OPERA

Stravinsky: The Rake’s Progress

FRIDAY, JUNE 3, 2022 (continuing through JUNE 11)
7:00 PM

Metropolitan Opera
30 Lincoln Center Plaza, Upper West Side, Manhattan

$30-$480
TICKETS + INFORMATION

I wasn’t going to List this on the ground that, much as I love this piece myself, it’s too retrograde — a Mid-Century Modern museum piece — for what I laughingly refer to as The List Aesthetic. But having seen the first performance of this run on Monday, I realized I was wrong, as it’s exactly the kind of meta-work we regularly champion around here: a brilliant parody of the 18th Century operas I List freely, working at the same time — as all great parodies do — as a beautiful example of what it sends up; a piece that uses formalism for purposes of expression (see also, e.g., the Velvet Underground’s Loaded). Sure, it helps if you’re familiar with 18th Century opera to appreciate this. But the way Stravinsky spices up 18th Century usages with tart harmonies and spiky rhythms (this was his envoi to Neoclassicism) makes this even more accessible to contemporary audiences than the originals. And the current cast is FRESH. Too bad that Jonathan Miller’s production remains as brain-dead as ever; you’ll have to tease out the meta elements for yourself, the concept of this production seeming to be, “let’s pretend The Rake’s Progress is a normal straightforward one-dimensional narrative opera”. But you can’t have everything.

MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: Not much open near here afterward. Before, maybe nice bistro French at Bar Boulud.