Subject
Nabokoviana: Book recommendation: Philip Hensher (fwd)
Date
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EDITOR's NOTE: Chris Berg, New York Composer and actor, follows up the
editor's summer reading recommednation with..
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From: TENTENDER@aol.com
Returning the favor to our illustrious moderator, I would heartily recommend
"Other Lulus" by Philip Hensher -- a delightful novel of particular interest
to the more musical among Nabokovians (if such there be). It concerns the
existence of an alternate third act to the (at the time in which the novel is
set) still unknown (but known to exist) third act of Alban Berg's opera
"Lulu" (based on the same Wedekind plays as Pabst's famous film "Pandora's
Box"). Set in Vienna, the narrator is a soprano who floats on the challenge
of learning the very difficult title role. She is a delight, both as a
character and in the role of narrator. I will only add that I went through
quite a lot to obtain a copy -- it was published in the UK (Hamish Hamilton,
1994) but never, apparently, in the US. But a Bibliofind search yielded two
copies. (I got much the cheaper of the two.) Hensher, who has been a staff
assistant in the Houses of Parliament, is also the librettist of a
brilliantly funny (as well as tragic) new opera, "Powder Her Face," based on
the life of the Duchess of Argyll, the music (also brilliantly funny and
moving) composed by Thomas Adès.
editor's summer reading recommednation with..
---------------------
From: TENTENDER@aol.com
Returning the favor to our illustrious moderator, I would heartily recommend
"Other Lulus" by Philip Hensher -- a delightful novel of particular interest
to the more musical among Nabokovians (if such there be). It concerns the
existence of an alternate third act to the (at the time in which the novel is
set) still unknown (but known to exist) third act of Alban Berg's opera
"Lulu" (based on the same Wedekind plays as Pabst's famous film "Pandora's
Box"). Set in Vienna, the narrator is a soprano who floats on the challenge
of learning the very difficult title role. She is a delight, both as a
character and in the role of narrator. I will only add that I went through
quite a lot to obtain a copy -- it was published in the UK (Hamish Hamilton,
1994) but never, apparently, in the US. But a Bibliofind search yielded two
copies. (I got much the cheaper of the two.) Hensher, who has been a staff
assistant in the Houses of Parliament, is also the librettist of a
brilliantly funny (as well as tragic) new opera, "Powder Her Face," based on
the life of the Duchess of Argyll, the music (also brilliantly funny and
moving) composed by Thomas Adès.