Guerilla Opera’s 2011 production of Loose, Wet, Perforated
Posted on September 16, 2011
The Boston Phoenix, 20 September 2011, Lloyd Schwartz
“ … Nicholas Vines is a compellingly original composer, and his new Loose, Wet, Perforated…is full of fascinating music. An eerie prelude and two extended interludes… both grabbed and held my attention with their smooth, slippery seductiveness and surprising but well-timed percussive punctuation. I could never predict what I’d hear next…”
NewMusicBox, 28 September 2011, Matthew Guerrieri
“ … The plot seemed to want to channel the genre’s capacity for moral scolding while satirizing it at the same time. ..”
“… The music… was terrific—kitchen-sink expressionism, edgy, bright, and entertaining as hell. Vines makes an unlikely four-player orchestra—clarinet, saxophone, trombone, and percussion—pay seemingly endless dividends. .. it certainly carried the listener through… in cracking style.”
The Tufts Daily, 6 October 2011, Zoey Turek
“… Loose, Wet, Perforated breaks barriers as modern morality play…”
“ … [Loose, Wet, Perforated] does a surprisingly good job of accurately mirroring America’s current socio-political atmosphere without making the comparisons feel heavy-handed… a tongue-in-cheek representation of capitalism…”
“… the musicians use composer Nicholas Vines’s inventive score to far exceed the traditional confines of their instruments. The music is so unusual that at times it is difficult to determine whether a sound was being made by a voice or an instrument, which lends an eerie quality to the chaotic albeit melodious score…”
“… the ambiguity of the characters’ genders forces the audience to drop all pre-conceived notions of gender roles and sexual constructs…”
“ … [Loose, Wet, Perforated] comes highly recommended to all lovers of modern opera.”
ArtSceNE – WGBH, 14 November 2011, Arthur Smith
“… oddly titled, but engrossing…”
“… This may seem like heavy freight, but in fact, Vines brings a light touch: certainly the opera is thought-provoking and philosophical, but it’s also funny and even sexy. It reveals a young composer with a sure hand for handling text…”
“… alternately broad and subtle shifts in register… ingenious repetition and variation in both musical and dramatic terms…”
“… [“Why must I climb the greasy pole?” is] perhaps not something to elaborate on much further in a general audience Web site. I’ll leave it at noting that the intended effects—both humorous and unsettling—come off perfectly…”
“…sense of both dire medieval times and twenty-first century wit… “