“Last Days” causes weirdness for not singing lyrics, but it roars
The New York Times – On stage at the Royal Opera Housein London, the actress Agathe Rousselle she wore a huge furry green coat over her head as four singers surrounded her, begging for money and favors.
Rousselle was trying Last daysa new opera in which he represents the last hours of the life of Blake, a rock star he remembers Kurt Cobainthe singer of the grunge band Nirvana who committed suicide in 1994. Rousselle also wore the vintage white sunglasses that Cobain was famous for.
While Rousselle was hiding under his coat, the stage manager appeared, holding a rifle. This prop remains on stage throughout the opera, reminding audiences of impending tragedy and the potential cost of fame.
Last days, which premiered on Friday 7th, is one of the most anticipated new works in Britain this season, having sold out in the first four nights. It is also one of the most unusual, being based on the film Last days (2005), from Gus Van Santwhich is largely wordless and plotless and in which a Cobain-like character wanders through a country house falling asleep, listening to music and trying to avoid anyone who shows up: his roommates, a manager, a Yellow Pages salesman and two members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
With a libretto written by artist Matt Copson and experimental composer Oliver Leith, both first-time creators of operas, the show sees Rousselle largely mumble rather than sing. Their murmurs are then translated for the audience via subtitles.
The choice of a grunge star as the show’s central character may surprise some opera traditionalists and may even create divisions for fans of the show. Nirvana. Charles R. Cross, a reporter who wrote a biography of Kurt Cobain, said in a telephone interview that he hated the Van Sant film because it portrayed Cobain as a “depressed and lifeless person,” unable to act alone. “That was definitely not Kurt Cobain,” said Cross, adding that a play will likely exaggerate this representation further.
Despite the play’s central character being Blake, “the only reason people will see him is because of Kurt Cobain’s stardom,” said Cross.
During a lull in rehearsals, Copson, who co-directs the play with Anna Morrissey, commented that such critics misinterpreted the show. The work wasn’t trying to give an opinion on Cobain’s life or an answer on what had happened to him, he said, but to ask questions like, “What do we want as Western culture from our symbols?”
Cobain it was an “archetype” of pop stars who rebel against society, Copson said, only to find their music and style co-opted by mainstream culture and struggle to address the contradictions. “Every few years we have another one,” the writer said, citing the rappers small peepquedied in 2017, e WRLD juice, who died in 2019. Society fetishizes figures who live near the edge, Copson added. “What do we want from these people? Do we need someone to sacrifice from time to time?”
the idea of ​​doing Last days it also had little to do with Cobain as a person, said Leith, the resident composer of the Royal Opera House. He wanted to do his first work and, after meeting Copson, the two talked about how they both loved to find “mystery and magic” in everyday objects. Last days became a point of reference in these conversations because all of Blake’s actions, no matter how trivial, seemed profound considering his impending suicide. Even when he eats a bowl of cereal, Copson said, “it looks powerful.”
The duo pitched ideas that could capture the vibe of the film until Leith simply suggested adapting it. The idea of ​​doing an opera with a grumbling protagonist was “a bit of a worrying prospect,” Leith said. But he and Copson quickly fell in love with the way he allowed them to play with opera traditions. Copson said he felt like a stranger that he “hijacks an institution”.
In one essay, the duo’s love for the embodiment of the mundane was uttered. One artist, playing a delivery boy trying to get Blake to accept a package, repeatedly sang the phrase: “I just need a signature, please sir.” Later, Rousselle served herself a bowl of Lucky Charms cereal and the sound of the pieces hitting the porcelain bowl became a bouncy rhythm through the auditorium.
Most of the performance was set in a dilapidated house, in stark contrast to the glamorous, albeit grunge-influenced, clothes designed by Balenciaga. Copson admitted that Cobain probably wouldn’t want to be associated with such an expensive fashion house.
Of those involved in the opera, only Rousselle was a Nirvana superfan, Copson said. The actress, best known for starring in the film titan (Palme d’Or in Cannes, 2021) as a woman sexually attracted to cars, said she first heard the band’s music as a teenager in France. She was bullied at school and one day one of the popular school girls played a Nirvana CD. it does not matter towards her, mocking her, “This is the kind of thing that would make you weird to hear,” Rousselle reminded her. When she got home, she immediately listened. “I lost my mind about it,” she said she.
Joplin and Amy Winehouse
A few years later, Rousselle also became obsessed with it Last days and immediately signed up to perform at the opera, despite never attending one (last month Copson and Leith took her to see a performance of Salome, by Richard Strauss, whom he hated. “Not my thing,” he explained).
To prepare for the role, Rousselle said she had seen all the documentaries and interviews about Nirvana she could find, but nevertheless reiterated that the work was not about Cobain, but about bigger issues like “becoming a myth that you it will kill “and” the absurdity of being famous and wanting to disappear when you are recognizable practically all over the world “. The work could have been done on Amy Winehouse or Janis Joplin and would still bring the same points, he added.
During rehearsals, there was more than one moment when Rousselle’s Blake became more than a one-dimensional “archetype” of a doomed musician. Towards the end, Rousselle found herself alone on stage and sat next to an electric guitar. She turned on an amp and began strumming the distorted chords of a grunge track – the only time this song is heard in opera.
“I never want to see the sunset,” she sang plaintively. “I’ve never loved life so much.” As she sang to herself, soprano Patricia Auchterlonie, playing a superfan of Blake and dressed like her, walked across the stage, singing the same words in Italian.
As their voices and musical styles mingled together, the cast and crew in the auditorium fell into rapt silence.
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Emily Jhon is a product and service reviewer at Gossipify, known for her honest evaluations and thorough analysis. With a background in marketing and consumer research, she offers valuable insights to readers. She has been writing for Gossipify for several years and has a degree in Marketing and Consumer Research from the University of Oxford.
