Thats insane !! I cant believe they'd turn a timeless opera and myth into a contemporary classic. Thank you for not giving me the spoiler this week. The ignorant confidence they'd have to have to do that is something that should put you in mandatory therapy, at double time $$ for the therapist
They should be shamed and humiliated for the ignorance it took to add that type of twist. I hope that doesn't set the bar for any other type of classic art or performance art but im afraid I could see it becoming a normal thing
I'm afraid this just opens the door for further insult by this arrogant "all knowing" woke bunch of heathens. I wouldn't be surprised if it is happening everywhere. I do think it will become the "in" thing to do.
It was fascinating to see how they tried to incorporate something the libretto and music had no clue was happening...there is a line where Isolde says "Beloved" to Tristan as he is dying...intended of course to be sung to him...when she sang it she held her pregnant stomach and looked at it as if she was singing to the unborn baby "beloved"....!!!!!! That's when I almost got up on the chair and screamed "boo!!!!" at the screen!! (Getting on your chair and screaming at operas that do not meet your standards is a relatively common thing to do; my composition teacher actually did it in Paris in the 1970s)
Beautifully put! The mutilation and mangling of great art, of language - it is viscerally unbearable. Your article's theme of complete surrender makes me think about Islam, "submission". Perhaps this denial of the dark is responsible for so many woke-ists finding themselves rooting for (the extreme incarnation of) a religion that puts forward ideals that precisely demand this kind of insanely total sacrifice of all - the lives of one's children as martyrs, the lives of the martyrs themselves, every shred of decency in how one treats those less powerful than oneself. To the woke and the cowardly, it is literally unthinkable, since it is emotionally insupportable, and, therefore, cannot and does not exist except in a newer, more palatable form that has little or nothing to do with the actual shape it takes in the real world.
Jordan Peterson’s PSY434H, titled "Maps of Meaning," was a fourth-year University of Toronto psychology course exploring the neuropsychology of narrative, mythology, and belief systems . It examined how human beings construct meaning, navigate the unknown, and interpret the world through archetypal stories.
Spotify
Key Aspects of PSY434H: Maps of Meaning:
Core Theme: The course explored the intersection of narrative, neuropsychology, and mythology, investigating how stories structure experience.
Purpose: It investigated the biological and cognitive foundations of religious instinct and the creation of meaning, rather than just treating them as superstition.
Focus on Structure: It covered the balance between order and chaos, and the role of the "hero" in navigating novelty.
In 1999, he published his first book, Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief, which became the basis for many of his subsequent lectures. The book combined psychology, mythology, religion, literature, philosophy and neuroscience to analyze systems of belief and meaning.
Good for you! Peterson is an EXCELLENT archetypal psychologist, Jungian, and other depth practitioners and scholars. I don't know if I have ever heard him actually call himself a depth psychologist (Jungian, archetypal, or imaginal, all names for the same thing) but he definitely is one. You will learn a lot!
I guess it could have been worse - with one of them being revealed as the same sex as the other at the end, right? No baby, just one is a tranny. Woke ruins everything
What do you mean "reversed the roles"...you mean switching male and female? Probably the worse thing they could do...I'm sure there are productions of Romeo and Juliet where Romeo is played by a woman, and Juliet by a man, or better yet, both of them played by trans actors...
Prior to Charles II, no women played women's roles in English theatre. The Royal Warrant in 1662 explicitly stated that female roles should be performed by women to ensure that plays were "useful and instructive" rather than "harmful." Thry knew it. We have forgotten.
This is a wonderful read Todd, I haven't properly understood (or delved into) this classic story.. Thank you for sharing how deeply meaningful and valuable it is. The woke ending almost brought me to tears - it is so tragically significant.
If we are witnessing the end of humanity, and what it means to be human, then it is obvious - humanity will go out with a whimper and a whine, saying 'please don't make me feel uncomfortable. Anything but that!"
The Agenda has its fingerprints on every aspect of society today. It appears to me that it wants to tear down all that has come before this time, now including Opera. Your last paragraph sums the reality for me. In a decade or two this new 'version' will be what most people will believe.
Yes, sadly so. But myths have stood the abuse of time...so far at least. The story itself has not been changed, only the "version" we see at the Met...but I doubt if it will be any time soon this insanity reverses.
I totally agree with you. I once walked out of a Shakespeare play performed as a western, but what you describe is much worse. I enjoy listening to Tomita's Snowflakes Are Dancing by Debussy, but I can't stand living in a world where the snowflakes have taken over. What happened to true grit?
There are plenty of examples in the art world of beauty, including human beauty. What is so intriguing about Tristan is the beauty it also presents...this numinous, spiritual, and divine love is beautiful! But as physical humans, we must be aware of the price we pay to meld into union with the soul of another. It is a beautiful story, but also a tragic one.
This resonates with the quote I read this morning;
“Most people confuse ‘self-knowledge’ with knowledge of their conscious ego-personality. Anyone who has any ego-consciousness at all takes it for granted that he knows himself. But the ego knows only its own contents.
People measure their self-knowledge by what the average person in their social environment knows of themselves, but not by the real psychic facts which are, for the most part, hidden from them.”
Thats insane !! I cant believe they'd turn a timeless opera and myth into a contemporary classic. Thank you for not giving me the spoiler this week. The ignorant confidence they'd have to have to do that is something that should put you in mandatory therapy, at double time $$ for the therapist
They should be shamed and humiliated for the ignorance it took to add that type of twist. I hope that doesn't set the bar for any other type of classic art or performance art but im afraid I could see it becoming a normal thing
I'm afraid this just opens the door for further insult by this arrogant "all knowing" woke bunch of heathens. I wouldn't be surprised if it is happening everywhere. I do think it will become the "in" thing to do.
It was fascinating to see how they tried to incorporate something the libretto and music had no clue was happening...there is a line where Isolde says "Beloved" to Tristan as he is dying...intended of course to be sung to him...when she sang it she held her pregnant stomach and looked at it as if she was singing to the unborn baby "beloved"....!!!!!! That's when I almost got up on the chair and screamed "boo!!!!" at the screen!! (Getting on your chair and screaming at operas that do not meet your standards is a relatively common thing to do; my composition teacher actually did it in Paris in the 1970s)
I'm not an opera connoisseur so I felt like I got two lessons here! Bravo!
Beautifully put! The mutilation and mangling of great art, of language - it is viscerally unbearable. Your article's theme of complete surrender makes me think about Islam, "submission". Perhaps this denial of the dark is responsible for so many woke-ists finding themselves rooting for (the extreme incarnation of) a religion that puts forward ideals that precisely demand this kind of insanely total sacrifice of all - the lives of one's children as martyrs, the lives of the martyrs themselves, every shred of decency in how one treats those less powerful than oneself. To the woke and the cowardly, it is literally unthinkable, since it is emotionally insupportable, and, therefore, cannot and does not exist except in a newer, more palatable form that has little or nothing to do with the actual shape it takes in the real world.
To "Jungian, archetypal approach to myth and the psyche", I'm working my way through https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL22J3VaeABQCn5nTAx65NRlh1EsKD0UQD briefed by google as:
<<
Jordan Peterson’s PSY434H, titled "Maps of Meaning," was a fourth-year University of Toronto psychology course exploring the neuropsychology of narrative, mythology, and belief systems . It examined how human beings construct meaning, navigate the unknown, and interpret the world through archetypal stories.
Spotify
Key Aspects of PSY434H: Maps of Meaning:
Core Theme: The course explored the intersection of narrative, neuropsychology, and mythology, investigating how stories structure experience.
Purpose: It investigated the biological and cognitive foundations of religious instinct and the creation of meaning, rather than just treating them as superstition.
Focus on Structure: It covered the balance between order and chaos, and the role of the "hero" in navigating novelty.
>>
Concurrently, I'm crawling through the book that https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_Peterson reports:
<<
In 1999, he published his first book, Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief, which became the basis for many of his subsequent lectures. The book combined psychology, mythology, religion, literature, philosophy and neuroscience to analyze systems of belief and meaning.
>>
Good for you! Peterson is an EXCELLENT archetypal psychologist, Jungian, and other depth practitioners and scholars. I don't know if I have ever heard him actually call himself a depth psychologist (Jungian, archetypal, or imaginal, all names for the same thing) but he definitely is one. You will learn a lot!
To trans comments, from https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/03/21/striking-parallels-what-can-ancient-roman-cult-reveal-about-transgender-movement : What Can an Ancient Roman Cult Reveal About the Transgender Movement?
Interesting. Basically, nothing is new under the sun.
I guess it could have been worse - with one of them being revealed as the same sex as the other at the end, right? No baby, just one is a tranny. Woke ruins everything
When my kids were teenagers, I took them (excitedly, joyfully) to a nearby college for a performance of The Tempest.
They had reversed the roles and the meaning was lost. So disappointed
What do you mean "reversed the roles"...you mean switching male and female? Probably the worse thing they could do...I'm sure there are productions of Romeo and Juliet where Romeo is played by a woman, and Juliet by a man, or better yet, both of them played by trans actors...
Prior to Charles II, no women played women's roles in English theatre. The Royal Warrant in 1662 explicitly stated that female roles should be performed by women to ensure that plays were "useful and instructive" rather than "harmful." Thry knew it. We have forgotten.
Yes. Male/female roles reversed
Insane
This is a wonderful read Todd, I haven't properly understood (or delved into) this classic story.. Thank you for sharing how deeply meaningful and valuable it is. The woke ending almost brought me to tears - it is so tragically significant.
If we are witnessing the end of humanity, and what it means to be human, then it is obvious - humanity will go out with a whimper and a whine, saying 'please don't make me feel uncomfortable. Anything but that!"
I am so happy you enjoyed it. I was a bit concerned that it was a bit esoteric...so great people are liking it.
Yes, I agree, humanity WILL go out with a whimper and a whine...that is the whole point, to make it so banal and innocuous no one will notice.
The Agenda has its fingerprints on every aspect of society today. It appears to me that it wants to tear down all that has come before this time, now including Opera. Your last paragraph sums the reality for me. In a decade or two this new 'version' will be what most people will believe.
Yes, sadly so. But myths have stood the abuse of time...so far at least. The story itself has not been changed, only the "version" we see at the Met...but I doubt if it will be any time soon this insanity reverses.
I totally agree with you. I once walked out of a Shakespeare play performed as a western, but what you describe is much worse. I enjoy listening to Tomita's Snowflakes Are Dancing by Debussy, but I can't stand living in a world where the snowflakes have taken over. What happened to true grit?
It lives in Texas and Oklahoma.
There are plenty of examples in the art world of beauty, including human beauty. What is so intriguing about Tristan is the beauty it also presents...this numinous, spiritual, and divine love is beautiful! But as physical humans, we must be aware of the price we pay to meld into union with the soul of another. It is a beautiful story, but also a tragic one.
"...visionary director Yuval Sharon..." Really? He has transformed a legendary creative work of art into a thought terminating cliché.
I agree...I used that description because he is considered by his peers to be such...his "vision" just didn't "get it" in this case...
This resonates with the quote I read this morning;
“Most people confuse ‘self-knowledge’ with knowledge of their conscious ego-personality. Anyone who has any ego-consciousness at all takes it for granted that he knows himself. But the ego knows only its own contents.
People measure their self-knowledge by what the average person in their social environment knows of themselves, but not by the real psychic facts which are, for the most part, hidden from them.”
- Carl Jung, The Undiscovered Self
That's my man Jung...