“Tonio, a young villager, tells Marie — the titular daughter, who has grown up traveling with a French squadron — that he would gladly give up the land of his childhood and the friends he holds dear and join her regiment.”
I see Russia has the same issues with the writers’ room delivering scripts that are way too on the nose that we have here in America.
Olivia, I have been mulling this on and off for the last 9 days and have repeatedly stopped myself from firing off an impulsive response. What I wanted to say was, "No, we cannot stop pretending that music, etc...because in fact we do not have to pretend anything. Music absolutely CAN lift us above many if arguably anot all things, and moreover, the fact that Mr. Brownlee's ghastly and appalling misunderstanding of that idea led him to think his participation in a concert of this sort would do so should not therefore lead us to the conclusion that music is powerless to lift us above even some of the worst things imaginable, or even that his participation might not have done so had he made different choices.
Suppose he had decided to announce just before singing that he was dedicating his performance to the heroic Ukrainian people in their struggle against oppression? He might have been booed off the stage, or physically yanked off the stage, or his performance might have been met with a mixture of hisses and cheers, or with complete silence. But such an act would, in my view, have been a profound example of music - even had he not been able then to sing a single note - lifting us - at least those of us who believe in art as moral action - above the current geopolitical situation and speaking truth to power. Just sayin'.....
I may be a complete fool, but such are my thoughts for what they are worth.
I really do appreciate this and sincerely believe that music does have the power to do a lot and that art has a place in moral action.
The frustration that led to this original post is that this rhetoric has become, for the most part, artificial and shallow, especially when it's used by artists (or their publicists) to justify a decision that feels incongruous with the very ideals they claim to espouse. To claim that music has the ability to lift us up above anything while denying the existential politics feels, to me, like trying to have one's cake and eat it. It's almost always used these days to absolve oneself of blame or responsibility in lieu of any other possibilities. (For very similar reasons, I'm very wary of that Leonard Bernstein quote being used on social media by artists and ensembles every time a tragedy happens.)
Also: The fool is the most important character in King Lear, and the one who leads the other characters closer to their humanity and moral epicenters.
Thank you for raising awareness in this piece. I truly hope this concert leads to real progress, even in ways that may not be immediately visible. I think it’s fair to keep asking how leadership efforts like this are translating into lasting, livable-wage jobs for more working artists back home.
It matters that we hold all of our stars and leaders to a standard that prioritizes sustainability and impact, so the next generation has a healthier industry and economy to succeed in. Always rooting for that kind of progress, and genuinely curious what it looks like behind the scenes.
“Tonio, a young villager, tells Marie — the titular daughter, who has grown up traveling with a French squadron — that he would gladly give up the land of his childhood and the friends he holds dear and join her regiment.”
I see Russia has the same issues with the writers’ room delivering scripts that are way too on the nose that we have here in America.
You can't even blame the syphilis because that didn't start to bother Donizetti until a few years after Fille premiered.
Olivia, I have been mulling this on and off for the last 9 days and have repeatedly stopped myself from firing off an impulsive response. What I wanted to say was, "No, we cannot stop pretending that music, etc...because in fact we do not have to pretend anything. Music absolutely CAN lift us above many if arguably anot all things, and moreover, the fact that Mr. Brownlee's ghastly and appalling misunderstanding of that idea led him to think his participation in a concert of this sort would do so should not therefore lead us to the conclusion that music is powerless to lift us above even some of the worst things imaginable, or even that his participation might not have done so had he made different choices.
Suppose he had decided to announce just before singing that he was dedicating his performance to the heroic Ukrainian people in their struggle against oppression? He might have been booed off the stage, or physically yanked off the stage, or his performance might have been met with a mixture of hisses and cheers, or with complete silence. But such an act would, in my view, have been a profound example of music - even had he not been able then to sing a single note - lifting us - at least those of us who believe in art as moral action - above the current geopolitical situation and speaking truth to power. Just sayin'.....
I may be a complete fool, but such are my thoughts for what they are worth.
I really do appreciate this and sincerely believe that music does have the power to do a lot and that art has a place in moral action.
The frustration that led to this original post is that this rhetoric has become, for the most part, artificial and shallow, especially when it's used by artists (or their publicists) to justify a decision that feels incongruous with the very ideals they claim to espouse. To claim that music has the ability to lift us up above anything while denying the existential politics feels, to me, like trying to have one's cake and eat it. It's almost always used these days to absolve oneself of blame or responsibility in lieu of any other possibilities. (For very similar reasons, I'm very wary of that Leonard Bernstein quote being used on social media by artists and ensembles every time a tragedy happens.)
Also: The fool is the most important character in King Lear, and the one who leads the other characters closer to their humanity and moral epicenters.
Thank you for raising awareness in this piece. I truly hope this concert leads to real progress, even in ways that may not be immediately visible. I think it’s fair to keep asking how leadership efforts like this are translating into lasting, livable-wage jobs for more working artists back home.
It matters that we hold all of our stars and leaders to a standard that prioritizes sustainability and impact, so the next generation has a healthier industry and economy to succeed in. Always rooting for that kind of progress, and genuinely curious what it looks like behind the scenes.
I fail to see how this concert will lead to any progress apart from Russian soft power and Brownlee’s personal finances.