Discordant Fellatio: Powder Her Face (NYCO at BAM)

We saw the final performance of New York City Opera’s production of Powder Her Face at Brooklyn Academy of Music. Powder Her Face follows the life of Margaret Campbell, the so-called Dirty Duchess of Argyll, her many affairs, divorce trial in 1963, and eventual lonely death. Rich subject matter for an opera. We had seen Powder composer Thomas Ades’ The Tempest at the met in November and had high hopes. We did however have radically different impressions of the evening.

Elizabeth – I really wanted to like this opera. I loved the idea of a 20^th century real life royal scandal as opera. And opera in English—a first for me. Plus there were all these nude men I had heard about. I very much wanted to like Powder Her Face…but Ades’ discordant music never allowed me to fall into the story. Any time the story or action became engaging I would be put off, held at a distance by the music. This could be because I am simply used to more standard melodic music and was at constant odds with the jarring sound of Powder Her Face, but I found that the words weren’t very gripping either. I was keenly aware that I was sitting in the audience at BAM–the entire time. The video projection, car, fellatio and nude men felt like annoying conceits, as though the producers knew the story and music wasn’t enough to engage us and that they needed to add things to make it a draw for audiences. Great that the duchess does coke in the bathroom, that gives us insight into her situation and state of mind, but did it need to be live-fed and projected onto the wall? There was too much silly excess of this kind. I will admit that lots of the ideas were neat, but because the music and story were weak I felt that they were using the conceits to paper over its flaws. Like a child creating a gorgeous decorative cover for a book report that contains no substance.

Similarly, there was so much sex it became boring. At first I was uncomfortable with the video intro of the maid sleeping with the electrician, but very quickly it all became BORING. I thought the judge getting a blowjob while rendering his verdict was unbelievably lame. The elements of sex were quickly revealed as flat, juvenile attention getting gimmicks not actually relevant to the plot. The duchess’ famous onstage fellatio was equally lame. I felt embarrassed for the performers. The entire thing seemed like something an oversexed high school or college student would produce. Not that there isn’t tons of sex in other operas, but it really seemed to be sex for sex’s sake AND done just to be provocative.

As I said, I found it boring and sad. A real disappointment. I did see Salman Rushdie at the performance. I wonder what he thought of it. I should have asked him.

Shawn- I have too little experience with modern opera to be able to fully gauge if Ades succeeded in what he was to trying accomplish musically. He told a story I found engaging. But as the music was so foreign sounding to my ear, I did find myself distracted by trying to find the vocal line. I could not, at least not one in the manner to which I am accustomed to hearing. This makes it very difficult for me to even comment on the singers’ performance vocally. However, I was never bored and did get caught up in the action during much of the show. Whether this has to do with the music or the pure theatricality of the staging I do not know. The kinetic action of the singers and performers onstage spoke to me greatly. They were in nearly constant motion; running, moving, having sex on tables, jumping on beds, backflipping off of cars. (Although the backflipper was a non-singing role) I know opera continues to move radically away from the old “stand and sing” style but this production pushed that envelope even farther. Excitingly so. I also found the use of the live onstage camera feed projected on various surfaces on the stage highly effective. Especially so when used to project off stage action above or on top of the action before our eyes. During a dinner party the duchess is doing coke in the bathroom hidden from view but the scene is projected live above the action of the onstage dinner party. Amazingly I found the onstage camera person completely unobtrusive as she wove the camera around and between the performers while the live feed projected on various surfaces onstage. This use of both theatrical and forced film perspective is not something I have seen used in an opera before. In terms of the often criticized extreme sexual situations in the piece, I found the musically and theatrically depicted fellatio fairly effective. Appropriately pathetic and desperate yet carnal.

Similarly the large collection of nude men in her hotel bedroom I felt transcended pure shock value as the volume of time they spent wandering around onstage caused their nudity to become almost meaningless, non-sexual, a backdrop, just as their presence would have become for the duchess. I did wonder what my impression would be of a concert version of Powder Her Face. Without the theatricality of the staging it might be quite dry. Regardless, anything that pushes or questions the boundaries of what opera is or can be is good I think. Even if it doesn’t completely succeed.

Finally, this was my first time to the Brooklyn Academy of Music. It is, I thought, considered a world-class venue. New York City Opera certainly thinks so. The sound is great there but the seating in orchestra is distractingly, irritatingly constrictive. I don’t like paying $180 to have the elbow of the young man next to me in my groin. Or do I? I will reflect on this further.