THIS FLUTE'S A HOOT!

Aaron Blake, Ashley Milanese, Karolina Gumos, Ezgi Kutlu, and Evan Hughes
(photo by Stephanie Berger for Lincoln Center)

We avoid reading reviews, talking to other people, and perusing the program notes before a performance so that we can experience each opera with fresh eyes and ears, uninfluenced by the opinions of others. Last night, thanks to the Mostly Mozart Festival, we were thoroughly enchanted by a revolutionary approach to Mozart's 1797 singspiel Die Zauberflöte. We do not use the word "enchanted" lightly. We were transported to a new world, an amalgam of silent film tropes, cartoons, scientific illustrations, live action, animation, and projections.

May we coin a term here?  "Imaginuity" might serve. This remarkable production was conceived by the entity 1927  from which Suzanne Andrade and Barrie Kosky Co-Directed, with animation designed by Paul Barritt. Esther Bialas was responsible for Stage and Costume Design and Diego Leetz designed the lighting. It was our first time witnessing live artists interacting with surreal projections. Welcome to the future!

Since opera is all about music, let us begin with that aspect. Maestro Louis Langrée conducted the superb Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra with suitable panache. If there were folks in the audience who had never been exposed to Mozart's music, as unlikely as that is, they were surely won over.

The singing was topnotch all around, although there were moments when we thought the voices were lightly amplified. We first heard bass-baritone Evan Hughes at Juilliard Opera in 2012 as Don Alfonso in Mozart's Cosi fan tutte; we wrote about him often over the next couple years, remarking on his mobile face and flair for comedy. 

Since then, he has made quite a name for himself abroad so it was particularly exciting for us to see and hear him once more after this lengthy interval. One couldn't ask for a better performance. With costuming and body movement reminiscent of Buster Keaton, he cut quite a figure. His sonorous voice has only gotten deeper and broader. He remains an astonishing performer.

Tenor Aaron Blake has been on our radar for about six years since winning an award with the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation. The performances that most stick in our mind are his singing Schubert's "Erlkönig" with impressive coloring of the various voices and his performance of the lead role in Gregory Spears' Fellow Traveler.

Last night he made a winning Tamino, singing earnestly and sweetly. We might add that we would never have recognized either of these two highly admired gentlemen behind all that makeup!

His Pamina was performed by the adorable soprano Vera-Lotte Böckert who was costumed to appear very much like Louise Brooks in a black bob and a black dress with large white collar, white stockings, and black Mary Jane shoes. She invested the role with fine singing and acting, a worthy counterpart to her Prince Tamino.

What shall we say about the Queen of the Night? She was portrayed as a spider catching the unwary in her web and stabbing at them with her 8 spindly legs. It wasn't until the curtain call that we were able to see her face and body. It was hard to believe that all that exciting sound came out of the tiny person of coloratura soprano Aleksandra Olczyk; she has a thrilling sound and very accurate fioritura.

We have never cared for the role of the pompous Sarastro but last night we very much enjoyed him, as portrayed by Wenwei Zhang whose voice descends into the very bottom of the register without any loss of volume or color.

We adored the the Three Ladies, as performed by Ashley Milanese, Karolina Gumos, and Ezgi Kutlu--dressed in 1930's finery. We always love the scene in which they fight over Prince Tamino; last night they were accompanied by animated hearts; long cigarette holders were used to puncture and deflate the hearts of the other two.

Papagena was played by Talya Lieberman who didn't have much to do but was depicted as filling an animated house with dozens of animated "Papageni". She never appeared as an old crone to fool Papageno. We don't know why that scene was cut.

Costumed and made up like Nosferatu, Johannes Dunz made a creepy Monostatos. We noted that the same audience that tittered over Mozart's sexism had no reaction to his racism!

Although their names are not credited in the program, the Three Boys, members of the Tölzer Boys Choir, were adorable and harmonized beautifully.

In many of the scenes, faces were visible through holes and bodies were created in some kind of projected animation. We have no idea how this was accomplished and didn't even try to figure it out. It was more fun to just accept this aesthetic as a fantasy world in which pink elephants lounged in martini glasses, elevators descended through the circles of hell in the Trial by Fire, and chubby little bathing beauties represented Papageno's magic bells.

We could go on and on describing the many sight gags but let us share just a few more. Tamino gets swallowed by the dragon and is depicted in the belly of the beast surrounded by lots of bones; the Queen of the Night hurls red daggers at Pamina when she wants her to kill Sarastro; when Papagena counts to three before committing suicide, the animation plays a game of "hangman" with each number accompanied by additional strokes.

Dialogue was mostly replaced by silent movie titles. Music was interpolated from other works by Mozart, although at one point we heard music that didn't sound like Mozart at all. All of these alterations served the telling of the tale and we'd like to think that Wolfgang Amadeus would have loved it.

It is difficult to describe something so visually fluid but we consider it a ground-breaking work in the same way as Disney's Fantasia was in the last century. We will happily attend any future performances by 1927. Our sole disappointment  was that there were hardly any children in the audience! If any production could initiate youngsters into the world of opera, it would be this one.

(c) meche kroop

CARMEN

Ana Maria Martinez and Roberto De Blasio (photo by Ken Howard)

The current trend in opera is "concept".  Directors are falling all over themselves trying to make opera relevant, changing locations, changing time periods, doing all kinds of things to attract new audiences.  We are not among those that appreciate this trend.  Occasionally this fiddling works but more often than not the audience is left baffled.  Such was the case last night at the Santa Fe Opera's Carmen; Bizet's masterpiece was updated to mid-20th c. and moved to somewhere on the Mexican-American border, although that was only revealed piecemeal. The time is ripe for an opera about illegal immigration and the plight of Mexicans but grafting that concept onto an opera that we adore in its original time and place seemed ill-advised.

Bizet's music trumps everything else and if you closed your eyes and listened to Rory Macdonald's apt conducting of the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, you might have had a fine time.  With your eyes open, you might have expected to be in Spain with vintage black and white films of bullfights projected onto the set.  The picture of the dead bull might have made you wonder if this was meant to be symbolic of Don Jose's stabbing of Carmen in the final scene. Interestingly enough, that scene does take place in an arena-like area.  But why was Carmen trying to escape through locked doors when she was resigned to dying?

Many other inconsistencies and questions about Stephen Lawless' direction distracted us from enjoying the music.  Why were the girls of the tobacco factory behind bars?  They were dressed in identical uniforms so one wondered whether they were meant to be in prison and given time in the yard for a smoking break.  Why was Escamillo's entrance so tacky, passed out on a mechanical bull?  Why was Micaela standing on the American side of a chain-link fence?  We could go on and on about the inconsistencies and ill-conceived ideas.

Carmen is not just a factory-worker (if that is even true) but she and Frasquita and Mercedes don wildly colorful costumes (by Jorge Jara) as onstage entertainers in Lilas Pastias' tavern while the customers dance the lindy to Bizet's music!  There is more coke-snorting than we would ever want to see onstage-- to no meaningful effect.  Were the smugglers smuggling drugs or were they smuggling "wetbacks".  Why are the "wetbacks" pushing the truck right up to the Border Patrol?  Did we need to see a trashy hooker distracting the border guard so a few illegal immigrants could climb the chain-link fence?

Well, let us move on to what we did like about the production.  Most of the video projections by Jon Driscoll served to open up the story in a cinematic way.  The scene of Micaela tending to Don Jose's critically ill mother gave us some insight into their relationship.  The scene of Micaela and Don Jose attending his mother's funeral showed us that Micaela still had some affection for him; she made sidelong glances meaningful.

Benoit Dugardyn's set design was simple enough not to interfere and was flexible enough to create the soldier's locker room, a prison, a bullfight arena, ramparts and a background for projections.  Pat Collins' lighting was sometimes effective,  creating shadows that highlighted the action; at other times the light fell in the wrong place and the action was cast into darkness.

As Carmen, soprano Ana Maria Martinez created a character that had very little by way of redeeming qualities.  Perhaps it is only that we prefer the role to be sung by a mezzo-soprano but her voice seemed uneven through the wide range Bizet wrote; her voice improved as the evening wore on.       Her acting was forceful but appeared to be based on something that she or the director considered to be sexy. The sexiness did not seem to come from within but rather was based on gyrations and cliched mannerism. 

Tenor Roberto de Biasio also got off to a weak start but improved vocally in the second act. He produced a fine messa di voce.  However, his acting was stiff until he reached places where he was given over to violence.  Baritone Kostas Smoriginas struggled to achieve some dignity and the arrogance the role requires; the direction was not kind to him, what with that mechanical bull and having to hold a microphone onstage and gyrate like Elvis Presley.

We liked Joyce El-Khoury's performance as Micaela; she has an expressive soprano and managed to evoke sympathy which the other principals did not.  Her duet with Don Jose was tender and their hands reaching out toward one another was perhaps the most moving moment of the evening.

The smaller roles were more effective.  Bass-baritone Evan Hughes was outstanding as Zuniga, using his booming voice, imposing height and dramatic skills to create a more interesting character than we are accustomed to.  He too has his eye on Carmen and, by the time his pants are around his ankles in her prison cell,  she has escaped.

Baritone Ricardo Rivera was a strong Morales, also making much of a role that usually makes no impression.

We liked baritone Dan Kempson as Le Dancaire and tenor Noah Baetge as Le Remendado, the two smugglers.  It was amusing to watch their interaction with Carmen's two friends Frasquita (soprano Amanda Opuszynski) and Mercedes (mezzo-soprano Sarah Larsen).  Grant Neale made a slimy Lillas Pastia.

Before ending. we would like to contribute this factoid.  In Mexican bullfights, they do not kill the bull.

(c) meche kroop

LE CERCLE DE CARPEAUX

Brian Zeger, Evan Hughes, Susan Graham, Layla Claire

To augment their exhibit "The Passions of Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux", The Metropolitan Museum of Art presented an all-French recital of vocal music by the 19th c. sculptor's friends and contemporaries--Georges Bizet, Camille Saint-Saëns, Ernest Chausson, Alfred Bachelet, Charles Gounod, Hector Berlioz, Ambroise Thomas, Gabriel Fauré and Léo Delibes. 

Judging by the large crowd who applauded wildly after each and every song, we gather that the audience comprised more lovers of art than lovers of chanson.  Perhaps they were drawn by the fame of the incomparable mezzo Susan Graham; we have a feeling that after hearing this fulfilling recital they will be just as likely to be drawn to recitals by the two phenomenally gifted younger singers--soprano Layla Clair and bass-baritone Evan Hughes.  The beloved Brian Zeger, who wears many hats, here wore his "collaborative pianist" hat, accompanying all three artists with grace and style.

At what point do we abandon the term "rising star" or "young artist" and acknowledge their arrival to full stardom.  It seems to us that these two artists have arrived.  They both captivated the audience with their vocal gifts, dramatic artistry and the ability to communicate to the audience the essence of each song.

Ms. Claire, who just had a phenomenal success in Toronto as Fiordiligi in Mozart's Cosi fan Tutte, opened the program with a set of songs by Bizet.  The seasonal "Chanson dAvril" was the perfect choice.  Ms. Claire has a gorgeous instrument and employs it astutely with great attention to variety of dynamics and phrasing.  Our favorite was the Iberian-perfumed "Guitare" which allowed her to show off some gorgeous melismatic singing.  Mr. Zeger's piano made the most of the rocking currents in "Douce mer".  

Mr. Hughes possesses a warm and generous voice that can be stimulating or soothing and a lively onstage personality that seems to want to tell a story and to tell it well.  In the set of songs by Monsieur Saint-Saëns, the rhythmically energetic "Le pas d'armes du Roi Jean" provided an opportunity for the interpolation of a verse of sad quietude.  "Tristesse" showed a depth of melancholic feeling.  But our favorite was the humorous "Suzette et Sazon" in which our singer is torn between two women.  We enjoyed the rapid piano figures in "Tournoiement".

Ms. Graham next graced the stage with three delights; there is nothing to add to the wealth of praise she has received for her charming way of addressing the audience or her fine voice or interpretive skills.  But it needs to be said that singing "on the book" impairs the connection with the audience.  Every time the singer glances at the score or turns a page there is an interruption of contact.  We are more inclined to forgive this practice when a singer is a last-minute substitution and has not had time to learn the material.

That being said, we did enjoy the rapid-fire "Dance macabre" by Mr. Saint-Saëns which has been heard elsewhere as a violin solo.  Mr. Zeger made the most of the fluttering butterfly wings in Chausson's "Les papillons".

Mr. Hughes returned with some early songs by Fauré and we delighted in two songs in which one could feel the movement of water; "Barcarolle" impressed as a lovely partnership between singer and pianist and "Les berceaux" was filled with significance as the sailors of ships rocking in the harbor are pulled back from their adventures by the rocking of their childrens' cradles.

In a set of Gounod songs, Ms. Claire was at her best issuing a charming invitation to run barefoot through the dewy grass in "Viens! Les gazons sont verts".  The familiar "Sérénade" was given a tender but flirtatious reading with lots of trilling and melismatic singing to delight the ear.

Ms. Graham closed the program with the gorgeously melodic "Connais-tu le pays?" from Thomas' Mignon and Marguerite's lament from Le damnation de Faust--"D'amour, l'ardente flamme".  We were hoping that what she called "the operatic portion of the program" would be "off the book"; sadly, it was not.

The welcome encore was "The flower song" from Léo Delibes' Lakme.  We are not among those who listen to commercials so we never tire of this tuneful duet, here sung by Ms. Claire and Ms. Graham.  It was brilliant.

The recital has ended, the melody lingers on and the sculpture exhibit can be seen until May 26th.  It was organized by a partnership with the Musée d'Orsay.  Any excursion into the 19th c. is a welcome one for our eyes and ears.

ⓒ meche kroop

GERDA LISSNER FOUNDATION AWARDS RECITAL

The generosity of the Gerda Lissner Foundation in its support of young singers is extremely praiseworthy.  It was a pleasure to hear President Stephen De Maio being acknowledged by charming host Brian Kellow (Features Editor at Opera News) for all of his hard work.  This year's honoree was the beloved Bass-baritone Eric Owens.  The long list of awards testified to the success of the venture.  That we got to hear a baker's dozen of them sing yesterday was a major delight.  Some of them were new to our ears and others have been enjoyed on numerous past occasions.  All were excellent; the judges chose well.

We have space to mention a few of the highlights.  Soprano Deanna Breiwick tickled everyone's fancy with "Quel guardo il cavaliere" from Donizetti's Don Pasquale.  This young woman has beauty and stage presence as well as fine technique; she knows how to create a character and how to get a song across.  Her trill gives one a thrill.

Soprano Ying Fang, who gives a recital this afternoon at Juilliard, showed off some mighty fine embellishments and secure control of dynamics in "Prendi per me sei libero" from Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore.  We simply cannot get enough Donizetti, especially when sung this charmingly.

Continuing in the bel canto style, bass-baritone Jeongcheol Cha showed impressive flexibility and legato in "Vi Ravviso" from Bellini's La Sonnambula; tenor Juan Jose De Leon won us over with his "Si, ritrovarla, io giuro" from Rossini's La Cenerentola.  Bass-baritone Evan Hughes had all the right qualities for Dandini's aria "Come un'ape" from the same opera.

Massenet's "Letter Scene" from Werther was sung by mezzo Jennifer Johnson Cano with a rich tone, fine French diction and moving involvement with the text.  The grand finale comprised two arias from Leoncavallo's I Pagliaci sung by two of the Top Prize winners, both baritones.  Well known to us from recitals and several other competitions, consistent winner Takaoki Onishi once again dazzled us with his rich full sound, his variety of color and his depth of feeling as he sang Silvio's aria "E fra quest'ansie".  Truth to tell, we would have eloped with him in a minute!  Equally convincing was Anthony C. Evans who sang the prologue in mighty praiseworthy Italian and drew us in as any carnival barker might have.

We also heard some excellent work from tenor Noah Baetge and soprano Marcy Stonikas who took Wagner out for a whirl; tenor Dominick Chenes, soprano Chloe Moore, counter-tenor John T. Holiday, tenor Anthony Kalil and tenor Jonathan Winell were all a pleasure to hear.  Accompanists for the recital were Jonathan C. Kelly and Arlene Shrut. We predict excellent careers for all and wish everyone well.

© meche kroop

EVAN HUGHES, WHAT NEXT?

Evan Hughes

Bryan Wagorn

Bass-baritone Evan Hughes is finishing his third and final year of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at The Metropolitan Opera.  Last night at his graduation recital he graciously thanked those who contributed to his development and showed off how much he has learned.   We were remembering his right-on-target performance as Don Alfonso in Cosi fan Tutte.  We are thrilled about his winning First Prize in the Gerda Lissner Competition.

Possessor of a rich round and mellow tone, Mr. Hughes is further notable for a most expressive face and a delightful sense of humor.  He employed all his skills in the recital.  It is our belief that when a singer does his own translations, he/she is more expressive in coloring the words.  Such was the case with the three Schubert songs with which Mr. Hughes opened his program.  We particularly enjoyed the gentle "Des Fischers Liebesglück" with Schubert's ravishing melodic invention; the octave skips upward were lovely.  Mr. Wagorn, whose propulsive pianism impressed us so in "Auf der Bruck" had an opportunity to switch hats from collaborative pianist to soloist in "Ungarische Melodie, D. 817."  Both hats become him equally.

We next heard Brahms at his most melodic: "Meine Lieb ist grün", "Sapphische Ode", and "Von Ewiger Liebe".  Again, Mr. Hughes had done his own translations and sang with impressive intensity.  Some unfamiliar songs in Swedish followed, written by Jean Sibelius, all of which would be worth a second and third hearing. 

In the Chansons Gaillardes by Poulenc which closed the program, Mr. Hughes' mobile face joined his vocal expressiveness to give full measure to the irony of these little gems.  Again, he had done the translations himself to fine effect.  His encore was another song by Poulenc--"Pablo Picasso", from the cycle Le Travail du Peintre.

Mr. Hughes has been having some exciting engagements worldwide and on the stage of The Metropolitan Opera.  We wish him the career his hard work has earned.

© meche kroop

WILHELM MEISTERS LEHRJAHRE

Franz Schubert was but a babe in arms when Johann Wolfgang von Goethe published Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre, a classic of German Romanticism; the two seminal artists never met but Schubert was inexorably drawn to Goethe's poetry and set his work more often than any other poet.  Most lovers of lieder are fond of the songs related to the aforementioned novel, particularly the songs connected with Mignon, one of the characters who made a great impression on the hero during his wanderjahre.

These songs were given a compelling shape by the artistic directors of Schubert@Co. at yesterday's recital.  While Jonathan Ware took on the collaborative piano work for the first half of the program, Lachlan Glen provided the narration directly from the novel, a narration that stitched the songs together into a meaningful evening.  We are familiar with the fine work of all the singers involved in the recital and we have never heard them so intensely involved and so present.  We attribute this to the effective dramatic concept.

Baritone Michael Kelly, who will be singing Die Winterreise next Saturday evening, opened the program with "Wandrers Nachtlied I," D.224 and closed the program with "Wandrers Nachtlied II", D. 768.  His arresting performance was marked by exquisite word coloring such that "süss" sounded just like honey tastes and "schmerz" produced an ache in our chest.  Bass-baritone Evan Hughes performed "Der Sänger" with his customary dramatic flair, but it was "flair squared".

Soprano Raquel Gonzalez sang "Heiss mich nicht reden" and "So lasst mich scheinen", also known as Mignon I and Mignon II from D. 726 and D. 727 respectively, using her gorgeous instrument to successfully evoke the plaints of a troubled child.  Following Mr. Kelly's lovely "Harfenspieler II" D.480, the collaborative piano was taken over by world-renowned Malcolm Martineau who, like Warren Jones, seems to breathe along with the singer.  His participation was evidence of the importance of Schubert@Co.'s artistic mission, a genuine treat which did not in any way detract from Mr. Ware's excellence in the first half of the program.

"Grenzen der Menschheit", D. 716 permitted Mr. Hughes to show off his vocal power at the bottom of the register with consummate expressiveness.  Baritone Jesse Blumberg gave an astonishing performance of "Gesänge des Harfners I, II, and III" (D. 478, 480, and 479 respectively), songs of such grief and loneliness that our eyes filled with tears.  Mr. Blumberg caressed each word, seemingly enjoying the flavor.  The result was riveting.

Ms. Gonzalez followed with "Nur wer die Sehnsuch kennt", D.359, not the version with which we are most familiar, but equally tragic and moving.  Soprano Simone Easthope took over from there with "Kennst du das Land" D.321; her just-right vibrato and involvement with the song made the far-off land for which Mignon pines completely visible in the mind's eye.  She followed this with "Gesange aus Wilhelm Meister I, II, III and IV", all from D.877.  This included a new setting of "Heiss mich nicht reden" and the version of "Nur wer die sehnsucht kennt" with which we are most familiar.  We felt like we were meeting a dear old friend wearing beautiful new clothes.

It would seem that Schubert just loved setting these songs over and over again, that the singers loved singing them, and the audience loved hearing them, as evidenced by the standing ovation at the end of the recital.

One cannot fail to be impressed by the hard work, love and dedication of everyone concerned with Schubert&Co.  There are many more recitals to come and lovers of lieder will be sated by the end of the project.  Or...maybe they will want a repeat next year!

(c) meche kroop

COSI FA JUILLIARD

       


We cannot seem to get enough of Juilliard.  From undergraduates trying out their performing wings at the Liederabends to fully professional rising stars, performances are invariably of the highest quality.  Last night's opening of Così Fan Tutte is a case in point.  In cooperation with The Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, the Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts at The Juilliard School presented a performance of Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte that would be a winner in any big city in the world.  It was astutely cast with gifted young singers from both houses and directed by the esteemed Stephen Wadsworth.  The superb Juilliard Orchestra conducted by Alan Gilbert, Music Director of the New York Philharmonic, did credit to their training and also to Maestro Gilbert's intense guidance and rapport with the instrumentalists.  Mozart's melodies were handled with both sensitivity and gusto.  The harpsichordist was Bryan Wagorn.

What about this strange story, libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte? It is strange because it is funny and tragic at the same time.  What makes it amusing is the moral and actual blindness of the two sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella who fail to recognize the disguises of their fiancés and their servant Despina.  What makes it tragic is the resulting moral uncertainty as to which of the two men each young woman really loves as well as the price paid for confusing love and lust.  In these dark times of ours, Director Stephen Wadsworth has chosen to emphasize the dark side of the opera which is generally played as a piece of fluff.  Even the comic antics have an edge of disturbing hysteria.  There is no happy ending here as the four lovers are literally brawling at the end.  There is also a great deal of anger in Mr. Wadsworth's concept, manifested by overturned furniture and thrown objects.  Yes, love is painful and happy endings are not realistic.  So we must accept our failures and disappointments.

The two sisters were well cast.  Soprano Emalie Savoy brought Fiordiligi to life as the more conflicted of the two.  Her "Per pietà, ben mio, perdona" was beautifully sung and the trace of tightness in her Act I "Come scoglio" was gone.  Mezzo Wallis Giunta portrayed Dorabella, the somewhat more adventuresome of the two; she is as lovely to look at as to listen to.  We especially enjoyed her "Smanie implacabile".

Mezzo Naomi O'Connell was pure delight as the wily servant Despina, seemingly evolved from the commedia del'arte tradition.  She was full of lively energy and exhibited fine technique in "Una donna a quindici anni".  Her advice to her two mistresses kept the audience giggling and her mannerisms firmly established the differences in social class.  She managed to portray the doctor and the notary with a minimum of "shtick".

The two friends fared equally well in both vocalism and dramatics.  Tenor Alexander Lewis was a charming Ferrando who sang a lyrical "Un'aura amorosa".  Baritone Luthando Qave gave a fine performance as Guglielmo who lords it over Ferrando after having seduced Ferrando's fiancée Dorabella; after Ferrando seduces the reluctant Fiordiligi, he "sings a different tune".

Bass Evan Hughes was most convincing as Don Alfonso and succeeded in establishing his character during the overture.  He charmed us in his aria "Oh, poverini, per femmina giocar cento zecchini?" in which he mocks the two young men who accept his wager.

The entire cast, a symmetrical one to be sure, operated successfully as an ensemble and created believable characters.  Duets, trios and ensembles were beautifully balanced.  The size of the house was perfectly matched by the size of the voices.

The Scenic Design by Chalie Corcoran and the Costume Design by Camille Assaf were true to period (18th c.) and place (Naples) adding to the verisimilitude.  Lighting by David Lander was spot on, without calling attention to itself.