Throughout the history of music there has always been a separation, sometimes more forced than others, between ‘high’ and ‘popular’ art. In opera, the heavy and apocalyptic dramas of Wagner or the emotionally wrenching operas of Verdi exist on a different plane than the light operettas of Offenbach or the comic operas of Rossini. Both these extremities affect people in different ways, and it certainly makes no sense to belabor ones superiority over the other as ‘true’ music. Audiences that enjoy musicals today are certainly no less human than those that enjoy 15 hours of Wagner. The concentration level is just different.
What strikes me as brilliant is an opera I have never heard all the way through. Richard Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos is a clever hybrid of opera séria and opera comíque. Throughout the history of opera in Italy, France, and Germany, a distinction has always been made between comic and serious opera. With few exceptions (Mozart’s DaPonte operas), they remained separate entities until the early 20th Century. The plot of Ariadne is about a new dramatic opera by a young composer that being staged at the house of a wealthy 18th century Viennese. After the arrival of a comic troop, and because of time constraints, it is demanded that both groups perform their works simultaneously. After scoffing at such a ridiculous idea, the ‘mash-up’ in the second act ‘Opera’ is pulled off in a witty, dramatic, and beautiful manner. The balance is spectacular. Just when Ariadne’s music is getting too heavy, Wagnerian, and frankly depressing, the comic troupe peeks in to say, ‘cheer up, everything is going to be okay’ (more or less). Their music is light, bouncy, and no less captivating than the warm, lush sounds of Ariadne and her three nymphs.
There are three leads in Ariadne, all female and each with beautiful music. The Composer sings for a majority of the ‘Prologue’ with ravishing music, sung exquisitely tonight by Sarah Connolly. More than her immense vocal power, shown throughout this exhausting music, her dynamic control and contrast was beautiful. Her phrases seemed to linger on forever, her notes held out beyond their full length while her piano bacame pianissimo. Her volcanically busting ovation was completely deserved. The music of Ariadne and her three nymphs is some of the most atmospheric in the opera repertoire. Never overbearing, each character passes the melody along to the next with Grecian tenderness. Nina Stemme sang a fittingly lush and warm Ariadne. Sinking into my seat, I fell victim to her lullaby. Kathleen Kim sang Zerbinetta, the leader of the comic troupe. Mostly on pitch during her incredibly difficult coloratura aria, “Grossmächtige Prinzessin!” Ms. Kim always remained light, bouncy, and funny- a wonderfully fit. Though I preferred Diana Damrau’s show-stopping performance of this aria at the Met Orchestra concert at Carnegie Hall last month, seeing Ms. Kim in an effective production made a world of a difference.
Elija Moshinsky’s production from 1993 augments the dichotomy between comic and serious, fantasy and reality. The result is a magical world where nymphs float high in the air and old-fashioned scenery slides open to reveal a happier world. The makeshift ‘mash-up’ of two operas within an opera is seen with a light heart from the start. Before the curtain even opens for the evening, two actors goof around with props downstage. One is putting on makeup and the other (with a hunchback) is pacing back and forth among the props. The comic nature of the subsequent ‘Prelude’ is balanced out by Strauss’s naturally melodic music, adapting to each character’s personality throughout. Harmonically, Ariadne is not nearly as avant-garde as Strauss’s Salome, where he anticipated Shoenberg’s atonality. That is not to say however, that Ariadne is any less modern. Employing a scaled back orchestra of only 37 players, Strauss is able to convey both Mozartean intimacy and full-blown Tristan-esque romanticism. Ariadne auf Naxos is an opera that satisfies multiple palates.
No comments:
Post a Comment