Folks, does opera go on too long? Because I’m being asked to make cuts in a two and a half hour opera. I want to scream “That’s too long?!?! That’s just Act One of Parsifal” but I’d just be reminded that I’m the only one in the org that likes Wagner
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I mean, us purists don't think that's too long. But if you're marketing to younger ppl who 1) have shorter attention span
2) have to go to work the next morning
then I can see the reasoning? Does the 2.5 hrs include intermission(s)? Once you add that it's easily a 3-hr performance.
Fwiw I've been to quite a few two hour long operas that have felt longer than the whole of Parsifal. But often I find the problem is that too much have been cut, so there's no time to breathe and the structure feels off
Okay, so tbf, it’s Ballad of Baby Doe and the music doesn’t sustain the dramatic tension I personally enjoy in an opera. I’m more annoyed that suddenly now, three weeks out, the length is an issue as though the score and recordings weren’t available for them to judge
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2) have to go to work the next morning
then I can see the reasoning? Does the 2.5 hrs include intermission(s)? Once you add that it's easily a 3-hr performance.