Vintage Postcard of War Memorial Opera House and Veterans Memorial Building
Collection of Lisa Hirsch
Found in a press release:
The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs is inspired by the life and creative spirit of Steve Jobs and does not purport to depict actual events as they occurred or statements, beliefs or opinions of the persons depicted. It has not been authorized or endorsed by Apple Inc., the Estate or Family of Steve Jobs or by any persons depicted.
4 comments:
Inspired by the creative spirit? There is none of the creative spirit of Steve Jobs, or any technologist, in that technophobic libretto. Unless there have been major changes since the Santa Fe premiere.
I think they beefed up Laureen's part. Could you say more about the libretto being technophobic? I had issues with the libretto but that wasn't one of them
Nobody expresses joy in technology creation or technology use. The iPhone launch is undercut by a sarcastic chorus, sabotaged by ugly graphics nowhere close to the original iPhone, and later ridiculed by the adviser character. Much time is spent on the design of a failed product (the Lisa) and none on the successes like the Mac and the iPhone. The final chorus pretty much says don't use technology. Technophobic might not be quite right, but what else would you call this joyless mess? Nothing in the opera makes you care about Steve Jobs. It's all a hatchet job focusing on his (and technology's) flaws.
The libretto very much focuses on Jobs's personal life, with the technology a distant second. They had to use alternative graphics because of Apple's legal control of the iPhone interface; the set designer is to blame for any ugliness. And the designed was also constrained by the need to reach the people in seats far from the stage, so it is understandable that Victoria Tzykun went for visibility.
At the end of his life, Jobs limited the technology his children had access to.
I do not think that the opera is a hatchet job. I think it's a failed attempt to glorify someone who had some remarkable strengths in product management and in running Apple Computer, but who was also an asshole unworthy of being glorified as a human. I wrote the comments below before Lisa Brennan-Jobs published Small Fry. I haven't read it, but I have read a couple of the reviews, and brrrr. He comes off as an awful person.
Previously:
Some comments about Jobs
Review of the opera
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