Me and my bros come together for the doughīought the orange Lamborghini, call it Michelangelo You know I got your back, just like a turtle shellĪll my brothers tryna get some cheddar Us against the world, we can battle whoever That's my fam, I'll hold 'em down forever Knock, knock, you about to get shell shocked Kill The Noise, Madsonik Wiz Khalifa, Ty Dolla Sign (Official Video) Lyrics (.LRC) Advanced But personally I felt something important was missing: genuine empathy with the characters being portrayed.Juicy J - Shell Shocked ft. The show was given absolutely rapturous applause, which suggests that I was in a minority. There can be no doubt that “Shell Shock” is a visually stunning piece, with music to match. Cherkaoui’s dancers played with props such as stretchers and plain white sheets in surprising ways. The staging and choreography were constantly surprising throughout. Having said that, some elements worked brilliantly, such as an extended “Canto of the Deserters”. I’m not sure why, but I couldn’t help comparing it unfavourably to the impact of Britten’s “Peter Grimes”. But by choosing to use the structure of 12 self-standing “cantos”, Lens robbed the opera of an opportunity to build an overall structure that could have drawn the audience more emotionally into the story. The form of the work also distanced the listener to a degree. The reference to shell shock only appeared in one of the cantos, the survivor. This contrasted sometimes starkly with the delicate sentiments evoked by the orchestra. The words were often strangely phrased by Lens, with accents falling on weak words and a very thin unflattering melodic line overall for the singers.
It sounded like trite patriotism until she finally added, “rather than his mother, his wife or daughter”. There are exceptions, such as when a nurse repeats to a soldier that she is “Glad to be his nurse” a few times. Cave’s words are surprisingly dispassionate, often simply describing impressions rather than trying to get people to share them. One of the weaker points, unfortunately, was the connection between the libretto and the orchestration, or between the words and the music if you will.
Sidi Cherkaoui’s dance troupe played full-on for the 100-minute show, striking a fine line between flash dancing and portrayal. Foremost must be Christopher Lens himself, and the superb Monnaie orchestra brilliantly conducted by Koen Kessels that handled the various mood and style changes with perfect ease. RIP: Monty Norman, writer of the James Bond theme “Some arsehole shouting at me in a language I don’t understand”. The orchestra struck up and the screen lifted to reveal a stark décor of makeshift crucifixes, sand bags and a black soldier stumbling towards the audience. Inside, people settled in the lush gilded décor and watched a blank screen. Speakers outside the grand Monnaie opera house in central Brussels blasted passers-by with the sounds of armies on the move. In the year that is just finishing the commemoration of the First World War, choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui joined with composer Nicholas Lens and songwriter Nick Cave to create a surprising testimony to those that fought, died, deserted and waited. This is opera, Jim, but not as we know it. The first two words of the opera “Shell Shock” set the tone. Shell Shock: Nicholas Lens, Nick Cave and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui