One moment I found particularly interesting during today’s artist talk at the Simons Center:

C of C composition professor Trevor Weston asked composer Amistad composer Anthony Davis and director Sam Helfrich whether they were trying to teach people something via their opera. My ears perked up because this issue — the pomo sensibility that says that art that tries to be about something is morally flawed — has been much on my mind this week.

Davis replied that while being didactic is bad, there’s nothing wrong with trying to convey ideas or emotions. He went on to tell a story about watching avant garde composter John Cage recoil in horror as he listened to one of Davis’ arias. Cage’s comment? “You’re trying to make me feel something!”

Said Davis:”I think we have to get past that sort of modernist, post-World War II feeling” that art that attempts to convey an emotion or an idea is somehow manipulative.

Here’s how Helfrich put it: “You don’t want to tell the audience what to think. You want to create a piece that’s so engaging you make the audience want to ask questions.”

Amen, brother.

So here’s something curious: How did Monkey: Journey to the West go from ‘opera’ at its festival premiere in England to ‘musical theater’ here in its American premiere?

Answer, delivered by Paula Edwards from festival producer Nunally Kersh: Spoleto USA figured it could sell more tickets to family audiences if it assigned Monkey a less intimidating category. So it’s opera… only funner?

Geoff was also down at the last dress rehearsal last night to watch the action.

Or Cominciare il festival !!!!

Which means … Let the festival begin … we think.

Anyway, Mayor Riley will say it better tomorrow (Friday, May 23) when Spoleto Festival USA 2008 and Piccolo Spoleto 2008 officially open.

The place is City Hall, corner of Broad and Meeting streets. It’s, of course, FREE and open to all. Speeches will be made. Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr, of Charleston and Mayor Massimo Brunini of Spoleto, Italy, will welcome artists and audiences. The Charleston Symphony Brass Ensemble will play. The performance that goes along with opening ceremonies is always a SURPRISE, but it will be of the companies appearing in the festival. We are hoping for Chinese acrobats, but we will be happy with anything.

NO MO’ BALLOONS? Finally, To explain the photo above (from last year, taken by William Struhs) …

We hear that confetti will replace helium balloons in the Big Balloon Release that ends the ceremonies. Stop the blog! Why? Don’t know. The balloons usually get blown sideways or downward by the wind instead of drifting prettily up into the sky. That might be one reason. Also, as our local wildlife folks tell us, when those balloons deflate and land in the harbor or the river or the creeks, turtles and fish can eat them and choke. ACK!

Doesn’t matter. Balloons is a word that probably comes from the same place the monkeys in The Wizard of Oz come from.  But CONFETTI (small pieces or streamers of colored paper that are thrown around on festive occasions) is an Italian word!

Like SPOLETO, CAPPUCCINNO, GELATO and BRAVO!

Spoleto is traditionally a 17-day festival, only there’s usually a preview or two on the Thursday before the opening ceremony… So what’s up with all the stuff tonight? There’s the Memminger Celebration, which is where all the black-ties and gowns will be, followed by a performance of Amistad, followed by dessert and more formal-wear hob-nobbing. But there’s also a performance of Devil and the Deep Blue Sea at Robinson Theatre, and a preview of festival blockbuster-in-waiting Monkey: Journey to the West.

Oh, and that’s not counting the artist talk at the Simons Center Recital Hall at 5:30 with Amistad composer Anthony Davis. He’s also a jazz musician and performer. Very impressive guy, so if you’re going to that one, look for me and wave.

I gave a call to the festival folks this afternoon to ask about all this Thursday night activity. The official word is: It’s no big deal, really. Festival organizers wanted to put the emphasis on Memminger and Amistad, but then things just sort of… worked out for these other two shows.

Which is to say: They had the venues, they had the productions, they had the performers… so let’s put on a show? It’s all kind of in passive voice, which is to say that I can’t tell you who decided what when and why.

I don’t know whether I just don’t fully understand what the festival is saying, or whether they’re just being so cautious in their statements that that seem overly vauge, but I take them to mean that tonight’s Devil and Monkey previews were individual “targets of opportunity” that presented themselves rather than a conscious decision by the festival to expand its festival-eve lineup.

Anyway, if you’re going, leave us a comment. If you’re reading us after attending a performance, leave us a comment. And I’ll see you in a few minutes at The Simons Center…

It’s back! Just when we were worried that we were not going to get our act together in time (we’ve been really busy preparing load of other stuff, ok?) we DID manage to get our act together and the podcasts have now come to fruition.

So here’s me and Janet, with a big “Welcome y’all”, to the 2008 SpoletoToday podcast in which Geoff incorrectly gets the date wrong, by saying it’s June 22nd and not May 22nd. I’m sorry - I won’t do it again, honest.

So hear today’s podcast direct by following this link, or why not subscribe permanently here throughout the duration of the festival and get it fed to your MP3 player automatically.

For more information on podcasts and how they work, and for the 2007 archives (in case you really can’t get enough of us!) visit our dedicated podcast page.

More tomorrow!

Tomorrow’s Friday 5 Top 5 is about tips for enjoying the festivals… Those will be available Friday morning, but my extended tips are available right now over at my Friday 5 blog.

Robert Behre is one of the most talented and well-rounded men you’ll meet in Charleston. He writes the P&C’s always-illuminating Monday column on architecture and preservation and covers practically everything else as a reporter.

But his hidden talent? Robert is the staff’s undisputed master of light verse and sly wit, and he has been for years.

His latest offerings:

It’s hard to make Spo
Ku about the Memminger
Auditorium

It’s also hard to
make a Spoku about the
Carolina Choc—

Water bottles are
no longer the greenest choice.
Correctly, I thirst.

Get off the damn floor,
Child for whom I just purchased
Expensive ticket

Read the rest of this entry »