Dr. Dulcamara
Last fall I wrote a blog, The Operatic Republican Characters, in which I compared the Republicans seeking their party’s nomination for the Presidency. In it I compared Donald Trump to Dr. Dulcamara in Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore. Several correspondents criticized this choice, saying that Dulcamara was an amiable quack, not at all like Mr. Trump. I certainly agree and am sorry that I ever likened the good doctor to the man nominated by the Republican Party to be our President.
I have given some thought as to whether he has a parallel in opera. The most efficient way, I think, is chronologically to go through the different composers who have contributed the most to repertory. In Mozart there is certainly Don Giovanni, but the essence of the character is incredible charm united with evil, not a good fit. Rossini, at least in the standard repertory, does not offer an ideal character, nor does Bellini or Donizetti. Verdi offers a few but none seem right. Attila, for instance, is a conqueror but does heed the Pope, Macbeth a murdering tyrant somewhat controlled by his even-more-evil wife, and going chronologically through his works no one fits the bill. Iago clearly fails as Donald Trump is more than outspoken about what he plans to do to the United States if he were elected to the Presidency; clearly a Falstaff he is not.
Puccini’s Scarpia in Tosca, who might come to mind, doesn’t work either. Trump is neither in the business of bribing nor killing nor doing any of what the good Baron unapologetically does, and though the idea of his being similar to Guillot de Mourfontaine in Manon or or Geronte de Ravoir in Manon Lescaut is attractive, it doesn’t work any better than does Sheriff Jack Rance in The Girl of the Golden West. Frustration in pursuit of the ideal woman is not Trump’s problem. Giordano, Leoncavallo, and Mascagni offer us no good choices either. I would love to propose Barnaba in Ponchielli’s La Gioconda, but his nefarious actions dwarf anything Trump has even imagined.
French, English, and American operas all have villains but none really fit the comparison, and the Slavic operas are not much help either.
Solid gold, however, was found in Wagner. Not Rienzi, the Dutchman, Telramund, Beckmesser, or Klingsor. The Ring of the Nibelung is where there can be found a good partner to Donald Trump. The characters are all larger than life, which God knows he is; they are frequently many sided, that is, not outright villains, much more complicated than that. I am not thinking of Wotan, who certainly has a lot of negative action on his plate, but Wotan has something big that causes him to make many of his mistakes. He gave away his left eye for knowledge, and so, according to the ancients, lost his sense of perception and insight. He has only the factual right eye, which causes him to decide what he wants without thought of the future. Alberich has no redeeming traits; after the theft of the gold he spends his life brooding about getting back the ring; I don’t see Trump as a brooder. Hunding is just a low-class wife beater, and Gunther a weakling.
Hagen
The real Trump figure is Hagen. He had a powerful father in Alberich who directed his life virtually from birth. He is fixed on success and never for a moment loses focus on his goal, in his case the Rhinegold. He is humorless, extremely sensitive to any criticism, much cleverer than his relatives and comes paralyzing close to winning the prize. His men obey him and seem to like him, but although in the second act of Götterdämmerung he offers them a fantastic banquet, he never delivers–or if he does, we don’t know about it. Incidentally, his character requires a major artist, one who can sing throughout the bass-baritone range with excitement. He certainly can convince his less-than-bright half-brother and half-sister of anything he wants. He seems destined to win, but guess what? A woman named Brünnhilde is smarter. My vote for the Trump of opera is Hagen the Gibichung, one of Wagner’s greater if supremely unlovable characters.
Bravo, Speight! I was thinking that John Claggart in BILLY BUDD might also be a suitable candidate — someone who enlists those less powerful than he to do his dirty work for him, and feigns innocence the entire time. He, of course, is eventually struck down (and violently too, I might add) by a force of innocence. Let us hope we can avoid being lost on the infinite sea.
Good choice, Peter.
While Claggart possesses the necessary evil, he seems inherently small-time to fit Trump. The ship he controls, but Claggart surely is not much on land.
Hagen is the one, I agree! But does that make Hillary Brünnhilde?
Brilliant piece. Today’s news makes the Trump/Hagen connection even more chilling, with Trump’s comment about if Clinton is elected and appoints a liberal Supreme Court justice, “Nothing you can do, folks … Although the Second Amendment people — maybe there is, I don’t know.” Many commentators have discussed this as a potential call to assassination … shades of Götterdämmerung?
DEFINITELY!
Well reasoned, except Hagen is no stupid blowhard, and again unlike Trump, there’s a touch of pathos to his character…
Yes! Hagen is the one. I was thinking of the trio of evil characters, often played by one person, in Les contes d’Hoffmann, but Hagen is definitely the better choice. I do think he is cleverer than Trump in that he is more subtle.
https://media.makeameme.org/created/brunnhillary-ho.jpg
Good choice, Speight. One can only hope that Trump receives a similar fate…..removed from the scene by more decent and smarter people!
Opera’s most Trump-like character emerges from the mind of music’s most Trump-like composer. Let’s hope Trump doesn’t discover The Ring. Too scary to contemplate.
Brilliant analysis. Love it. You are wise not to extend the analogy all the way to HRC as Brunnhilde — I cannot imagine anyone ever writing beautiful music we would describe as the “Celebration of Hillary” nor, for that matter, Hillary ever sacrificing for another whether the whole world or merely Sieglinde. But the Hunding analogy is truly awesome. Bravo.
Cordially,
Turney
I hate to be the descenting voice but the market for opera and classical music is 2%, and it was killed by the left. Only 3% of Italians attend the opera. Only conservatives will bring back the humanist high arts so scorned by the left in the name of the Christian Utopianism of universal love. When we start to put the focus back on the flawed individual, as trump does, then we will see a rebirth of those elitist arts.
Opera is in a much worse situation that I think it is if we have to rely on Donald Trump to save us.
Speight Jenkins
Hagen killed Siegfried and Gunther.
Trump inherited money from his Dad and speculated with it in the property market.
Not much similarity there.
This, however, is chilling:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgcd1ghag5Y
She could teach Lady Macbeth a thing or two!
Shame on you! Sad it is to see those on high “Pontificating” Opera and the Presidential Election. If it were not for the top 5% of tax payers the opera houses in the US would stand empty. Many of the “free tickets” to school children and lower income seniors would disappear.
Most opera directors don’t mind asking for big donations from rich people.. Perhaps you should be a bit more grateful for a 30 year career paid for by these same people who donate and buy high priced tickets.
Leave the politics out of opera!
Helena DeCoro
Professor of Music
Cypress Collgeg
Helena DeCoro
Professor Emeritus of Music
Cypress College
Thank you Helen. Only inculcating into the population the kind of elitist perspectives created by the best and brightest like trump can rejuvenate the humanist high arts.
What on earth do you mean? Your words imply that Mr. Trump represents the best and brightest Americans. Is that conceivably what you believe???
Speight Jenkins
The issue is the nature of Art in general as the result of intelligence and developed taste for the best humans are capable of and not acting like a pig as is the ideal in pop culture. (This is wagner’s point with the Giants.) This is why today’s ideal of universal love and anti elitism have killed the arts, and trump represents going back to elitism regardless of whether the wealthy today support him.
First of all, opera is part of the world. Verdi, Wagner, and many other composers were deeply involved in politics. What is strange about your two similar responses is that you imply that to oppose Donald Trump is to attack the rich. I don’t think Michael Bloomberg or Warren Buffett would be called paupers. Wealthy Americans are not who make up Mr. Trump’s supporters and certainly not any musician or opera related person I happen to know.
Fully agree, Speight. Trump was elected largely by Archie Bunker.
it were not for the top 5% of tax payers the opera houses in the US would stand empty. Many of the “free tickets” to school children and lower income seniors would disappear.
Most opera directors don’t mind asking for big donations from rich people.. Perhaps you should be a bit more grateful for a 30 year career paid for by these same people who donate and buy high priced tickets.
Leave the politics out of opera!
Helena DeCoro
Not sure how else to communicate with you Mr. Jenkins but I have to ask: do you have an opinion on the current production of ‘La Traviata’ at Seattle Opera? Would you ever have considered such a staging>?
I haven’t seen the production yet. I go to one of the last performances. I do know the Director’s work from Europe, but I never saw this Traviata over there.
Yes, Speight. What is your reaction to the current LA TRAVIATA with no intermission, scenery consisting of a chair, a pile of books and four red traverse curtains, as well as updating to the present?
Frankly, I don’t feel that it is appropriate for me to comment on a Seattle Opera production unless it is one that I really love. And I have no idea how I will react to what I know is quite a modern German take on the opera. I do know the director and like him personally, but that means nothing. I do not only accept conservative Traviatas. I enjoyed the current Met production, which is quite different but to me captured the feeling of Verdi; on the other hand I can remember two others I have seen in Europe that I loathed.
Speight
I see the current Met version at the March 11 telecast, so I’ll get back to you after that.