I have finally gotten round to watching one of the Finrod Operas. Specifically I picked Version 2 for the sake of the subtitles, and jotted down my thoughts as I watched.
I did... quite a lot of jotting. So rather than drop over 600 words here, I've left them on my notes document:
"Finrod-Zong" 2014 - Huinesoron's commentary
Overall, I think the writing is spot on, with the sole exception of That Thingol Moment (perhaps we can rationalise it as a fantasy sequence by Cel'n'Cur?); the other omissions are more about the practicality of staging the show. The singing/acting in this version is also generally good - the only ones I didn't particularly like are Beren and Amarie. (It's quite amusing that Finrod has an
actual line about his beloved's golden hair, and then Brunette Amarie shows up...
)
The music is great - I've already caught myself humming some chunks of it. I intend to watch the Version 1 copy now I've got a feel for it, though I'm not sure when that'll happen.
In the grand tradition of opera, I'm not sure it's possible to follow the story if you don't already know it, but that's fine.
I'm almost tempted to put it on
without subtitles at some point and see how well the acting conveys the story; not sure which version, though.
G55 - yes, Luthien wears blue in at least one source text (a blue gown with silver stars, I believe). Galadriel was 100% dressed as Luthien there. It's stage-acting, we make allowances.
Thank you so very much for posting about this! It's great. ^_^ (I wonder if the music is available anywhere...)
hS