Wednesday 28 July 2010

Act 2 run through

I saw the first run-through of the second act yesterday. It was my least favourite musically. I hardly listened to it after I completed it. When Jo first told me about the Hoffmann project in Taipei, I already knew what I would be doing for it. For me Giulietta was to be a mysterious geisha instead of the courtesan in E.T.A. Hoffmann’s story. I wanted the atmosphere and the music to be eerie and uneasy, almost austere in its instrumentation:  a solo flute, Asian percussions were the base, with occasional strings and harp. Jo turned Giulietta into a hermaphrodite. That was even better!
However since I composed the scenes from the whole ballet randomly, I had the feeling that most of what I wrote for that second act sounded a touch too monotonous. I was wrong. It was neither repetitive nor monotonous; my fears were discarded as soon as I saw the choreography. The bareness of the instrumentation perfectly reflected the emptiness of Giulietta’s heart and Hoffmann’s obsessive mind. The scenes finally found their connection with each other. I was myself impressed by what we did. The music was quite scary; I understand now why I unconsciously prevented myself from listening to it!
Run through of Act III tomorrow! I am so impatient to see it!

Sawako as Giulietta


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