bocal soup
  • Home
    • reviews
  • cassandra
    • blog
  • media
  • lessons
  • happenings
  • links
  • bassoon quartets

connect

3/13/2012

0 Comments

 
I love musicals. I do. But not just any musicals. I love Stephen Sondheim and Claude-Michel Schönberg. And whomever made Wicked, I loved that! Having just recently seen “Company”, with Patti LuPone (and others), I was excited when I heard that she was coming to town!
So we went....
So we went. Gussied up, late-ish on a Sunday night with a zillion other things to do but still, we went. And we were sadly disappointed. Her voice was great, her pianist was fantastic! The stage was simple, as was her attire of an all black pantsuit flowy thing. But she sang on without much pause between numbers in this endless barrage of Broadway bravado and machinated persona. The schtick was thick with a running series of fabricated anecdotes relating to the songs she was singing. She went from one song, and one trite anecdote to the next with no pause and no apparent passion for the music she was singing. I must confess that, perceiving a concert to come that could as easily be obtained over DVD or Spotify and at a more convenient time with better parking, we left at intermission.
 
On that night and on that stage, Patti LuPone made zero connection to her audience (i.e., me and my companion). She shared her voice but not her soul (groan, I know but still..). I left knowing nothing more about her than that she can belt out a good tune, but I knew that before I went. Why did I even leave my comfy couch that night?
 
These days, we have a zillion and a half ways to disconnect from our world. They need not be named – you’ve already thought of at least five. The REASON a person leaves their house to experience something they might as easily sate with a quick YouTube search is to have an experience, to connect with someone or something that they cannot find in their own little bubble. It is the purview of the artist and the organization to make that connection, whether it be through personal stories and addresses, choice of dance/song/art piece, or by simply and unequivocally “Showing Up” to ones own performance. Without that little thing, that bit of soul and self, we are wasting everyone’s time.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    cassandra

    Freelance bassoonist and carpenter of the reedy persuasion in Tucson, AZ.

    RSS Feed

    other blogs

    Habits of Musicians
    Bulletproof Musician
    Bassoon Blog
    Christin Schillinger
    Have Bassoon Will Cook
    The Pedantic Bassoonist
    Music Matters-Bassoon
    Double Reed Ltd.

    Archives

    July 2021
    August 2017
    February 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    June 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    March 2012
    December 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    September 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009
    April 2009
    March 2009
    January 2009
    July 2008
    June 2008
    May 2008
    April 2008
    March 2008
    January 2008
    December 2007
    October 2007
    September 2007
    August 2007

    Categories

    All
    Artistry
    Auditions
    Bassoon
    Bnl
    Bocal Anxiety
    Busyness
    Contrabassoon
    Dreams
    Injuries
    Johnny Depp
    Music
    Musing
    Other People's Children
    Performance
    Reeds
    Studenting
    Time
    Tucson Chamber Orchestra
    Unrepentance

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
    • reviews
  • cassandra
    • blog
  • media
  • lessons
  • happenings
  • links
  • bassoon quartets