We saw Andre Previn's A
We saw Andre Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire at the ALO last night. Wow, Stella and Stanley were both awesome. Their voices were great and the drama was there as well. I liked the jazzy sounds of the score, too.
Now I've never read or seen Streetcar before, but I assume that we're supposed to feel sympathetic with Blanche. Somehow it wasn't working for me that way. Yes, she is a tragic character, but the way she came across in the opera (a hysterical woman who thinks that she's the center of the universe and doesn't show much empathy for others around her) just did not strike my sypathetic chord. I'd like to see a stage performance to see if that's really her character.
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that is actually the essence of her character..or at least the facade of it. She is tragic because the height of her life was years ago in her youth when she was beautiful. Now that she is aging she is alone and without the blush of youth to get her by. At least that's my take. I haven't seen the opera but I tend to balk at the idea that it could be as good as the original play. I used to think that I would want to play Blanche but I think Stella is the better role.
I found Stella a much more sympathetic character. Despite all the crap she gets from Stanley and Blanch she ramained (naively?) sweet and optimistic - up to the point of denial, of course.
Yeah, I can see you doing Blanch in a play. Besides I bet hers is the more difficult role to play.
I've seen the movie version with Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando, and I found Blanche the same way--not sympathetic. I agree with Meredith's word of "tragic". She was sad, I thought, and I pitied her--but I didn't like her. I did find her capacity for self-deception impressive.