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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 16, 1995)
Thursday, February 16, 1995 Page 11 , Jeff Haller/DN Figaro (Kenneth Floyd) sings as Susanna (Tamara Ensrude) reacts to his words in a “The Marriage of Figaro” rehearsal Monday night in Kimball Hall. Figaro still has impact today By Jeff Randall Staff Reporter More than 200 years of tradition will arrive at Kimball Recital Hall tonight at 8 p.m. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s School of Music is presenting “The Mar riage of Figaro,” an opera that debuted in 1786. The opera, based on a play by French writer Beaumarchais, was first produced in Vienna. The music was written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the libretto was written by Lorenzo da Ponte and the English trans lation was written by Andrew Porter. More than two centuries of survival for an opera is an impressive achievement, stage director William Shomos said. But he said he believed the reasons for this work’s extended life were very basic. “Mozart’s music is what makes this work so great.” The music will be performed by the Uni versity Orchestra, under music director Tyler White. The play and the subsequent opera take place on the day of the wedding of Figaro (portrayed by Kenneth Floyd), a valet to the Count (Eric Strong), and Susanna (Tamara Ensrude), a maidservant for the Countess (Laurie Lashbrook), he said. The problems surrounding the wedding event may often be put into the spotlight, but Shomos said another aspect of the opera was more impor tant to him. “I’m taking the perspective that it has more to do with the Countess’s transforma tion throughout the day, more so than the actual details of the wedding,” he said. The Countess, Shomos said, is a some what weak and ineffectual woman who even tually turns her life around for the better. “She does whatever the Count wants, but that’s never good enough,” he said, “so he cheats on her.” “And what we see happening with the character is the Countess taking control of her life once again. She regains her self esteem.” The message of the opera is still valuable to today’s audiences, Shomos said. “The transformation of the Countess gives a strong message,” he said, “and it can still teach valuable lessons about controlling your own destiny.” Shomos said attending “The Marriage of Figaro” would be a rewarding experience. “It’s Mozart, and ifyou’re going to choose an opera, this should be the one,” he said. “He’s perhaps the greatest composer that ever lived, and this is one of his best. Come and find out why.” Magical musical to delight By Kristin Armstrong Senior Editor ) 7 Don’t let it be forgot, that once there wap a spot... for one brief shining mo ment that was known as Camelot. It was a show heralded as the most anticipated musical of all time when it reached Broadway on Dec. 3, 1960. It was so loved President Kennedy used it in his inauguration speech that same year. “Camelot,” with its own blend of mystical warlocks, knights, queens and fairies, will descend on the Lied Center this weekend. The age-old musical about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, produced by Mike Merrick and Jerry Lonn for Encore Attractions, will enchant audiences Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets are $28, $24 and $20, and are half-price for students. The musical, based on T.H. White’s story “The Once and Future King,” tells the story of King Arthur, his beloved queen Guenevere and his favorite knight, Sir Lancelot du Lac. The play takes place in medieval times, and begins with King Arthur (played by James Warwick), plaguing his mentor, Merlyn the Magician, with questions about his bride-to-be, Guenevere. On Guenevere’s way to meet the king (her husband), she dashes into the woods, where she unknowingly meets Arthur; the two are enchanted with each other. Five years later, Arthur has estab lished the Knights of the Round Table, which extols goodness and “might for right.” Lancelot du Lac, a French knijriit, comes to join the table, and he and Arthur become fast friends. Guenevere finds Lancelot arrogant, so she plans a joust with her three stron gest knights to challenge him. But when Lancelot kills one knight, then remark ably brings him back to life, Guenevere falls head over heels. The play itself has many challenges, said Julie Hagemeier, producing director of Theatrix at the University of Nebraska Lincoln. She directed “Camelot” several See CAMELOT on 13 F ads aren’t as fun when everyone else spoils them Not so long ago, I used this newspaper to call for a new age. I was tired of the endless reminiscing about the 1960s and ’70s. I was sick of boomer-this and boomer-that. I was fed up with Woodstock, “Freedom Rock” and hearing about who was where doing what when John F. Kennedy died. I asked the children of the Atomic Age to leave their wonder years behind them. It’s our turn, I wrote. Let us Gen-Xers wallow in our past for awhile. I wanted Duran Duran and Monchichis. I wanted parachute pants, shaker sweaters and a new pair of blue suede Kangaroos. I wanted life to be a great, big John Hughes movie, I wrote, and I wanted to be Molly Ringwald. Well, I wasn’t alone. The late ’70s and ’80s arrived. Those horrible “Totally ’80s” advertisements started. Oldies stations started promising the best hits of the ’80s. People started having ’80s parties. “Reality Bites” bit. I know it’s too late, but I would like to formally retract my request. You see, it was fun to talk about the good ol’ days when it was just me and a few of my friends. But . i-i-i?-m nothing is fun when everyone is doing it, and let’s face it, you can’t be exclusive when it comes to decades. Everyone was there. What’s really annoying is this: Even people who weren’t there are now reminisc ing about the ’80s. My sister has comman deered my Smiths record, and she’s wearing Vans. Back off, kid, these are my roots. Now I know how my mom felt when I “discov ered” the Beatles. How come nothing is fun when everyone is doing it? You’d think we, as human beings, would want to share our favorite things, but we don’t. We always want to be the first to find something, and once we’ve found it, we hoard it. Randomly stop 10 people on their way into the Nebraska Union. They will all claim to be the first person on their block to have heard U2. “Oh yeah, I was way into them before they even went commercial. I’ve got a cousin in Ireland who sent me bootlegs. They were real. They were raw.” Oh right, and that was when you were how old? Six? Riiiight. And, you’ll notice, that a band immedi ately gets worse when the general public starts giving them a listen. “I loved Pearl Jam before they started playing them on the radio.” I bet the entire city of Seattle has been in a bad mood for three years. The entire country stole their thing. And when someone steals your thing, it’s a very personal offense. It’s like stealing your mom or your nose. By liking—taking—your favorite band, or even your favorite TV show, they take one of the things you use to define yourself. We live in a pretty homogenous culture, especially in small trams. When everyone listens to the same radio station and shops at the same Wal-Mart, it’s tough to do your own thing. And just when you find one thing to like that makes you somehow unique, just when you think you’re the only one who truly understands a band—bam, everybody starts listening to New Kids on the Block. The absolute best bands are those that are good, really good, in ways that only you can understand. It’s even better if the band is unappreciated because no one is smart enough or clever enough or sophisticated enough to appreciate them. Really sophisticated people don’t like anything that’s achieved commercial suc cess. If they do like a popular band or artist, they only like their obscure works. So here I sit, like a bitter Green Day fan, wishing the rest of my generation would just shut up so I could listen to my Wham! records in peace. Or I could just move on. No one is remi niscingabout the ’90syet, and I bet Icould find a “Forrest Gump” T-shirt on clearance. Rowell Is a senior news-editorial, advertising and English major, and the Daily Nebraskan Arts Sc Entertainment editor.
