re that sci-fi opera

[Jasper Fidget]

I was just dubious over the supposition (yours mainly) that a great
author should necessarily also make a great composer; I see that you now
qualify that assertion, however, so I'm less inclined to argue.  It's
not inconceivable and it's not unheard of, and if P were to pull that
off I would not be utterly surprised--but I would certainly be
impressed.  The number of truly great crossover artists is quite small;
I'm reminded of Michael Jordan donning a baseball uniform....

Jasper Fidget

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-pynchon-l at waste.org [mailto:owner-pynchon-l at waste.org] On
Behalf Of Doug Millison
Sent: Monday, January 14, 2002 11:57 AM
To: pynchon-l at waste.org
Subject: re that sci-fi opera


Skeptical about what?

That Pynchon said he wanted to work on an opera in his Ford Foundation
grant application?  That's a matter of public record.

That Pynchon could write a libretto for an opera?  You seem to admit
that possibility.

Of course Pynchon could collaborate with a composer and producer.   It's
not inconceiveable that Pynchon has the musical chops to make meaningful
contribution beyond a story and libretto ,too,  given the attention he
gives musical details in his fiction generally, and given the way he
appears to be knowledgeable about the structure of musical forms, key
and time signatures and chord structures, performance details, etc.
Doesn't one set of rumors portray Pynchon as playing a keyboard?

Beyond the notion that he could collaborate to create an opera
production, I don't know if it's the case with Pynchon, but it's not
unheard of for an artist who shows his kind of talent and creativity in
one medium to be able to perform credibly in other media.

-Doug


Fester:
"Well, this is new data anyway, although I remain skeptical; a libretto
does not an opera make."