Semele At Opera Philadelphia
Opera Philadelphia’s production of Semele presents such a wealth of auditory and visual riches, I hardly know where to begin this review. But let us start with the singing. Singing may be said to be the bedrock on which any opera builds, and what a foundation this was. The singing was, to a person, exceptional. Some of the singers I was familiar with, but this production introduced me to many new favorites, whose careers I will follow with great interest. I was particularly impressed with the chorus, which had a beautiful even, blended, sound. They did Handel’s sublime choral music a great credit. The orchestra did a capable job of generating a believable baroque sound, especially given that it was not a period ensemble, though some of the dance rhythms were a little muddled.
A quick recap, for those of you who don’t know the plot: it’s from Roman Mythology, and it follows the well trodden path of most Roman myths: Jupiter falls in love with a mortal woman (Semele). Jupiter absconds with mortal woman (Semele) to garden of heavenly delights. Mortal woman gets insecure about sleeping with a god and wants to be immortal. Juno gets jealous. Juno wakes up the god of sleep and forces him to put the dragons guarding the garden of delights to sleep, then takes control of the mortal woman’s sister and tells the mortal woman that if she makes Jupiter come to her in his full glory, she will be a goddess. Mortal woman makes the request, gets burned to a crisp, and then Dionysus is born from her ashes and the world rejoices.
I mostly go to the opera for the music (I mean, you’re not there for the plot, see above), but I am not immune to the charms and pleasures of a well dressed set, and I found the set and lighting a particularly effective addition to this production. Through the ingenious use of banners and projections the set was believably both the mortal realm and the many faceted realm of the gods. The banners scrolling down as streams of stars and clouds passed along them was an ingenious and stunning way to transition between the worlds, and the falling banners at the end as everything fell apart was a striking visual.
There is a growing trend of returning the dances that originally were so integral to these operas to a place of prominence. This production goes farther along this road than others I have seen, and in general I thought it was an addition that added interest and drama. It was particularly effective in the scene where Juno puppets a dancer representing Ino to convince Semele that she has begun to transform into a goddess, and become beautiful. The choreography also added to many of the large choral numbers, adding visual interest and increasing the impact. However, in a few of the quieter, more emotional scenes, for example when Ino declares her love to Athamas, I found the bold choreography a touch distracting and I wish the choreographer and director had trusted the drama to stand on its own two feet and hold the audience’s attention without the dancer. The dancers were all skilled however, and, apart from those scenes, I think it was a creative and fun addition to the opera. Maybe I need to start going to see some dance performances even when they aren’t accompanied by opera.
I had heard of Amanda Forsythe, but had never had the pleasure of seeing her in person, and wow! She is such a dynamic stage presence, both vocally and physically. Many of her arias were sung as she was being lifted, carried, and otherwise thrown around the stage by the aforementioned dancers, and she didn’t miss a note. Her clear, flexible voice never faltered. And her showstopper aria, “Myself I shall Adore” did indeed bring down the house. I particularly appreciated her ornamentations, (of which there were many) which were novel and creative without being anachronistic. I don’t know to whom I have to sell my soul to get her to sing more Handel in Washington DC, but I am accepting offers.
As we always do, my father and I were comparing notes at intermission, and he was particularly taken with the performer playing Ino. He had found her particularly affecting in her aria, “Turn hopeless lover.” But he went on to say that he was withholding judgement on the performer portraying Juno, as he though so far she was okay but not exceptional. At which point we discovered that the roles were both being portrayed by the same actress--the amazing Daniela Mack. We had the pleasure of seeing her at Carnegie Hall doing Alcina in concert (prior to the origin of this blog). This should tell you something about Ms. Mack’s range, if not our observational skills. Even in the second act, when I knew that both roles were portrayed by the same woman, I found it hard to believe. Her physicality was mesmerizing, and her voice shone in both roles.
As for Alek Shrader, who played Jupiter, my father had the following to say, “It is a good thing the show did not actually attempt to show Jupiter coming to Semele in his full glory because several members of the audience might have also died.” I am not ashamed to say that I cried during “We’er you walk.” I have ears and a soul. His physical bearing and vocal power were something to behold--it was easy to believe that he was a god taking human form on the stage. I look forward to more from him in the future.
Tim Mead’s reputation preceded him, and he also delivered on some fiendishly difficult coloratura. Sometimes I find countertenors to be lacking in power, but his voice felt full and powerful throughout the range. His voice and Ms. Mack’s blended together exquisitely in their duets.
I had seen Alex Rosen in Opera Lafayette’s production of Radamisto, and was quite impressed with him. His bass is full and rich (especially for such a young performer), and he moves fluidly through coloratura. I am watching his career with interest and I hope to be able to say I saw him when.
Sara Shafer was the lone performer I had neither seen perform before, nor heard of, and what a beautiful ray of light she was. It is impossible not to be entertained by her portrayal of Iris. A perfectly calibrated bit of comic relief, she was at 110% every second she was on stage, and had the audience wrapped around her little finger. I can’t wait to see what she does next.