Reviewed by James
Karas
Elena is an opera by Francesco Cavalli that was first performed in 1659 and
has not been staged since then. Leave it to the Aix-en-Provence Festival to dig
it up and give it a full blooded performance at the small Théâtre du Jeu de
Paume. There may be good reasons for ignoring the opera for so long but don’t
tell that to the Aix people who have produced it. They deliver a masterful and
enjoyable production despite some wrong-headed choices.
Elena of the title is
none other than Helen of Troy but that was in the future. Cavalli’s opera deals
with Helen’s marriage to Menelaus, King of Sparta. The plot is full of twists
as various suitors vie for the hand of the most beautiful woman in the world.
There are some wonderful melodies and set pieces and the whole thing eventually
ends in happy marriages – for the time being, in any event.
The opera opens with
a Prologue which presents a version of the Judgment of Paris where the three
goddesses, Juno, Athena and Venus, compete for the Golden Apple. Paris is not
in the opera but thanks to the involvement of Discordia, the apple goes to
Venus, and June and Athena swear that, although Helen will marry Menelaus, she
will be taken away from him.
Director Jean-Yves
Ruf treats the Prologue as a burlesque. The goddesses appear in hairstyles that
are from Mad Magazine. They shove each other around and give the impression
that we have a comic opera in the style of Offenbach’s La Belle Helene. Cavalli
called the opera a “dramma per musica” and I think he wanted us to take his
piece, if not seriously, certainly not as burlesque. The rest of the production
does not suit the treatment of the Prologue.
The convoluted plot
centers, more or less, around the wooing of Helen by Menelaus, Theseus and Menestheus.
Menelaus cross-dresses as an Amazon called Elisa in order to get closer to
Helen. A bunch of men fall in love with Elisa. Theseus’s real Amazon wife
Hippolyta appears and she wants to kill her husband and by this time you are
having the time of your life trying to figure out who is what, who is chasing
whom and in what part of mythical Greece you are in. The libretto was started
by Giovanni Faustini and finished by Nicolo Minato before a good editor got his
hands on it to straighten it out. It is badly in need of streamlining and slashing
but it is a bit late for that now.
Grab what you can of
the central plotline and listen to the music and the singing and you will
discover why the opera is worth producing. Cavalli is unfailingly melodic,
inventive and simply beautiful in his musical settings.
Start with Hungarian
soprano Emöke Baráth who sings the roles of Helen and Venus. She is a pretty
blonde with a beautiful voice. Cavalli gives her some lovely melodies and her
ringing and luminous voice delivers them to perfection.
Rumanian countertenor
Valer Barna-Sabadus is a scrawny young man with a simply beautiful voice. His
stage presence leaves something to be desired but his singling is simply
gorgeous. His hair (and that of some others) could have used some attention if
not some shampoo. He seemed to belong nowhere physically but was saved by his
vocal ability.
Portuguese tenor
Fernando Guimarães
with his deeper voice provided a nice contrast to the countertenor pursuer of
Helen. He played Theseus who is married to the Amazon Hippolyta. The latter is
sung by Solenn’Lavanant Linke, a woman of some stature well suited to the role.
There is scant
characterization in the opera with perhaps the exception of Iro, the buffoon.
Tenor Emiliano Gonzalez Toro delights in the role which gives a bit more scope
than the lovers have.
Thirteen singers with
some doubling up take on more than twenty characters in the over-crowded opera
but all find some opportunity to display their talents.
The stage design by
Laure Pichat consists of a few wooden panels on stage for the first part and
some streamers to indicate the forest in the second part.
Costume Designer
Claudia Jenatsch has chosen clothes that seem to fit no time period that I
could discern. There are hints of medieval knights’ costumes in Castor and
Pollex’s clothes; Renaissance costumes for some but overall the idea seems to
be they are mythical figures and they can wear whatever they want. The unkempt
hair on some did not help the general appearance.
The Cappella
Mediterranea Orchestra under Leonardo Garcia Alarcon was one of the stars of
the evening. They played with extraordinary finesse they gave us the best part
of Elena: Cavalli’s music.
Director Jean-Yves
Ruf had some tough choices to make with a problematic opera. Most of his
choices worked well despite some arguable ones. The opera has its shortcomings
but it was a delight to see its reappearance after so many centuries
______
Elena by Francesco Cavalli opened on July 7 and will
be performed on various dates until July 19, 2013 at the Théâtre du Jeu de
Paume, Aix-en-Provence, France. http://festival-aix.com/
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