I went to the Walt Disney Concert Hall last week to watch Gustavo Dudamel conduct the L.A. Philharmonic for Sergei Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliet". This was my first concert to watch in the WDCH, and my ticket was only $20.00, so I was very excited!
I arrived early so that I could take the free tour of the hall, which is open to all ticketholders of the evening's show. The guide showed us examples of Frank Gehry's different architectural decisions, such as his wanting to expose the structure as much as he could.
All of the walls are curved, not straight.
If you are able to walk up the five flights of stairs, you can also walk around outside the top of the hall.
Lillian Disney loved gardens, and there is a garden that has been established as a State park, so anyone can enjoy it, not just concert goers. The garden includes 6 types of trees, which all bloom at different times of the year so that whenever you visit, you'll see a tree with flowers in bloom. (One of the tour participants said that the lady who brought all of the trees to the hall saw trees in the gardens of people's homes, and asked if she could purchase them for the concert hall.) There is a beautiful sculpture made of Delft porcelain called the "Lilly Rose". Lillian and Walt collected items made of Delft porcelain.
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| Closer look at the porcelain |
Much of the architecture has elements of water / fish.
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One of the only paintings in the hall,
with the blue as the Pacific Ocean |
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| Fish shape above the third level walkway |
After the tour, I ate a sandwich from one of the bars, and enjoyed a glass of Sauvignon Blanc as I listened to a talk about Prokofiev and the music being played tonight.
My seat was behind the orchestra, where the LA Master Chorale would normally sit during a performance. I was really happy to get my seat because I'd be able to watch the maestro's facial expressions as he conducted the orchestra.
I was also in a great position to see the "french fry" pipes of the organ up close.
We were also behind the percussion section, so I could see some of the instruments that are normally blocked from view by the rest of the orchestra when you watch from the traditional vantage point.
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| Triangles of different sizes! |
I was also in a great position to see the "french fry" pipes of the organ up close.
I was in Orchestra Geek Heaven! Even more so when the musicians took the stage, the concertmaster guided them to tune with each other, and Dudamel turned around to face them.
I am familiar with some of the main themes of "Romeo and Juliet", although I had listened to it in its entirety. I had also never seen the ballet (I've only seen "The Nutcracker"). The setting for this ballet was very interesting because the dancers didn't have a traditional-sized set, due to the orchestra taking up most of the stage. The dancers also did not dance throughout the evening; instead, they danced through the major portions of the story, like the ball when R&J meet, the balcony scene, Romeo's fight with Mercutio, and the death scene. (Oops! SPOILERS!) Rather than the traditional tutus and tights, the dancers wore more contemporary clothing, like flannel-looking outfits and modern street clothing, along with sneakers. I figured it must be difficult to point one's toes in sneakers.
At one point, the side doors opened, and a smaller ensemble played music from the wings of the stage. Actually, I think it happened at two points, but I only noticed the music the second time. I saw the doors open, and thought the dancers would enter the stage, but they didn't, so I guess that was the first time the small ensemble performed.
An actual cameraman appeared on stage, and when he backed up into the wings, the dancers followed, and video was shown above me (behind the orchestra) and above the sound booth for us to see the dancers continue to dance in the backstage area. It was amazing to see how they used the different areas of the WDCH for the dancing. I was most impressed with the balcony scene, as Juliet led Romeo from behind my section into the garden where we had toured earlier.
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| Where part of the pas de deux took place |
The pas de deux was made even more gorgeous because of the beautiful natural scenery of the garden and the amazing architecture. It was like the hall itself was a character in the ballet. I loved it! The death scene was appropriately performed by the dancers in the area below the stage as Romeo danced with a presumed-dead Juliet. It was kind of odd but sad as she was lifted up like a rag doll. Romeo brought her back to the stage and killed himself, then when Juliet woke up, she danced a beautiful solo and we got to see her facial expressions during bits of it, which was a nice touch.
I recognized some of the musicians from seeing them perform at the Hollywood Bowl, like the trumpet soloist and the violin soloist from the John Williams concert. I delighted in seeing the bow used in different ways, not just with the horsehair side, but also with the wood, as well as pizzicato. I wished that I was the one playing all of those beautiful runs, difficult as they probably were. I smiled when the percussionists got to play the triangle and the snare drum and the tympani...OK, every time they played.
I was very aware that due to my seat almost straight across from the conductor, people in the audience could see me and it made me try to stay alert, even in the sleepy parts. I was glad when the family seated next to me left at intermission because I don't know if they were aware of the people seeing us nor did they seem particularly educated about how long it takes to perform a ballet. I wished that the women in front of me hadn't left because I needed to cover my legs lest I flash the audience if I uncrossed my ankles. This would have been OK had it not been hot due to the lights beamed on the orchestra. Whew, I was warm!
I had a wonderful time and look forward to the next time I get to experience a concert in the hall. Maybe from a traditional view...but I'd be happy to see it from that same seat, too.
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| Bravo! |
“I have more care to stay than will to go.” -- Romeo, Romeo and Juliet
