Opera’s second life : Katie Mitchell’s contributions to contemporary opera-making

Abstract

Philosophers Slavoj Žižek and Mladen Dolar in their Opera’s Second Death of 2002 announce the second death of opera which, as event, lies at the heart of their critique. Appearing, as it were, in the wake of a series of illustrious deaths – including God’s (Nietzsche) and the author’s (Barthes) – the death of opera seems inevitable if we were to follow Joseph Kerman’s 1956 projection that the future of opera lies in giving more weight to its dramatic structures. Drama in opera was and remains ‘vital’ for Kerman who argues that ‘our age is more likely to develop its concepts of drama by investigating the tradition, musical or non-musical’. This leads Kerman to conclude that dramatic criticism of the operatic repertory may have its pragmatic value. In addition to making the theatre goer cognizant of musical values, it may also educate the composer a little about dramatic values as they have appeared in operas of the past. In line with Kerman’s view, Žižek and Dolar’s exegesis is based exclusively on the dramatic components of opera and, by default, on the work of composers and librettists. Without going into the philosophical relevance of their arguments, Žižek and Dolar’s total disregard of the performative framework of opera makes their announcement of yet another death of what is essentially a performing art form, critically questionable.