“Brokeback” Question Of The Day
So in this New York Times article about the Charles Wuorinen/Annie Proulx opera of “Brokeback Mountain,” premiering tomorrow in Madrid, we learn that Ennis (the Heath Ledger role) will be sung by a bass/baritone and Jack (the Jake Gyllenhaal role) will be sung by a tenor. Does that mean that Ennis is the top? Onstage, Tom Randle and Daniel Okulitch (pictured) are Jack and Ennis, respectively. The Times reports: ‘Mr. Wuorinen, whose proudly atonal music also tends to be majestic, bristling and not particularly friendly, saw “Brokeback Mountain†on screen without ever having read Ms. Proulx’s work, and immediately saw operatic potential. “I thought it was a subject, a topic, an issue which has some resonance today,†he said, “unlike the old-fashioned operatic issues, which are of no interest whatever, it seems to me, in the social context today.â€
