Talk:Thespis (opera)

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[edit] Original comment

Right! A list of numbers! Adam Cuerden 14:48, 9 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Ballet

I've updated the discussion of the ballet. Spencer and Tillett concluded that they had correctly identified all five of the movements, not merely three out of five. Offhand, I can't think of any citable source that has disputed their conclusion as to the remaining two movements. Although they rely on different kinds of evidence for those movements, they back it up with highly specific and detailed reasoning. I've added the specific references. I am not suggesting that someone couldn't have disagreed with them, only that I'm not aware of any published source that did so. Marc Shepherd 16:35, 9 April 2006 (UTC)

They concluded that, yes. However, their conclusions aren't that credible sometimes. "There's a picture of a Dragon! Quick! Look for something with Dragon in the title!" And "Picture of a harp? Well, this piece has a lot of harps...." They offer no proof that the evidence they use to identify the "Lost" movements actually applies to the Ballet Hell, for all we know that dragon was Draco, and was one of the constellations in the opening number.

In short, yes, they think they've identifierd all of them correctly, but we can't say that for a fact, as the levels of evidence required for Thespis can be a bit weak. It's not a bad choice musically, I'll admit. Adam Cuerden 07:01, 10 April 2006 (UTC)

Sheesh, I can be a nasty, sususpicious bastard sometimes, can't I? I dunno. I think they have a certain chance of being right, but I'm just not willing to take the jump and say yes, that's obviously right. Mainly because "St. George and the Dragon" at the least seems likely to be wrong - aren't there any Greek mythological dragons? Adam Cuerden 10:47, 10 April 2006 (UTC)

Yes, but neutrality requires that we represent their view accurately. The previous edit implied that T&S just dropped in a couple of random movements because they needed five, and only three were available. To the contrary, they had specific reasons (and not just the photo of St. George and the Dragon) for beliving the two movements they chose were the correct ones. If a quotable source has disagreed, naturally we should represent that view too. Marc Shepherd 12:06, 10 April 2006 (UTC)

Perfectly agree. I should have been more careful: There were the page numbers to give the length, and so on. If we accept the hypothesis that the music WAS used elsewhere, I think we can accept their judgements with reasonable confidence. But, well, think it is worth pointing out a difference between a probable reconstruction and a definite identification. Must reign in the more agressive side that I have, though. Adam Cuerden 12:56, 10 April 2006 (UTC)