"Satyagraha " a Corvid19 treat from the Metropolitan Opera

Having had a go at "Akhnaten" at the Met yesterday I thought I would have a go at "Satyagraha " today. Both operas are by the minimalist Philip Glass. Having now experienced two of the most fabulous staged productions I have to admit my husband was right. It is like watching grass grow.

The little trailer is about 4 minutes long and really that is it but the whole opera takes nearly 3 hours. A few cords, a very basic vocal line mainly grunts and without the brilliant production a very boring evening. I cannot see these operas ever being given a concert performance! This one is made even more incomprehensible as there are no subtitles on purpose. Even Wiki did not come up with any useful programme notes. Act I was a few simple chords and grunts, ditto Act 2 but in Act 3 we got a couple of scales and lots of sellotape.

La Belle et La Bete British Film Institute revival my first horror film

La Belle et La Bete Jean Cocteau 1946

I saw this film for the first time in about 1948 on a very early 12 inch black and white television. Lord Reith saw to it that the limited BBC broadcasts were of top quality.

I was four/five and this film scared me stiff and fascinated me at the same time. I was very precocious and even then I knew I was watching something truly remarkable. The hands holding the candelabras, the falling petals, the blowing curtains. I was so terrified I did not watch it the end and it is only recently that I completed the film on YouTube which is no longer possible as it has been taken down. I had not missed much and it was just as I remembered.

I am so pleased the the British Film Institute has shown the film. It seems it has been made into an opera  by Philip Glass but the original sound track is the one for me. That was scary too.