Student string quartet will perform tomorrow. A group of four will perform "Black Angels." The composer, George Crumb, is expected to attend. Rackham Auditorium. Free admission. 8 Friday February 5, 1999 Uftie £tpm &dl Ir Michigan Opera Works' "The Rape of Lucretia" will be reviewed. THE IZoPE Of LueRETIA OperaWorks to present terrifying Britten opera By Jenni Glenn Daily Arts Writer Following its debut performance last year, student-run Michigan Opera Works returns to the cultural scene with Benjamin Btitten's "The Rape of Lucretia." Tomorrow night's performance is already sold out. The opera, based on Livy's account, describes a bet between the Etruscan usurp- er to the throne, Tarquinus, and some promi- nent Romans about the chastity of their said Julie De Vaere, who plays Lucretia. With a little more than one month of rehearsals to prepare the opera, the cast also had to pick up the music quickly. The chal- lenge added to the excitement of the cast once they learned the music. "At the same it," Rogano said. The smaller nature of the orchestra a'u. ally drew talent to the show. In this setup everyone can shine in the limelight "Because it's a chamber group, everyone is a soloist; and everyone has a difficult part,' Gordon said. The Rape of Lucretia Macintosh Theatre Tomorrow at 8 p.m. wives. When only one of the wives, Lucretia, is found to be pure, Tarquinus becomes obsessed with her, even- tually causing both of their downfalls. "Most important in this production are the issues of purity and lust, ideal love and physical love," director David Gordon said. "We get this juxtaposition of base sin and a morality of good and evil." in the play include the time that it's difficult; really exciting when, you get to the part where you're really making music," Gordon said. Britten also used a different structure for this opera, that of the smaller scale cham- ber opera. This allowed him to avoid the usual crowd pleaser numbers and stick strictly to the plot with the music. "There is no big aria with a high C for the The emotional nature of the story parallels the drama of this music. The music's tone fits closely with the and challenging, it's Working together in a smaller group helped bring the cast together. "It's suc- an emotional experience tc go through as a perfo . that it's nice to be working with people who care sc much about each other," De Vaere said. Gordon worked the unity into the staging, particularly when working with the cho- rus. Since two chorus mem- Opera's acti tenor," Gordon said. an. bers alternate between narrat- ing the action and the charac- ters' thoughts, theyne with the character to signal a step intote character's mind. "We had a sort of parallel movement," Rogano said. "You don't feel like an island onstage." These techniques help- the audience to -ouresyofDvd"Sm'i"" h' " ot"gr"" p""y Singers reenact the "Rape of Lucretia" for the new production of the Benjamin Britten opera. "There is no funny little song like many Italian operas. (The music) really fits the drama." The directors partially chose this show Strong emotions right into the front row," Gordon said. who portrays Tarquinus. despair of victimized Lucretia and The emotional nature of the story parallels Due to the harshness, singers find because it is a chamber opera, which fits empathize with the characters in Tarquinus' obsession. Opposing forces the drama of the music. The music's tone fits Britten's music hard to master. The music their space constraints. An ensemble of "There's a little bit of each char bring the characters' feelings to life for the closely with the opera's action. "With all this, uses syncopation, awkward intervals and eight forms the cast, while the orchestra of us, a little bit of the victim, a audience. "One of my goals for this piece is all the difficulties and the harshness, the end tricky rhythms to convey the mood. "It's dif- boasts 12 members. "It's perfect for a con- the bully," Gordon said. "I want to bring the tension and fear in this piece result is beautiful," said Guilherme Rogano, ficult music to sing on the learning level," servatory, but the big houses stay away from ence) to think about it in that lig Ellis to explain qualifications of an American psycho at Shaman the opera. acter in all little bit of (the audi- ht." lamorama Bret Easton Ellis Knopf sary since conspiracies don't tend to aimlessly drift. Not sur- prisingly "the plot was a surprise." The high emphasis of pop culture, name dropping and the ruthless pursuit of celebrity make Victor shallow. This proved to be a problem for Ellis for he had to display the world through the mind of someone so incapable of reflection and interesting thoughts. But Victor isn't exactly interacting with characters who are more altruistic than he is, it's just we don't get to hear their thoughts. The shocking and trendy world of high fashion is not a real- ity for the average person. This exclusive world becomes even more surreal when matched with the world of terrorism. Bret Easton Ellis' new book, "Glamorama," explores both themes through the eyes of the all too hip Victor Ward. As a main character Victor is interesting in part because he is so out of touch with reality. He is trying to become famous in a world where the only values are beauty, money and power. His endless name dropping, obnoxious attitude and sense of infallibility make him undeniably crass, but interesting because he is so extreme. The reader takes in a remarkable amount of detail from Victor's constant observations of Cartier watches and Matsuda sunglasses. The details may seem unnecessary at first but later bbci.me so much a part of the narration, they blend and make the character and plot more believable. . Ellis' previous books, "Less Than Zero" and "American Psycho,' were also full of detail but were less based in reality than "Glamorama." He saw his previous novels, as "journalis- tic." His characters were merely making observations and hav- ing an "aimless, drifting existence." Victor Ward, however, operates under an entirely different set of rules and the books perspective is tainted with that. When discussing "Glamorama, Ellis said, "this is the first book I've written that actually has a plot." Ellis wanted to write a narrative about conspiracy which in turn made a plot neces- Bret Easton Ellis Shaman Drum Tonight at 8 p.m. Victor is in the world of fashion; he is a part time model, a three time reject from "The Real World" and the guy in charge of the opening of a new club. He uses everyone in his path to attain his desires, namely becoming more famous. His real luck is dating a supermodel who he unfortunately cheats on with Allison Poole. This character is from a Jay Mclnerny book, "The Story of My Life." Allison is now older but still living a glamorous but sordid life in New York City. Ellis thought Mclncrny would be flattered at his use of McInerny's charac- ters, but Ellis said he wasn't. In his fashion world of glamour and supermodels, Victor is the type of char- surfaces so much so that truth becomes Some of Ellis' apprehension stemmed from him having never written a book with a plot and he was now forced to fore- shadow events, something that he hadn't dealt with before in a novel. Ellis wanted to set part of the novel in the fashion indus- try because it was necessary to hide something in a novel about conspiracy. He felt it was "easy to hide in a world of surfaces." Ellis began writing the book in 1989, so references to celebrities change as the novel progresses. In the beginning there are mentions of actors on the television show, "Twin Peaks" and by the end people are talking about Jewel. Ellis, however, didn't feel the need to go back and change any names because he felt they were constantly changing. Bret Easton Ellis wrote "Glamorama" as an emotional response to what's going on around him. The novel was also inspired by his paranoia about being a well known writer and his relationship with his father. Ellis is working on a new book that he may or may not pub- lish about his adolescence in Los Angeles and his college years at Bennington College in Vermont. He is trying to get out all of his "real autobiographical impulses" before he creates a fic- tional, yet autobiographical character. The new book may be about any number of subjects, per- haps politics, or the pressure to settle down and have a family. Glamorama is about, New York City, fashion, terrorism, con- spiracies, Europe and any number of themes that Ellis cleverly ties into his not so clever character's lives. The books plot is surreal but only because it is about events, not just observa- tions. Even though this may be more based in reality than Ellis' previous books, it still is fiction. Bret Easton Ellis will be at Shaman Drum tonight at 8 p.m. - Caitlin Hall acter interested in obsolete until the novel becomes a mystery. Ellis was con- cerned with the problem of "having a novel narrated by an air- head." Yet, he thought it was fitting for Victors' character is a "summation of annoying guys of my generation." ourtesyU Eg Bret Easton Ellis will read tonight atfShaman Drum. Black Vibes to present evening of hip-hop The ideal Valentine's Day gift! One dozen Exceptionally premium quality r 1 priced at long stem red roses More classic than chocolates. More romantic than chocolates. And roses won't rot your teeth. {. ^ :. vr ,a .. $29o95 (+ overnight shipping) For additional $5.00, crystal vase included. Visit our website for believe-it-or-not better deals! By Quan Williams Daily Arts Writer One of the most notable student groups at the University for the last few years has been Hip-Hop themed Black Vibes. Headed by Marshall Lyons and Jimmy Keys, the group seeks to reaffirm its foothold on the University's hip- hop community with its first major event of 1999, First Fridays. The event happens tonight at the U- Club in the Michigan Union from 7 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. First developed by former group president Gerald Olivari, "First Fridays" is held on the first Friday of every month. It consists of two parts. First, an "open mic" section is held at the U-Club. People attending the event have the chance to display such talents as poetry, Black Vibes' First Fridays U-Club Tonight at 7:30 p.m. / ' freestyle rap, singing and stand-up come- dy. The atmos- phere is laid- back and people are treated to a free buffet. At 10 p.m., every- one heads to the Michigan Union Ballroom for the second part of the event, a dance party fea- turing hip-hop, R&B, dancehall open mic night is free, while the dance party is $3 per person. "Many students have told me that they are tired of Union Ballroom parties," said Black Vibes Vice- President Jimmy Keys. "Keeping this in mind, Black Vibes has vowed that this is its last Union Ballroom party for the semester." The event will return in March at a new loca- tion. The success of First Fridays has not gone unnoticed at the University. In 1998, Black Vibes was recognized for First Fridays, as well as its concerts, D.J. contests and Saturday night radio show, with two NAACP image awards and a Student Active Leadership award. When asked about the success of Black Vibes, Keys explained, "I believe that many organizati - have shown a lack of creativit3 far as events are concerned. We pride ourselves on originality, and serving the best interests of the stu- dents. Our music appeal to those that enjoy good music and a good time. That's virtually everybody." Black Vibes plans to build on its reputation. Its "Boogie Nights" radio show on WCBN continues to gain popularity, and it has a few high-profile events planned for remainder of the term, including s annual D.J. contest. "(The University will) feast quite well off what Black Vibes has cooking for the future," Keys said. The first serving is tonight at the Union. Order early for guaranteed delivery on the exact day you choose. online: www.flowerfarm.com/student/special toll-free: 1-877-357-3276 pandesic. ft werfarmn 1, reggae and bootyshake music. The ._.._.._...... 'F. I I U'. t ,qv t ua LTC