BPG Winter 2013 Movie Awards

///UPDATED, because I forgot Lincoln!///

Again, this is a mixture of newly released and... newly discovered. This post is long overdue.


Least Annoying Supernatural Teen Romance Flick of the Past Few Years, Although That's not Saying Much

Beautiful Creatures (2013)

Lena: Ethan promise me one thing; it will be a perfectly normal human date.
Ethan: I swear. I won't even call you after the date.
Lena: Jerk.
Ethan: Witch

What do I remember about this? It's a supernatural teen love movie (ever heard of one of those?), which proves yet again that most British actors can't do good American-South accents. In this one it's the usually magnificent Jeremy Irons (who plays the teen witch's scenery-chewing dad), although I think the award for all-time worst southern accent goes to Charles Dance in China Moon (1994). With an impressive cast featuring Viola Davis, Emma Thompson and Eileen Atkins, the actress who plays Lena is Alice Englert, who happens to be Jane Campion's daughter. She's engaging and beautiful but not cookie-cutter, and I so wish she had been cast in the next movie I saw...


Movie Most Supportive of the Notion That When Something is in a Different Language, I cut it a lot of Slack

En kongelig affære  (A Royal Affair, 2012)

Based on the true story of the love affair between the wife of Christian VII of Denmark (1749 – 1808) and his doctor, this movie provided us with the most oohs and aaahs as we delved into our iPhones after the movie had ended. So much of it was based on history that I knew nothing about. That was interesting. Obviously it's a period movie, and it was stunningly art directed and filmed. But Alicia Vikander as the queen was cast obviously for her lovely face and her wan expression. I wish an actress like Alice Englert had been cast instead, someone with some range and fire. I think Vikander's blandness would have translated even worse had it been in English. Sometimes the removal of a different language and an unknown history lends a certain alluring mystery to something that otherwise would appear fairly ordinary. And on that note...


Most Pleasing Depiction of Piercingly-Blue-Eyed, Tanned, Almost-Naked men Laying Around and Squinting into the Relentless Sun

Kon-Tiki (2012)

Torstein: Why are you feeding the sharks our tomato soup?

Well, let me explain right off the bat. Kon-Tiki was filmed simulataneously in Norwegian and in English. So each scene was shot twice. This move was apparently made to secure international funding. I would never watch a dubbed movie (ironic purposes or drinking games aside) but this wasn't dubbed. However, I wish I'd had the option in Toronto to see it in Norwegian and subtitled. I can't help thinking that, for the lead actor, especially, it would have provided a little more emotional range. That actor is Pål Sverre Hagen and he played Thor Heyerdahl (1914 - 2002) who sailed his famous balsa-wood raft from Peru to Polynesia to support his theory that those islands were settled from the east and not from the west.

The production values are fantastic. Brooklyn of the 1940s is depicted with great care and obviously a great amount of money went into this. No wonder the producers wanted serious international backing. There are many heart-stopping moments (I was with my mother and grasped her hands many times, squealing in terror), and also plenty of delicious ones, as toned, tanned Norwegian or Swedish men, named Bengt, Erik, Thor and Knut (love those names!) lay around in the sun-baked doldrums of the Pacific Ocean. Truly, this film gives a great insight into the very fears they must have faced alone with no modern technology in the middle of that vast water. I highly recommend this film, in English or Norwegian.


Second-Whitest Makeup Used on an Actress

The Bourne Legacy (2012)

Byer: Jason Bourne was just the tip of the iceberg. 

I can't agree. Matt Damon as Jason Bourne was the iceberg. Jeremy Renner does a great job following up an unforgettable portrayal and the movie retains most of the stylish, timeless thriller atmosphere. A relief that David Strathairn is in it as my dad and I have a running gag about how we love it when he comes into the ops room or whatever and demands a 20-block lockdown. Also, David Strathairn is my secret boyfriend, just as Rachel Weisz is my secret girlfriend, and she's the female interest in the movie (but has some seriously overly white make-up on in the first few scenes at her house). Okay, so Jeremy Renner might not have taken off his shirt quite as often as a certain dear friend indicated to me (I'm looking at you Ms B!), but it was still nice when he did.


Most Eagerly Anticipated Movie of the Spring Which Got Ruined by Lousy 3D Side Effects

Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013)

G: Yeesh, no more 3D for me!

Oh, how I wish I could you tell you more! Eagerly, I ordered my tickets weeks in advance, going for the 3D option. How excited we were as the cinema filled on opening night last Friday! How queasy we were not too far in, from the camera movement and the 3D lousiness! My companion M had to leave for a few minutes to settle his stomach. I had to take off my 3D glasses and watch the second half in blurriness. I think it was a really good movie, although it lacks the sweet surprises of discovering the new cast that we enjoyed in the previous film of this iteration. Sigh. Can't really say much else, except Benedict Cumberbatch is as strong as he always is. I might see it again to catch what I missed. Or I might not.


Most breathtaking art direction
Lincoln (2012)

Lincoln: Hmm. I reckon it's the speed that's strange to me. I'm used to going at a deliberate pace.

I know my pace, and I know my sleep patterns and how much snooze I need. But when, after a fantastic big Chinese meal, my friend suggested that we were certainly not too old to attend a 10:30 p.m. viewing of a movie, I was up for it! Except, I sort of wasn't. Chinese food + a dark, comfortable cinema = nap. Three naps. So I didn't see all of Lincoln. What I loved: THE CAST. Look them up - they were all superb. Also, the art direction was stunning. It didn't fall into the old Merchant-Ivory trap of making everything look the way we wished it had, the way we might imagine a previous time through our own romanticized glasses. I had a great sense of truth in the look, apart from the golden glow that always seemed to be shining in through drawn curtains, but that is a small detail. And all the other small details were brilliant, including - of course - Daniel Day Lewis's make up. Between that and his acting, it was an eerie recreation. My only quibble in the movie was the saintly aura in which Lincoln seemed to exist, and - with that brilliant makeup - it made him seem slightly apart. This might have been purposeful, but I didn't enjoy it. I relish a portrayal that is warts-and-all, one which shows the faults against which truly great people have to do their own personal battles. Of course, maybe that was in the movie and I slept through it. I'll see it again some time.


Most Friendship-Affirming and Most Likely to Make me Still Want to Live in a Repurposed Space

The Station Agent (2003)

Finbar: You said you weren't going to talk to me if I sat here, Joe.Joe: I haven't said anything in like twenty minutes.
Finbar: Nine.
Joe: You timed me?
Finbar: Mm-hmm.
Joe: That's cold, bro.

I always think this movie just came out about a year ago. I've been meaning to see it since it came out in 2003. It's scary how that time flew. This is a rare movie that I will want to see repeatedly. It's about the unexpected friendships and unexpected places that we might call home. In this case, an abandoned railway station. I've always harboured a dream to live in a home that has been repurposed from some other use. This movie is a gem.


Most Worth the Wait... But why did I Wait so Long???

The Producers (1968)

Roger De Bris: Ah, Bialystock and Bloom, I presume! Heh heh, forgive the pun!
Leo Bloom [to Max] What pun?
Max Bialystock: Shut up, he thinks he's witty. 

Yes, it's taken me this long to see it. What can I say? Brilliantly funny, with a cast that I can't imagine being excelled. Zero Mostel's great sad eyes and lugubrious face are such a perfect foil to Gene Wilder's neurotic twitchiness. I loved it. Last Sunday PBS aired a special on director Mel Brooks' career as part of the American Masters series. It was fascinating. The man is incorrigible, and so achingly funny. If you can catch this documentary, it's a great insight into the tortured, driven pysche of a true original. And it never occured to me that the bean-eating, farting scene in Blazing Saddles really paved the way for the vulgar humour that was to follow in film. Thanks, Mel! No, really, thanks. :) Of course he is much more than that. Young Frankenstein remains one of my top twelve.


Movie That Most had me Expecting Less Than Nothing, but Caused me to Come Away Pleasantly Surprised.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

Gandalf: I'm looking for someone to share an adventure.

I was miffed to discover on opening night (I had tix all lined up with my three good movie pals), that The Hobbit had been made into three movies, which reeked to me of a cash grab... and that the extremely high-resolution film of this first instalment actually showed up the flaws in the sets and props. After a fun dinner at our favourite Giorgio's, we got in line for The Hobbit - and I had a great time! Yes, it's a bit slow, but there's lots of interesting stuff to look at. Yes that final chase scene in the caves was ridiculous and overlong but I'll be back to see the other two instalments, hopefully with the same little movie gang.


Most Unexpected and Haunting Sci-Fi Action Thriller

Looper (2012)

Abe: This time travel crap, just fries your brain like a egg...

This is why I need to blog more regularly. I saw this many months ago. So, yes, I've lost a lot of detail, but it stayed with me more than most movies. I believe it's the first science-fiction film to open the Toronto International Film Festival, and I suppose that's saying something about it, something about its thoughtfulness and a certain unexpected demand of the brain. Time travel is tricky. How to make sense of the effects of time, of being in the same moment as yourself from the future, or the past. God... imagine if you could meet yourself from another time, which would it be? I'll think on that later, although my immediate response would be to meet myself from the future, to learn from mistakes I am most apt to make, to try and avoid them. I'm intrigued by time travel, and rarely miss an opportunity to indulge in the many filmic and literary fantasies that explore it. Looper has some major spoiler opportunities, so I won't say much, just that the concept is fascinating, the acting is sharp, Emily Blunt (one of this blog's favourites) is riveting, and fine prosthetic work on Joseph Gordon-Levitt's nose goes a long way to making the story work.


Best Movie of the Year to Reference the Icelandic Sagas (and therefore Wagner's Ring Cycle)... oh Hell, it's just the Best Movie of the Year - Period

Django Unchained (2012)

Django: The D is silent.

Another great Tarantino, in this case a passionate, funny, gobsmacking, brutally violent homage to the spaghetti western, complete with rapid zoom shots, cheesy 60s music and a cameo by Franco Nero. Jamie Foxx is relentlessly virtuosic and intense in the lead role of a slave searching for his wife. Christoph Walz is overwhelmingly charming as his German companion who buys Django's freedom. One of the best movies of the year and a powerful hero quest. Unless you can't handle any sort of violence, SEE IT!


Whitest Make-up Used on an Actress... Plus Movie I Most Didn't Expect to Like, but I did, but I Sort of Wish I Didn't

Black Swan (2010)

Beth: Perfect? I'm not perfect. I'm nothing.

I didn't expect to enjoy this. I had managed to avoid seeing it. Then it was on television one evening, and I started watching. Half an hour later, I was sitting on the edge of my sofa, transfixed. I'm not entirely sure why. None of the cast interests me (except for Barbara Hershey), and the dramas of strung-out ballerinas is overplayed for the most part in most depictions on film. But in all the neurotic overwrought hysteria, there is something viscerally gripping and morbidly fascinating about this film. Even as I type this, my lip is curling a little in distaste. But... there's nothing else quite like it in my memory. I'm glad I saw it.


Most Surprising, Moving, and Unexpected Animated Film

Mary and Max (2009)

Max (to Mary): You are my best friend. You are my only friend.

The screenplay by director Adam Elliot is magic: eccentric, heartfelt, deeply human. The stop-start animation (claymation I guess) is in a washed out, almost greyscale colour scheme. The voices are beautifully cast in this moving tale of a little Australian girl and a middle-aged New York man, who come together as pen pals and take us on a journey into their - and our - hearts. As for the soundtrack, I'll never again hear the Humming Chorus from Madama Butterfly the same way.


So? Did you see any of these? Come on - I have lots of readers, but most of you are kind of shy I guess. I'd love to know your opinions!

And one more: don't bother seeing or even renting Hotel Transylvania. It has its sweet moments, and I had such high hopes, but in the end it's 91 minutes I'll never get back.

The Word Indeed

Last year's Word Festival at the Young Centre was a glorious celebration of Shakespeare and the Bible. This year, to honour the bicentenary of Charles Dickens' birth, the centre is offering a four-day feast to all lovers of... the word.

There are staged readings, live streamed readings (check it out here), some improv and - opening tonight - Dickens' Women, a one-woman, one pianist show that is a must see if you can still get a ticket.

Miriam Margolyes, who I first experienced playing her award-winning Flora Finching in Christine Edzard's excellent adaptation of Dickens' Little Dorrit (1988), takes us on a journey through Dickens' life, his influences, and how it all played out in a rich array of women characters. Considered by many to be a chauvinist (and this is well supported by some of the excerpts in the piece), he also managed to present surprising characters, some of which were very two dimensional, but many of which were deeply human and flawed. I don't want to say too much about this in detail, because part of the appeal of this excellently crafted performance, is the delightful surprises that emerge. In fact, there are more surprises than I expected, because, as Margolyes moved smoothly from excerpt to story to excerpt, I felt I'd never read Dickens before. The most successful voice actress that Britain has produced (apart from her films, she's recorded a lot of audio books, documentary voice overs and animated character voices), she is able to extract from and illuminate a moment that is so exquisitely thought out, so compassionately examined, that it left me breathless and entirely engaged. Sympathetic piano accompaniment was provided with modesty and charm by Peter Tiefenbach.

Dickens' Women plays each evening until this coming Saturday night. Tomorrow (Thursday) there is a talk back with Margolyes, but after tonight's performance (and I suppose she'll do this for every other), she signed copies of her book on this same topic, which is $20 including tax. After Saturday, the show travels to Chicago for five performances, ending a 10-month tour that will conclude Christmas Eve.

Another fine evening at the Young Theatre.

My Elixir of Great Music

I don't know why previous listenings and viewings over my early years didn't impact me, but now the 19th-century Italian opera genius Donizetti has me in his thrall. From Maria Stuarda (Canadian Opera Company a couple of seasons back), to Lucia di Lammermoor (COC, then again a Met production, and the COC is doing one again this spring - can't wait), Don Pasquale and now L'elisir d'amore... I get drunk on this music for days, drive my workmates nuts whistling it (yes, I'm a whistler... strong lips... rrrrrrrRRRRRRrrrrrrrr).

It says a lot for the energy and talent of University of Toronto Opera School students that a Saturday evening performance of Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore managed to be delightful, funny and sweet, just weeks after I saw the Met's HD live performance, which was as perfect as I could imagine.

The Opera School consistently produces work that bodes well for the future of the art form, and all on the remarkable sets of Fred Perruzza, who - surely on a tiny budget - never fails to enchant.

The Met production boasted three of the cast from another Donizetti a couple of season's back, Don Pasquale. Anna Netrebko (dashing and sexy in a riding habit), Mariusz Kwiecien (as Belcore he was a handsome bully, and a potentially abusive boyfriend for Adina) and Matthew Polenzani (breathtaking in his big aria) were all in top form, but it was Ambrogio Maestri (oh God, what a name) as Dulcamara (last picture) who stole the show; a perfect basso buffo with everything you could ask for in a great singing comic actor.

This just couldn't be bettered.

Impressions from Montreal: Opera

Le Vaisseau Fantôme (The Haunted Vessel) is better known to me as Wagner's The Flying Dutchman, one of my favourite operas, and last week Montreal Opera was presenting it in one of my favourite productions (from the Canadian Opera Company). I was already planning a weekend there, so figured the timing would be excellent, and it was.

Cursed to sail the seas unendingly, only able to come ashore once every seven years for one day in which he must find a woman to love him unto death in order to release him from his curse, the Dutchman's lot is a rough one. This tale of the ultimate outsider who can only be redeemed by the necessarily blind and unquestioning love of a woman is rife with neurotic possibility. The music is sublime, of course, and the ending always poignant.

This Christopher Alden production luckily works in massive barn-like theatres like the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, as well as purpose-built opera houses. The slanted box-on-its-side, lined with rough wooden floors and chair pegs, has a Shaker feel to it and pushes the action and the sound out into the auditorium. The only set pieces within the set are a large wheel and a spiral wrought-iron staircase that comes up through the floor and disappears into the ceiling. The one set plays all parts and it works perfectly to portray an insular society, into which a mysterious sailor is likely not to be welcomed. The lighting by Anne Militello is creepy and glorious. One minute the stage is flooded with blood red, another with an acid yellow.

The Dutchman and his Senta are intensely sympathetic. Daland, Senta's greedy father, and the rest of her village, are suspicious and tribal in their attitudes to outsiders. When the villagers celebrate the return of their men, the rowdy Steuermann chorus is eerily disciplined in its barely contained rage. The villagers' costumes denote a 1930s Fascistic feel, with the Dutchman and his ghostly crew in what looks to be concentration-camp garb. The women are dressed in bilious green stoles, and all the characters bear raccoon-like eye makeup.

I wasn't blown away by the singing so the least said, the better. But I was here to witness again a thoughtful and potent production. And that's what I got.

Montreal Impressions: Art

ONCE UPON A TIME... IMPRESSIONISM (although on the website they spell it with two "n"s)
October 13, 2012 to January 20, 2013

In a long line of fabulously wealthy Americans amassing art, Sterling Clark and his French actress wife, Francine, amassed a remarkable collection, and - while their Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachussetts undergoes expansion work - 74 of the paintings are touring Asia, Europe and, in its only Canadian stop, Montreal, at the Museum of Fine Art.

I'm not a particular fan of Impressionism, nor of the big shows, but my last experience here was so excellent, I thought I'd give it a go.

From the website:

"Seventy-four paintings by Bonnard, Corot, Degas, Gauguin, Manet, Millet, Monet, Morisot, Pissarro, Sisley and Toulouse-Lautrec, including a selection of twenty-one outstanding canvases by Renoir, and the Degas sculpture Little Dancer Aged Fourteen (on view exclusively in Montreal) will be shown at the MMFA. The inclusion of academic works by Bouguereau, Gérôme and Stevens, among others, will enable visitors to see how the new ‘modernism’ challenged official painting.”
I was a bit taken aback when I got into the ticket line when a friendly volunteer informed me that there were no timed tickets, so there seemed to be no control as to how many people toured the venue at any one time. I don't know if it's a Montreal thing, but everything seemed to flow well. I still spentt most of the time ducking, bobbing, weaving, and apologizing as I listened to the excellent audio guide. But the exhibit was excellent.

The canvasses were stunning. There is that faint surprise when you see a picture you've viewed many times or on tea towels or postcards suddenly loom large and in living colour before you. It was Rousseau's Farm in the Landes (1844 - 67) that brought tears to my eyes. Of course, it's riddled with trees, which are pretty much my favourite thing in the whole world. The life in the painting and the obvious devotion he poured into it over 20 years is palpable.
















Anything with trees in it captivated me, like Monet's Geese in the Brook (1874).

I learned that Renoir's A Box at the Theater (At the Concert) (1880) originally had a male figure standing to the right behind the young ladies. Apparently you can still see his form somewhat in the red curtain backdrop. I can't.























But I love the contrasts in black and white, in sauciness and demureness, and how the younger girl's nose seems to be coming in dangerous collision with the other lady's elbow.

The rebellious Impressionists are now achingly mainstream. But an exhibition like this, excellently laid out, lit, paced... dispells the chocolate box overkill and instilled in me a renewed awe for some of our greatest artists.

Good, Really Good

I'm a big fan of the films about James Bond, the mysterious, misogynistic MI6 operative created by Sir Ian Fleming and so captivatingly portrayed on film by several hunky actors over the last 50 years. And of course, deciding who is the best portrayer of Bond is a favoured topic for debate and disagreement in many circles. I'm saying it here: Daniel Craig is my favourite Bond. In fact, he's also the favourite Bond of my friend, John. It all happened quite quickly. We were at the movies before Casino Royale came out, we saw the trailer, and John turned to me quite seriously and said, "Ok, I've just seen the trailer of his first Bond film... and he's the best Bond ever."

So, after enjoying the Bond design exhibit at TIFF, and getting caught up by watching Casino Royale the same evening (I didn't bother with Quantum of Solace, preferring to pretend it never happened), I was pretty jazzed to see the latest Bond offering on opening night... Skyfall.

[Side story: The Tuesday before the Friday opening night in Toronto, I was online purchasing tickets, finding that as fast as I found screenings that weren't sold out... they sold out. We finally got tickets at my favourite cinema, the Beaches, and it happens to be the location that I've attended the two previous Bond openings. On the night, I lined up an hour early, as I waited for my friend, and a good thing too, as there were many people already in front of me. The theatre was sold out, packed solid with fans of all ages. And the audience deserves a mention in this review: they were excellent! The film had something to do with that, I guess, but they were silent and concentrated. Thanks, audience!]

From the thrilling opening sequence, through the credits, and into the story, this was an excellent action film, with many breathtaking moments. Director Sam Mendes would be expected to do something special with the Bond franchise and he did, bringing to the fore the relationships between the major players, in ways that enhanced their vulnerabilities. Sometimes, it was too much (see Spoiler section below). Now, Casino Royale still remains my firm favourite, but Skyfall comes close behind. There were irresistible throwbacks to the past (the Adele-sung opening credits with silhouettes under water; the Aston Martin!) and looks to the future (the adorable Ben Whishaw - who was also John Keats in Bright Star - as the new Q, and another surprise new/old character, but I won't ruin it for you).

Daniel Craig is six years older than he was in Casino Royale and the film plays up the notion of aging and retirement for both him and M (Judi Dench, still so fabulous). Craig's eyes are more icily blue than ever, his face more chiseled, but his body looks great. He was the harder Bond, who can still be slightly playful, but I love how the new Bond franchise has him more guarded than ever. Javier Bardem as the creepy, tragic villain only needed more screen time, as we couldn't get enough of him. Bérénice Marlohe as Sévérine, the ubiquitous Bond girl, was a surprise. At first glimpse, with her Vesper Lynd-worthy heavy eye makeup, I assumed she was just a pretty but silly character. But she carried off her controlled, sexy skittishness and fear really well. I'd love to see her in something else. The rest of the cast is made up of really excellent British actors, like Ralph Fiennes, Rory Kinnear, and Helen McCrory. The soundtrack is all you might hope for, rife with those tight horn sections that are always sexy and powerful.

SPOILER ALERT:
The return to Bond's childhood home seemed to come a little out of nowhere, and, maybe I am jaded, but I like my Bond mysterious. I don't want to know his parents' names, but I do like that Albert Finney was the loyal retainer, and I also want to know where that road is in the Scottish highlands, unless it was digitally created?

There was some wry humour and plenty of action. There were also tears... but you'll have to see why for yourself.

I recommend!

Tempest Times Two

(Damn, I love alliteration).

It's been years since I've attended a Cirque du Soleil performance. I figured it was time to make a return to the big yellow and blue tent.

















The little company that could has made big. Started in the early 1980s in Quebec as a medley of jugglers, stilt walkers, and other street performers, the circus-that-didn't-feature-animals has become a massive international success story. I love the fact that at one point, the two biggest acts in Las Vegas were from Quebec: Cirque du Soleil and Celine Dion.

The latest touring show to hit Toronto is Amaluna, a name that vaguely and playfully is meant to represent "loving the moon." And, as you might suspect, Amaluna is woman-oriented. Apparently the usual ratio in Cirque shows of male performers to female is 3:1. In Amaluna, it's reversed. The concept for the production, directed by Diane Paulus is taken from Shakespeare's The Tempest. Except, instead of a Prospero, you have a Prospera. There is more of a thread of a plot than in other Cirque shows I've seen and it works well. Cirque du Soleil never strays far from its roots (the opening act consists of two young women madly moving around on unicycles), and yet it takes those skills to incredible heights, sometimes literally. The acrobatics are breathtaking, but always with a little twist, an extra subtext. The duo of a man and a woman suspended in mid air, fighting and tumbling above our heads, becomes a battle of sorts and, ultimately, very erotic.The clowning isn't the creep show it is in traditional circuses, but a more genuinely goofy and charming reflection on the sillyiness of human nature.

The thing I've never enjoyed about Cirque is the music, and yet I must admit it isn't Cirque without it. Redolent of soundtracks to films set in historic, exotic pasts, the music usually features a single woman's voice wailing in vague Eastern-tinged melodies through a powerful sound system. It always puts my teeth on edge, but I can't suggest another option. It just makes sense for Cirque.

I'm glad I went. I'll be back.

Then, this past Saturday, I went to the Metropolitan Opera's HD transmission of Thomas Adès' The Tempest. This opera premiered in 2004 at Covent Garden, and the Met presented it this season in a Robert Lepage production... Lepage who has also worked with Cirque du Soleil. I love these little connections. I have to admit, I'm not a fan of The Tempest... yet. I don't know why but I've yet to see a production of the play that really engaged me. This opera performance came the closest. The hotness that is Simon Keenlyside was Prospero (Adès wrote the role for him), and the rest of the cast was without fault. It did occur to me towards the end, that if, for some reason, Miranda and Ferdinand couldn't leave the island, they would be able to people their little kingdom with the most gorgeous gene pool. They were played by Isabel Leonard and Alek Shrader. Lepage is consistently remarkable and revelatory. Through his vision, Prospero set the tale, through his powers, in a recreation of La Scala... the opera house in Milan, because, after all, Prospero is/was the Duke of Milan. The magical elements were all there, the young lovers were completely believeable, but ultimately it was Keenlyside's embittered Prospero, the angry, rejected man of power, whose magic is the focus for all that pointless rage, that really made the show. Adès's music is dense and layered and I need more listenings of it. There were moments that were so beautiful, like the Act II love duet. And Adès, who was also conducting the piece, was intriguing in the intermission interview; modest and thoughtful.

Prospero (Simon Keenlyside) and Ariel (Audrey Luna) in the Met production, a recreation of Milan's La Scala opera house. Photo: Ken Howard/Met Opera