"Robin Rhode performs Austrian composer Arnold Schönberg's atonal opera Erwartung (Expectation), transforming it to reflect the experiences of women who have been separated interminably from their husbands by the migrant labor system, political exile, activism and/or imprisonment."
The performance was to be done in the middle of Times Square at 5:00 PM. The whole idea seemed so impossibly far-fetched that, of course, we had to go see it. How in the world could you do ""Erwartung", one of Schoenberg's quintessential expressionist works, written for large orchestra and soprano solo, in the middle of Times Square?
Well, they did it. There was an orchestra (reduced and amplified), and an excellent soprano. It fact, it was a fairly straightforward production; luckily the artist Robin Rhode, who was listed as "performing" and "transforming" the piece did very little of that.
The production was well done; and they even handed out a glossy large type booklet with the libretto and an English translation (not the normal thing that gets handed out to you in Times Square). But, needless to say, hearing and seeing this in the middle of Times Square is a totally strange experience. (Though I can hardly imagine how strange it might have seemed to the average denizen of Times Square.) To begin with, the amplification was uneven, so that some instruments sounded loud and clear, while others were inaudible. And of course the low roar in the background was always there. The lighting effects created by all the huge illuminated sounds, though, were extraordinary; and the juxtaposition of all the advertising language (Revlon "Love Is On") with the woman protagonist hallucinating made for some very strange contrasts. But simply the effect of seeing this dense Expressionist musical work that is over a hundred years old performed in the sensory maelstrom that is contemporary Times Square is something I will long remember; a kind of strange cultural dissonance in which the two elements resonated in the best possible way. It certainly made you think differently about the Schoenberg.
Photos:
(The costumes were apparently based on Schoenberg's own sketches; I have no way of knowing whether this is true.)
The setting, staged in the round, with the orchestra on the left:
Singer, audience, signs:
Singer, arms, Police Dept.:
Suddenly, the lighting was pink:
There was a mute actor playing the part of the missing lover:
While we were in Times Square, I wandered and took a few photos. The general chaos of pedestrians, stores, and lighting was increased by a large amount of construction in the middle of it all. I am always intrigued by the odd things that are left around, all of them transformed by the strange light effects:
Erwartung was not the only music being performed:
Do these endless souvenir stores ever sell anything?
