Speculating on what seemed to be more young people at last week’s Die Frau —
Could it be that conductor Vladimir Jurowski (still relatively young by conductorial standards, 14 years after making his Met debut when he was really young) attracts a young following wherever he goes?
Could another reason be that the opera is so rarely performed in New York?
And what about the fact that the production is visually spectacular, using walls that are made up of mirrored panels, as well as costumes paved in glitter? Just as flashy as anything in the movies. I’ve seen the production a number of times since it premiered in 2001 and am only now getting used to the flash, but that’s just me.
And that there is an hydraulic set that actually rises and lowered to denote passages from a spirit world to the land of mortals?
Could it be the late stage director Herbert Wernicke’s renown? This would appeal perhaps to the in-the-know music students and European tourists with an aesthetic bent who tend to represent youth at a Met Opera show.
Could it be that those youth who know the opera appreciate the way that filial rebellion is one of its themes?