Tony and Gordon: the opera?
Gaddafi: The Living Myth, an opera based on the life and times of the Libyan dictator, has drawn a mixed reception. Some critics were baffled by the spoken score and the Asian Dub Foundation beats. Others praised its flamboyance and sheer chutzpah. All agreed it was completely bonkers.
Bonkers to attempt to chronicle the entire history of the Libyan nation (well, from 1911 on); bonkers to try to distill as ambiguous a character as Gaddafi into opera-ese. For the secret to all great opera is clarity. Subtlety is not an easy thing to achieve in opera. Characters work best when they’re staightforward: good, bad; virgin, slut; hero, coward.
Events, too, need to be curtailed, timeframes set tightly. You can’t do the whole of the 20th century in one sitting — even if you have got ninja nuns in red stilettos (Gaddafi’s Revolutionary Guard, apparently). But a snapshot in time, now that works. I’m thinking that Tony Blair: The Final Days has a certain ring to it. Or better still, Tony and Gordon: The Granita Pact. Blair, of course, would be sung by a handsome tenor, with plenty of vain little arias. Gordon might suit a Scottish bass, dark and brooding. Prescott could be the pudding.