchestra, although small, made "A Childhood Miracle" come alive. I could feel what was going to happen just by listening to the violins, the woodwinds, pianos, and percussionists. It was like getting a hint just by looking to the right side of the stage. Again, because it was so shgort and to the point, I believe that the orchestra was basically used as a learning tool to teach our community how to really listen to what others have to say. Using entertainment to educate is an excellent teaching source; more are willing to apreciate what is being said, as wellas, they are able to more fully understand the message.

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