Have an open thread

10 Responses to “Have an open thread”

1. paola Says:
   September 6th, 2007 at 6:16 am

   I always preferred E lucevan le stelle from Tosca, it moves me more.
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boBaYL8ZnrM

2. Lisa Says:
   September 6th, 2007 at 6:25 am

   How silent is this place
   The brilliant sunshine filters through the trees
   The leaves are rustled by a gentle breeze
   A wild and open space
   By shrubs pink tipped, mauve blossomed, is o’ergrown
   A hush enfolds me, deep as I’ve known
   Unbroken, save by distant insects drone
   A jungle clearing
   A track through which we bare our load to Him
   It is our Paradise Road
   How silent is this place
   How sacred is this place.

   Rest in Peace.

3. Deb R. Says:
   September 6th, 2007 at 9:53 am

   How wonderful that we have lived during his lifetime and were able to hear his voice in person or in live broadcasts, rather than only in scratchy gramophone recordings like so many of the other “greats” of the past.

4. Laurie M. Says:
   September 6th, 2007 at 12:33 pm

   He sang while he had breath… A marvelous talent, almost as brilliant as our Jane. I’m trying to think of more JA quotes but they’re not coming to mind at this moment. How blessed we are though to be able to sit and read Jane Austen and listen to Luciano Pavarotti!

5. Lynne Says:
   September 6th, 2007 at 1:50 pm

   About stage productions of all things Austen: I’m the assistant designer for my school’s production of “Jane Eyre.” The costume designer is setting it in the 1810’s and 1820’s. The show is going to look very Austen and less Bronte. It kind of scratches at my English-major-literary-adaptation-I-heart-Jane-Austen nerves, but I have to sew the costumes anyway. I wonder if the costume designer is tapping into the Jane Austen mania going on or not. She flat out told me that the mood of her designs are influenced by P&P05.

6. Caroline Says:
   September 6th, 2007 at 2:47 pm

   Somebody I know put the “date” of Jane Eyre at around 1820- somethng to with the marriage laws, I think. Anyway, There’s no doubt that it was supposed to be vaguely “historical” and not acutely contemporary, just as Wuthering Heights was set in a previous generation. So having “regency” clothing is actually not a bad idea.

7. Reeba Says:
   September 6th, 2007 at 3:55 pm

   Yes, I think Regency costume is not a bad idea, and won’t alter the essence of the story at all.

   Though making Jane Austen characters wear anything but Regency does take something away.
   I recall how in the adaptation P&P40 (?) the dresses worn by the characters were anything but Regency. So even though I enjoyed the film it was difficult to get into the atmosphere.

   (I had better go back and click replay)

8. Lynne Says:
   September 6th, 2007 at 9:04 pm

   I think it’s entirely possible to set Jane Eyre in the Regency for the reasons mentioned above, but also if you go with an interpretation that everyone in Yorkshire is late in the fashion world. When I read the novel, I never envisioned Regency costume, though I’m not sure why. Maybe that and a combination of everyone wanting to hang on for dear life to the current Jane Austen bandwagon, makes it slightly irksome.

9. Cristina Says:
   September 8th, 2007 at 9:23 am

   (Sorry Mags for going off-off-topic )!

   Lynne, nobody knows for sure when Jane Eyre is supposed to take place - there are several clues in the novel (as well as slight contradictions), and it’s certain that Charlotte Brontë backdated it, though I don’t think the Thornfield episodes were happenning during the Regency period, so I don’t think adult Jane’s clothes would be like the clothes from Jane Austen’s books.

   Are you staging Polly Teale’s adaptation?

10. Lynne Says:
    September 10th, 2007 at 11:05 pm

    Yes, we are doing Polly Teale’s adaptation, which I’m quite happy about because I think it’s a wonderful way to interpret the novel without detracting from the story and characters. Although, Jane’s inheritance is completely left out, which I feel is rather important to the narrative. Oh well.