Too many notes, Mr Herrmann

The London Evening Standard (or The Scotsman) announces the upcoming John Martin exhibition at Tate's Britain (September 21, 2011 - January 15, 2012) (Picture source):

Tate curators hope that the blockbuster show uniting famous scenes of biblical catastrophe by the Romantic John Martin will restore him to his proper place at the heart of 19th-century cultural life.
In his lifetime, Martin (1789-1854) was scorned by poets William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge -now seen as the key Romantics - and by the art establishment including the Royal Academy.
Yet curator Martin Myrone said Martin was adored by everyone from Charles Dickens to the Brontës and painted scenes from literature, including the Bible, works by John Milton and by 18th-century poets now largely forgotten. "He represents the art a mass public was consuming. He was the most popular artist of his day."
John Martin has long suffered a reputation as an eccentric outsider, with his apparently madcap schemes for fixing the sewerage and transport systems of London, where he moved from Northumberland aged 19. Dr Myrone said he hoped to alter that perception with the biggest Martin exhibition since 1822.
It will include many works only discovered or restored in recent years including an early disaster painting, The Fall Of Babylon, not seen in public for 150 years.

The Wall Street Journal reviews the Minnesota production of Bernard Herrmann's Wuthering Heights opera. Once again the reviewer seems to object to the expressionist vocal line used by Herrmann, not understanding that the whole point of the score is precisely this opposition between the late Romantic orchestrations and the vocal line that is not classically designed, but follows Britten and, in some way, Alban Berg's structures.

Trimmed to just under three hours, including one intermission, the work comes off as an intriguing artifact by a composer who was clearly devoted to every one of the far too many notes that he wrote for it.

Oh, my... the Emperor Joseph II effect again.

Herrmann's best work is in the lush and colorful orchestration, which powerfully conjures up the natural world that plays such an important role in the story—the changing seasons and the violent storms of the Yorkshire moors that symbolize Cathy and Heathcliff's turbulent bond.
The vocal writing is less persuasive, much of it a shapeless parlando that is merely a vehicle for the text. A few eloquent arias, like Cathy's "I have dreamt," advance the action and the character development, but others, like her husband Edgar's "Now art thou dear," in which he reads a poem out loud to her, are more like set pieces designed to give the singers a showcase. There are no multivoice ensembles, and even with the relatively fleet tempi adopted by conductor Michael Christie, the piece still feels too long, particularly in the first half. Ironically, it would have benefited from cinematic dramaturgy, a world whose constraints Herrmann was no doubt trying to escape.
Minnesota fielded a strong cast, particularly Sara Jakubiak, who brought a lustrous, soaring soprano to Cathy. (...)
The opera benefited from 21st-century technology: Richly evocative projections by Wendall K. Harrington brought the seasons and the weather of the moors to life, created the ghostly visions of the dead Cathy that haunt Heathcliff, and sustained visual interest in the many orchestral interludes. (Heidi Waleson)

And again:

Twin Cities Daily Planet:

As a composer, Herrmann's special genius was orchestral texture: shivering strings, yelping horns, foreboding woodwinds. (As David Sander succinctly puts it in his program notes, "Herrmann was not a melodist.") It's a treat to hear those textures come alive at the Ordway; conductor Michael Christie whips the orchestra into life for the opera's several thrilling moments. At those moments, particularly when textures and melodies intertwine and overlap, the opera really pops. It's when lyricism is required--when characters are lengthily professing their devotion, or their pain--that Wuthering Heights sags. Despite his intention to place "utmost importance on the expressiveness of the vocal roles," writing for the solo voice was evidently not Herrmann's forte, and this production's powerful leads are often reduced to mumbling, moaning, or barking. (...)
Though I appreciated this very rare opportunity to see the opera that Sander calls Herrmann's "lifelong obsession," this production does not make a convincing case for the piece to enter the standard repertoire. Herrmann fans will want to see this production, but others may find it more satisfying to stay home and curl up with Emily Brontë's classic novel. (Jay Gabler)

We wonder what all these critics would have said at the opening night of Alban Berg's Wozzeck or Wagner's Tristan und Isolde... well, we don't really wonder. It's quite obvious.

Birmingham News reviews the Theatre Downton's production of Wuthering Heights:

You know that a play is too long when actors show up for the curtain call and you have forgotten their characters were even in the play.
That happens when “Wuthering Heights” finally comes to an end nearly three hours after it begins at Theatre Downtown.
It’s an ambitious production, but it’s ultimately done in by that ambition, trying to cover too much ground. (...)
It might translate to the stage, too, but in this adaptation, director and adapter Kenny Morris tries too hard to be faithful to the original. There are way too many characters, needless flashbacks and just general “stuff” going on for any of it to really resonate. (...)
There are some things to be commended, though. Morris’ lavish set is impressive, capturing all the mystery and majesty that is Wuthering Heights, the mansion. And he has some strong performers in the cast, most notably Chris Boucher as Heathcliff, Susan Cook as Catherine (and Christy Vest as the younger Cathy Linton, too) and Kelsey Sherrer as Nelly.
The rest is a mixed bag. Some are good, some look too young for their roles, some have accents so thick you can’t understand a word they say. (Alec Harvey)

Looking for reviews of Jane Eyre 2011? We have still a few of them:
Blogcritics:

Although the time constraints cause parts of the film to feel rushed, it is still an excellent adaptation worthy of the name Jane Eyre. Fans of the novel will enjoy the chance to once again see Jane, Rochester and Thornfield Hall on the big screen. (Susan Portelance)

Boise Movies Examiner:

The dialogue exchanges between Jane and Rochester are very witty. They are flirting with each other through rich language, thanks to the script. Credit needs to go to screenwriter Moira Buffini. Her screen adaption of the classic novel is smart and to the point. (Daniel De Lago)

Screened:

What I find remarkable about Jane Eyre is how fresh it seems. Thanks to the efforts of Fukunaga and crew, this movie comes across as a very modern story that just happens to be set in 19th-century England. For a film that seems on its surface to be a simple romance story, it has an awful lot to say about about such relevant topics as feminism, individualism, free will, religion, and class structure. Wrapped in a dark, gothic package, Jane Eyre is possibly one of the biggest surprises I've had at the movies in the last year. (Eric Pope)

The Mountain Xpress is waiting for its release in North Carolina:

So why another one? Well, from what I can gather it’s a combination of popularity and the fact that it’s about the cheapest period film to make. Fine. Do we need one? Well, that’s another question—one that I posed when Roman Polanski turned out Oliver Twist in 2005. It was fine, but it was still yet another film of Oliver Twist. In this case, however, there may be some justification—at least to judge by the trailers, the 82 percent approval on Rotten Tomatoes, and the fact that six weeks into limited release, it’s still posting more than respectable box office figures. (Ken Hanke)

Wr3n, now and zen posts a picture of the marquee of the Minneapolis Uptown Theater featuring Jane Eyre: "Jane Eyre. Based on a book I think".

On blogs: Day for Night, Two Black Haired Girls (with reviews of Jane Eyre 1944 and Jane Eyre 1997), The Daily Protagitron, Flaw in the Iris, Artfully Bedraggled Film Reviews.

This article in the Cumberland News & Star about LAT (Living Apart Together) couples has a Brontë mention that - after giving it a thought - is more approppriate than what it seems at first glance:

Now, it isn’t necessarily easy to work out quite how a LAT relationship works. Getting your head around being apart together – or together apart – can be tough. Especially if you’re young, romantic, looking for that all-consuming, inconvenient, passionate, can’t live without him kind of love you read about in Emily Brontë. (Anne Pickles)

gambit mentions the Morgan Library's exhibition The Diary and quotes Charlotte Brontë:

Charlotte Brontë writes in her diary of her “still small voice alone,” 1836:
“It is that which wakes my spirit & engrosses all my living feelings, all my energies which are not merely mechanical, &, like Haworth & home, wakes sensations which lie dormant elsewhere.” (Wendy Rodrigue)

Jane Eyre, The Well-Dressed Governess by Gillian Stapleton gets a performance today at the Boroughbridge Ladies Luncheon Club; The Anti-Room aligns herself with the Rochester-Bluebeard post-feminist (and definitely outdated) identification; The Best Big Blog of Everything (Jane Eyre by Charles Dickens?) and A Mónica na Cidade (in Portuguese) post about Jane Eyre; Textual Frigate reviews The Tenant of Wildfell Hall; The Graphic Novel Hovel posts about the 1947 Classics Illustrated version of Jane Eyre; Forever Young Adult reviews April Lindner's Jane.

Categories: Books, Brontëites, Comics, Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, Opera, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Theatre, Wuthering Heights