More war, peace

This War and Peace is Prokofiev's adaptation of the Tolstoy novel, complete with historical figures such as Napoleon, the tsar (who held a small dog on stage), and Kutusov (who I thought was an especially moving and effective character). This first time seeing the opera and first time at the Met were agreeable experiences. The Met is huge. I know that many people find a smaller theatre more enjoyable. I'm not going to complain.

This was one of the biggest productions ever by the Met with over 60 solo parts. People in line were talking about the running time of over 4 hours and how that would factor in with the metro schedule.

Subtitles were projected on small screens at each seat, which I liked and is something I had not seen before. I am used to subtitles projected from a screen above the stage, which Sacha agreed is the way she had always seen it. Participants included Valery Gergiev and a cast from the Maryinski.

The opera left a strong impression of the strategy of leaving Moscow before Napoleon came and how eventually Napoleon was defeated. The Prokofiev music actually started to grow on me. One scene that really stayed with me was when Natasha Rostova (who is supposed to be 15 in the first act) is taking care of Andrei after he is wounded in battle. Another scene that will be hard to forget is with the inmates from the asylum (former priests) with their crazy movements. The red bird rising from the masses made me think of a pheonix but also the idea that seeds for the future Communist movement started during this war.