Creeptasticly Creepy - Love and Other Demons

Listening to "Love and Other Demons" on BBC Radio. It'll be there, free, for the next four days.

In a word: Creepy.

And here are some more words:

Disturbing, strange, good, bad and did I mention strange? I think you really need to see what's going on onstage. The announcer does a good job of describing it scene by scene, so as tempted as I was to skip that, I'm glad I listened to it. How else would I have known about the nuns dipping into pits of mud below the stage to cover themselves with it before climbing onto scaffolding?

I didn't listen as closely to the announcer as I should have because, as usual, I was doing several things at once. So my description here is based partly on the announcer's explanation and partly on the singing, for I could pretty much understand about 90% of the words.

Ok the story is, there's this 12 year old girl, remember the long red hair? So, Act 1. She gets bitten by a dog. Does it have a white spot on its head? Yes it has a white spot. A white spot? Yes, a white spot. Your wound is healing well. You have a fever. The dog with the white spot died of rabies. You probably won't have a scar. Oh but you have a fever. Oops you're not well, you're acting strange, you must be possessed. Into the convent you go for your exorcism.

Here comes Delaura, the 36 year old priest played by, surely you remember, Nathan Gunn. He's there to save her. But... oops. He loves her. Yeah, a bit of a problem on so many levels. End of act 1 we hear him singing, over and over, "Tear the flesh from my bones." Assuming that the bloody self-flagellation scene is playing on the screen. So onscreen he's trying to beat it out of himself. So to speak. Meanwhile, onstage, he's giving into the temptation, or so says the announcer. I so wish there were and at the same time am so glad that there aren't any photos of this floating around online, as far as I know.

So act 2 - You know, they get together again, read some books/poetry together. Dreams of snow covered fields? Bunches of grapes? Not quite sure. Eventually she's crucified to the bed, the muddy nuns keep Delaura away while the bishop performs the exorcism, she dies and goes down into her grave, it's all very confusing and creepy and shrieky and stuff. Apparently the crucifixion did her in before the rabies ran its course. Delaura ends up living out his days in a house for lepers. Nice.

The announcer gives horrifying descriptions of Servia's long red hair being cut from her head, and of people finding it in a crypt or something. There's blood everywhere. Creeeeepy.

Nathan sings from falsetto to super-deep. Like from one word to the next. It was cool, he sounded good, but creepy. The women shriek and scream and sing and shriek and hoot. I think Yoko Ono might have been in the chorus. Creepy stuff.

And if all that weren't enough, I think it was mostly in a minor key. Ouch my brain.

But what's even stranger is, at first I was like, this is awful! But by the end I kind of thought it was pretty cool. I can imagine that seeing it was an amazing, horrifying, creepy, fantastic experience that I'm not sure I would want to have. I have no plans of listening again. But if anyone wants to, it's available here , free, for the next 4 days. By the way, if you do listen, just so you know... it's a little creepy.

Damn. Talk about opera keeping me awake. I hope it does, because if I sleep, I'm likely to have nightmares tonight.

Stuff and Other Stuff

A "this and that" post.

My friend with whom I went to see Romeo and Fille this past season at the Met plans on seeing Lucia in October with an opera class she teaches. She's supposedly purchasing the tickets this very evening and of course I told her to add me to the list for tickets. So hopefully she remembered to call and was able to get through and was able to get good seats for the night she wants. If yes to all that, then I'll be seeing Diana Damrau in Lucia! Sorry to all the Anna lovers out there, but my choice is based on the timing and company, not the cast, this time around. I hardly think I'll be disappointed. My friend and I talked about the casting - it's like saying, do you want to stay at a 6 star hotel or a 5 star hotel? Umm does it really make a difference? I've already seen Anna live. I have another friend whose opinion I respect highly and he is a Diana freak, like the way I'm a JDF and NG freak OOPS I MEAN, fan, yes, we are both fans, and anyway bottom line is, I'm glad that if my (first mentioned) friend gets the tickets, I'll be seeing Diana D.

That was the "this," now here's a "that," as in, look at that!

Found some more photos online from Love and Other Demons.


Priest seducing a 12 year old redhead.
Yeah, I wouldn't want my mother to see me doing that either.

Do you perform with clothes on?

And so as not to leave you with these possibly unnerving images (for whatever personal unnerving reason you may have) I will end this on a light note with more Muppets. I can sing higher. I can sing higher. Yo ho.

Something Else Boys Like

Here's another review of Love and Other Demons. Note that the reviewer mentions Nathan's impressive chest. Now, I read somewhere else, don't remember where, that the soprano is topless at some point, yet her chest isn't mentioned. Not impressive perhaps?

And for myself, well, I still have that post-baby, post-nursing, the-kid-is-too-old-to-blame-the-extra-ten-pounds-on-pregnancy-
and-nursing-anymore thing going on. And even I am impressed.

Yep, boys like that too.

Lady Godiva

Nathan Gunn and Allison Bell in Love and Other Demons

In my last post, I mentioned that I know what boys like.
And I do - it's the hair. It's all about the hair. It's always been about the hair.


Me, age 7.


Me, age 25ish? at a "Come as the Devil" Halloween party.

So anyway, who's gonna tell the writer that Mr. Gunn has had previous "major UK opera house" appearances???