Response to James Treadwell

Abstract

James Treadwell's perceptive and suggestive discussion raises a number of important questions that I am eager to engage. And while Treadwell was rethinking some of my arguments, the Met has unveiled a production of Lohengrin (directed by Robert Wilson) that challenges some of my claims about the Met's steadfast conservatism, especially when it comes to staging Wagner. So I am grateful for the opportunity to rethink some of my original claims and buttress a few as well.

Thrilling Opera: Conflicts of the Mind and the Media in Kasper Holten’s Juan

“…In the Morabito/Wieler production, it is the medium of television -in particular 1960s-style soap opera -that is merging with opera (see Will 2011). 5 For an exchange that exemplifies the arguments that typically circulate in this debate, see Treadwell 1998 and Levin 1998. Persuasive arguments in favour of studying live opera videos and DVD recordings from a media-specific perspective can be found in Levin 2007, Senici 2010 For different takes on the connection between operatic performance and eroticism, see Abel 1997, Koestenbaum 1993/2001, and Risi 2006 I am using the terms 'diegetic' and 'non-diegetic' in the sense that they are employed by Claudia Gorbman in Unheard Melodies (1987).…”