Don’t Sing So Close To Me 

(BROADWAY MAGAZINE) One of the most controversial novels ever written could well become one of the most controversial operas ever performed. Audiences in New Jersey will have the opportunity to decide for themselves when the Belgium group Joji Inc. reinterprets Vladimir Nabokov’s LOLITA as an imagined opera with the help of the Argento Chamber Ensemble at Montclair University. Will it surpass the Stanley Kubrick classic film? Performances run from April 3-5 and they are even bussing folks from NYC to see the production. Press release info below:

Why Joji Inc.’s “Lolita” (April 3–5) is described as “an imagined opera” is literally a question of point of view. Although based on the Nabokov classic, Wooster Group founding member Jim Clayburgh (director), Joshua Fineberg (composer), Johanne Saunier (choreographer) and Kurt d’Haeseleer (video) turn tables on the novel’s original themes. The opera takes place entirely within the obsessive mind of its narrator Humbert Humbert (François Beukelaers), whose back is to the audience throughout the work. Cameras record– and screens reveal—every change in his facial expression as the performance proceeds. The Argento Chamber Ensemble (http://www.argentomusic.org/), conducted by Michel Galante, will perform Fineberg’s original score. Each element of the production contributes to revealing the unsettling delusional character of Humbert Humbert.

Ticket and Transportation Information: All tickets are $15, and are available at the Alexander Kasser Theater Box Office or by calling 973-655-5112 or online at www.peakperfs.org. Van or bus service is available from New York City ($10 per person, roundtrip) from the Maritime Hotel on 9th Avenue and 16th Street to the Alexander Kasser Theater for selected performances. Please make your bus reservations by calling the box office at 973-655-5112.

Could be quite an interesting bus ride. Ironically, Jeremy Irons from the current Broadway production of Impressionism starred in a film version of the novel as well.

Tags: Argento Chamber Ensemble, Belgium, Broadway, Jojo Inc., Lolita, Montclair University, Opera, Stanley Kubrick, Vladimir Nabokov

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 19th, 2009 at 6:51 am and is filed under Broadway Blog, Broadway Global, Broadway News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.