Have you heard any of Schubert’s operas? Me neither. I don’t think anybody has. The consensus seems to be that none of them is any good, and I think it is a very weird irony that possibly the greatest songwriter ever was never able to put together a decent opera. This is the slippery nature of programmatic materials; they do not necessarily scale. Of course you could say that about a lot of things. Baking, for instance. If you want twice as many muffins or whatever, woe betide you if you simply double the recipe. You may create life.
Photo by Tina Clark
Dead Bob has been the primary creative focus for the first half of 2024 and as the days shorten, we can look back on successful western tours of Canada and the Yew Ess Ay with fondness and gratitude. Life Like is now an available and distributed product that you can bring home and put on a shelf, and the follow-up is just about done. It’s not as done as John Wright says it is, but it’s more done than a lot of things. Say, for instance, the opera Schubert is said to have begun based on love stories from the Mahabharata. Not making that up.
Did I tell you I bought a full recording of one of Schubert’s operas a few months ago? The one called Fierrabras, about which I know nothing. I wanted to hear what all the fuss is not about, but I haven’t found the right moment to plug it in and give it my undivided attention. I thought that moment had finally arrived about a half an hour ago, but then I remembered I should probably update the old website here, and let you know what I’ve been up to. More than this nugatory disemboguing would make you think, I ween. Look, why don’t you just come and catch one of the shows with Ryan Beattie and David P. Smith and me in August and we can hash it out? I look forward to your suggestions.
Midwest, Eastern Seabord, and ON/PQ, Dead Bob is coming for you in the fall.