#nattergalen

I grew up with Andersen's fairytales and many of them has made a permanent home in my heart. The nightingale (or nattergalen, as is the original title) has always been amongst my favourites.

It is the tale of how the emperor of China learns that a great bird exists in his empire and he asks it to come and sing for him. The song deeply touches him and all the people at the palace, and the little bird is celebrated for his voice and song.

One day, a box is sent to the emperor, and within is it a golden mechanical bird, an artificial imitation of the real nightingale. They are asked to sing side by side, but it doesn't work well. The nightingale improvises and goes with his mood, while the mechanical bird can merely repeat how it has been programmed.

Still, hearing the mechanical birds makes the crowd ooh and ahh, and it can sing without mistakes and much more often than a real bird. It is wound up again and again for the amusement of the emperor and the people. The real nightingale leaves discouraged.

But as the time goes on, the mechanical bird starts to break down, and eventually, it doesn't work anymore at all. When the emperor becomes deadly ill, the soft song from a nightingale is all that can save him, but his little wind-up toy cannot help him.

The real nightingale comes back and saves the emperor's life, for it had been so touched when it first sang for the emperor and it made him shed tears. It remembers that first touch of something oh, so special as sharing its voice. The emperor learns the error of his ways.

Gen AI can only ever be an imitation of the real thing. It is stuck in the same grooves as a mechanical bird. It can do it "perfect" and faster than humanly possible, but it is and always will be an imitation that cannot stand on its own. It might be enough to impress but it is not sustainable.

Only with the real music, art and writing can what is special be perserved. It must be created by living beings. We are able to adapt and change and create stuff outside of set parameters. But it is very understandable that it is highly discouraging to see gen AI spit out music, art or writing that to the untrained, or uncaring, eye is praised.

I reckon that the well will dry up eventually, whether it will be a crash, or behind a high paywall, and everyone who grew accustomed to it will cry out in despair. The mechanical bird is broken. Death will come and sweet song is not there anymore.

The nightingale flew home and continued with his life. He kept singing to the forest, but in another version of the tale, maybe he had stopped singing. It would have been a tragedy for both himself and all the people who eventually realised their folly in depending on a mechanical bird over the real thing.

A few selected depictions of Death from various movies.

I heard that many of his fan sites are closing bc they’re angry that haechan said “there are so many cameras”, sounding annoyed but idk, this is heartbreaking

someone started a rumour about him being in a relationship with a saesang and even posted numerous screenshots of messages and audios saying it was donghyuck

i heard about the camera thing but the relationship rumor is exceptionally off to me like?????? wtf. how can someone be so eager to ruin the reputation of a 17 year old? what did he ever do apart from trying his very best to make everyone around him happy and working his ass off to accomplish his dreams ok sWEATY TURN ON UR LOCATION IMMA FgHT

Denne anmeldelse blev oprindeligt publiceret på teateravisen.dk

’Har du hørt en fugl synge’ er en særdeles vellykket version af H.C. Andersens ’Nattergalen’, der får store som små til at grine, så tårerne triller – vel at mærke uden at give køb på hverken originalens alvor eller poesi.

’Har I hørt det?’, ’Har I hørt det?’

Stykkets fem skuespillere kommer alle myldrende bag os, ned fra aftenforestillingens flotte bølgekulisse, imens de ivrigt peger og gætter på hvilke af os, der muligvis har (hørt det).

Det er umiddelbart temmelig uklart for os, hvad det er, vi i så fald skulle have hørt, men med titlen in mente har de snu nu alligevel en anelse om, hvad det hele drejer sig om.

Historien begynder

Rekvisitter findes frem fra kedelige grå kasser fra den enkle scene og eventyret om den lille nattergal og Kinas kejser tager form med diverse remedier og godt med teater-overdrevet-kropssprog. En tværfløjte, en tekande, en smuk guldrobe og fine små tavler med kinesiske tegn akkompagnerer fortællingen:

'Kejserens have var så stor, at end ikke gartneren vidste hvor den endte', lyder det med alvorsfuld schwung, mens nattergalesangen nynnes med højstemte, orientalsk-lydende gentagelser og sætter en flot poetisk stemning, der får lov at agere rød tråd igennem alle de øvrige fjollerier.

Dette blandes yderligere op med en begejstret, næsten overstadig fysisk energi hos skuespillerne, og der skal lyde stor ros herfra for den modige cocktail. Det klæder forestillingen at gøre så god brug af såvel koreografi som musikalitet.

Også sproget får smilet frem: ’Find fuglen! Ellers skal hele hoffet dunkes på maven – efter de har spist middag!’ bliver der ’højkejserligt’ befalet, og alle må ud at lede efter ’den tarvelige møgstruds’. Så er vi i gang.

Forfængelighed / Forgængelighed

Laura Skjoldborg er en fin, bly kokkepige, og Rikke Westi gør det godt som goddag-mand-økseskaft musikmester. Særligt når logikken bliver helt ’kejserens nye klæ’r’-agtig, som da hun, på trods af hvad alle kan se og høre, flot proklamerer, at den kunstige fugl er lige så god som den ægte – 'og så var det sådan'.

Men ellers er det ikke mindst mændene, der har fået de gode roller: Nikolaj Bjørn-Andersen er med formidabel mimik en bragende udgave af den barnlige kejser, som nemt bliver urimeligt arrig eller latterligt tudevorn, hvis ikke han får sin vilje øjeblikkeligt.

Michael Slebsager spiller den vimsede kammertjeners kække slesken for sin kejser og hans imposante selvfedme overfor alle andre helt ud med sin lette fysik, gule accessories og attitude, så det er en fryd.

Dette balanceres forment med Nicolai Jørgensen i rollen som varm og ægte nattergal, der har en helt anden dybde (og bredde), end hele det fisefornemme, forfængelige hof , der kun går op i overflade og pynt. Undertegnede er også vild med, at døden – i form af en maske, et lagen og et par lange, hvide knoglearme – bliver levendegjort, så stærkt.

Hos H.C. Andersen går det mørke ubesværet side om side med det poetiske og det lyse, og det har Charlotte Munksø fanget virkelig skarpt med denne kække opsætning, der på trods af sin lethed holder godt fast i originalens seriøse morale og pointer.

I den forstand er der slet ikke taget så mange friheder ift. det oprindelige Nattergal-eventyr. Helt i H.C. Andersens ånd spilles der på hele paletten.