You who read my column know that I traveled some 2,400 miles to Blacksburg, VA, and back last week, and wrote about local art in a variety of communities. Well, that was a very short journey, compared to the trek being made by a First Folio publication (1623) of thirty-six stage plays by William Shakespeare (1564-1616). Of the 235 surviving copies, the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., owns 82. This year, one of the Folios is traveling to all fifty states, and for Minnesota, that turned out to be the Tweed Museum on the UMD campus.
The First Folio collection included eighteen plays that had never before appeared in print. At the same time, none of Shakespeare’s other poems and sonnets were included in this Folio. To preserve these plays was a great tribute to a dead master, and between October 4 - 26 Duluthians will be entertained by lectures, play performances, movies, and live music, celebrating 400 years since the birth of Shakespeare himself.

Folio appearances in the early 17th century

Paul Cannan, UMD literature professor, shared thoughts on the differences between the self-published folio by poet/dramatist Ben Johnson in 1616, and the commemorative publication of the folio of Shakespeare’s plays by two members of his acting company. We were also delightfully entertained by music from composers contemporary with Shakespeare. Six musicians from the CSS Center for Early Music shared this for us. Led by Shelley Gruskin, they also performed a full program at Mitchell Auditorium this past Saturday night.

Shakespeare as the ultimate wordsmith

Friday evening, at Mitchell Auditorium, Scott Newstock, faculty from Rhodes College in Memphis, TN, offered a lecture about words, and Shakespeare’s exposure to multiple languages and ethnic customs. I came away with some new thoughts about theatrical customs around 1600, and how much we have learned since I graduated from college in 1969!
Many more events will happen over the next couple of weeks, and the First Folio on Tour will be viewable at Tweed Museum during all of its open hours.

The glorious musical intensity of Love

This year, the Metropolitan Opera opened its season (in New York City) with a newly crafted production of Tristan und Isolde, a major Romantic opera (1857) by Richard Wagner. This Irish-English love tragedy continues to be one of the most beautiful musical epics ever created. This past Saturday, Duluthians had the opportunity to watch the Matinee performance in HD (a variation on closed circuit TV), lasting from 11:00am until 4:10pm! I like to remind opera lovers that this is not recorded opera - it is live at each and every moment. We just happen to be seated in a modest auditorium in Duluth, MN, watching it unfold in all its glory and humanness.

Love is not a black/gray emotion
 
This was definitely a mixed performance, however. The very best seats in the house were in the orchestra pit, watching the intense, lyrical conducting by Sir Simon Rattle, and listening to the singers’ melodies floating out across the Met Opera House. The long hours of music were absolutely beautiful, sung by Stuart Skelton, tenor/Tristan, Nina Stemme, soprano/Isolde, and Rene Pape, bass/King Marke. I would listen to much of this again, without question.
On the other hand, this production, staged by Mariusz Trelinski, was abysmal. Black was the dominant color, and gray was the primary variation away from the black. The one exception was Pape’s King Marke, who was regally dressed in a brilliant white uniform. I do not understand this monochromatic approach to intense love, and, indeed, there was not a lot of eroticism in this production. So it goes.
I am, however, extremely happy to have these MET HD productions in Duluth, and directors will have their own place in history, sometimes quite short. If you love opera, look at Marcus Theater scheduling, and drop into these stunning live performances at the MET nine more times this season.