E came in town for our annual summer opera. Her pick was a world premier: Shalimar the Clown.
The thing about a world premiere is that you never know how the staging is going to work out. In addition to that, this particular show is based on a Salman Rushdie book, which I had not read, so other than reading the synopsis (which, in fairness, is pretty comprehensive), I had no background for the show.
I thought they did a wonderful job. It's a fairly classic tale of love and revenge. What makes it interesting is that it's set in both Pakistan and Los Angeles. There is a little bit of Hindu-Islam conflict at the beginning, but that quickly fades in favor of the tale of a scorned lover's revenge.
The big surprise to everyone, E and me included, was that Salman Rushdie appeared on stage at the end of the show, which closed to thunderous - and well-deserved - applause.
I thought they did a wonderful job. It's a fairly classic tale of love and revenge. What makes it interesting is that it's set in both Pakistan and Los Angeles. There is a little bit of Hindu-Islam conflict at the beginning, but that quickly fades in favor of the tale of a scorned lover's revenge.
The big surprise to everyone, E and me included, was that Salman Rushdie appeared on stage at the end of the show, which closed to thunderous - and well-deserved - applause.
Woohoo!
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