Is Someone Censoring Mozart in the US of A?

Written by: Annilow on Jul 10, 2008 2:36 PM EDT

I set forth this idea in a blog post comment a week or so ago when it first occurred to me.  As everyone here knows, I'm a Rene Pape fanatic.  For non-opera fans, Rene Pape is probably the world's premier bass (low register) opera singer in the world today.  He ain't hard on the eyes either.  Anyway, Rene plays a role he has played since his twenties in the Mozart opera, Magic Flute.  He plays the part of the mysterious Sarastro, a bad guy according to the Queen of the Night, a good guy according to his followers.  Anyway, Kenneth Branagh has made a no-expense-unturned feature length movie of the opera.  It is perfect in every way, although I admit to a little prejudice here :~).  And it's been out for a couple of years, was premiered at Cannes at least two years ago. Slowly the film has been released around the world, with a premiere in London in the last year.  It's also been out in Canada for over a year.  So, an opera fan has to ask, why haven't we seen this movie in America? I've always assumed that American Idol watching Americans probably wouldn't GO to a full length movie that's an opera.  

In desperation, a few months ago I ordered the UK version of the movie.  UK movies play some format called PAL (don't ask ME) and our players play something called NTSC or something.  HOWEVER, my trusty Macintosh will play either one :~) at least for awhile (once you play one version, I'm not sure you can go back). So I played the movie (and played the movie and played the movie) sitting here watching my laptop screen. 

On the last viewing, I was watching one of my favorite parts.  Rene (as Sarastro) leads his followers to a cemetery.  He has a child in his arms and holds the hand of another.  The grass is green (there's a lot of computer generated enhancements in the film), the flowers are blooming, the sun is shining.  Rene is singing the marvelous hymn Isis and Osiris, which in the German version is sung to a couple of gods/goddesses in a Masonic overtoned play.  But in this film version, which is in English, he is singing a hymn to peace.  And his throngs of followers come to the cemetery with him, weeping, touching gravestones.  Just beyond the wall of the cemetery is death and destruction, all grey, ground that has been burned and smoking, from the war (WWI in this version).  One blind mourner leans down to touch the words on the tombstone to 'read' the inscription.  Anyway, the camera pans out, and out, and out to miles and miles of white cross tombstones, while Rene Pape sings this famous Isis and Osiris hymn in English as a hymn to peace.

So I'm sitting here watching this movie and it comes to me -- we can't see flag draped coffins  -- why would they let us see a movie which takes a Masonic leaning Mozart opera and turns it into a beautiful hymn to peace?

I've wondered about censorship in the arts before.  Years ago there was a wonderful show on Saturday nights called Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.  In Dr. Quinn, there were strong women everywhere -- the doc, the newspaper publisher, the restaurant owner.  Some of the strong women were of color.  The men were good men, but some (remember Sully?) were also 'eye candy.'  There were also mixed race affairs, the newspaper publisher being involved with the Native American chief, for one.  One Saturday night, Dr. Quinn didn't come on.  Even thought it was WINNING ITS TIME SLOT.  It just disappeared.

A few months ago, PBS's Masterpiece Theatre (reborn as Masterpiece) showed a miniseries called The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard, in which a housewife became PM of Britain, and had a number of other women in her cabinet (or whatever Britain calls it).  In the final episode which was aired, PM Pritchard's 'right hand' assistant finds herself pregnant by her (much younger) assistant.  She has an abortion.  In the last episode, she sits down to discuss her emotions about the whole event with Mrs. Pritchard.  Well, that was the last we saw of Mrs.  Pritchard.  When the following Sunday rolled around, PBS was airing some other show.  There was a blurb on the website saying the rest of Mrs. Pritchard we were supposed to figure out for ourselves.  ROFLOL.  

Soooooooo, with tinfoil hat firmly in place, I ask you, who, which is to say, what 'family values?' entity might be determining what we can and cannot see here in the US of A in the movies and on TV?  Censoring Mozart, indeed??

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