Ed. Note: This is the Metropolitan Opera Preview of The Enchanted Island, which opened at the opera house on Dec. 31, 2011. Please visit our review of the January 4, 2012 performance, available only on Superconductor.
The Met unveils its first pastiche. But the question is: Why?
The advertising copy on the Met website promises that by attending a performance of The Enchanted Island, the audience will "have it all." Whatever that means, this new work (constructed by Jeremy Sams) incorporates music by Handel, Vivaldi, and Rameau to create a speculative "prequel" to Shakespeare's play The Tempest.
The intent behind The Enchanted Island is a noble one: bring back the baroque concept of creating new works for the entertainment of the audience, using pieces of old ones. But the pastiche technique was usually reserved for when a theater had to hurriedly slap together a new work to meet the demands of their audience.
This could happen for a number of reasons:
Mr. Sams' libretto mas the back-story of Sycorax (Caliban's mother, an offstage figure in Shakespeare), and the arrival of four lovers from A Midsummer Night's Dream on that unknown island. Joyce DiDonato and super-countertenor David Daniels will do vocal battle as Sycorax and Prospero. Star power is added with a cast featuring soprano Danielle de Niese and some guy named Plácido Domingo, who is scheduled to make a deus ex machina appearance as the sea god Neptune.
The merits of playing "Dr. Frankenstein" and creating a new work from parts of other operas by multiple composers should be a subject for heated debate in the weeks leading up to the premiere on New Years' Eve. Baroque specialist William Christie will conduct. Hopefully, he will provide the electric spark to bring this creation to life.
Recording Recommendations:
Since The Enchanted Island is a new work, no recordings are available. But as it's made from music by Handel, Rameau and Vivaldi, I decided to recommend one opera by each composer.
Handel: Alcina (1735)
Les Arts Florissants cond. William Christie (Erato, 2000)
This recording is a superb entry point for the budding baroque enthusiast. Alcina is one of Handel's most inspired operas. But the selling point of this set is the cast, with Renée Fleming, Natalie Dessay and Susan Graham in what she does best, a trouser role. William Christie conducts a brisk, energetic performance.
Vivaldi: Motezuma (1733)
Il Complesso Barocco cond. Alan Curtis (DG Archiv, 2006)
Antonio Vivaldi is best remembered for his violin concertos, particularly The Four Seasons. But the "Red Priest" claimed to have written 94 operas in his lifetime. (To be fair, a number of them may have been pasticci.) Today, about twenty survive. Moctezuma, from 1733 and based on the story of Montezuma and Cortez, is one of the more interesting ones.
The opera was thought lost, until the score was found in the archive of the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin, a choral association. The library had been "liberated" to Kiev by the Red Army following the fall of Berlin in 1945. Brought back to Germany, it was discovered in 2002. Tautly played by Alan Curtis and his experienced period ensemble, and in stellar DG sound.
Rameau: Hippolyte et Aricie (1733)
Les Musiciens de Louvre cond. Mark Minkowski (DG Archiv, 1995)
The first opera by the 50-year-old Rameau is based on Phèdre, a play by Racine. The story deals with the Greek hero Theseus, his son Hippolytus, and his love for Aricia, the daughter of his enemy who breaks her vow of chastity.
Rameau's opera, which also premiered in 1733 marked a turning point in the development of opera, from the old tragedie de Musique style of Jean-Baptiste Lully toward the theatrical reforms of Christoph Willibald Gluck. Rameau had to fight to get his work accepted and performed.
Return to the Metropolitan Opera Season Preview!
The Met unveils its first pastiche. But the question is: Why?
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| Wands at 20 paces: David Daniels (Prospero) and Joyce DiDonato (Sycorax) square off in The Enchanted Island. Photo by Nick Heavican © 2011 The Metropolitan Opera. |
The intent behind The Enchanted Island is a noble one: bring back the baroque concept of creating new works for the entertainment of the audience, using pieces of old ones. But the pastiche technique was usually reserved for when a theater had to hurriedly slap together a new work to meet the demands of their audience.
This could happen for a number of reasons:
- A new work was needed for a theater, and none was immediately available.
- An opera bombed completely with the audience.
- Censors would not allow a particular libretto.
- Performance rights could not be obtained.
- A singer or conductor demanded the change, either for personal or practical reasons.
- A cast change or substitution.
Mr. Sams' libretto mas the back-story of Sycorax (Caliban's mother, an offstage figure in Shakespeare), and the arrival of four lovers from A Midsummer Night's Dream on that unknown island. Joyce DiDonato and super-countertenor David Daniels will do vocal battle as Sycorax and Prospero. Star power is added with a cast featuring soprano Danielle de Niese and some guy named Plácido Domingo, who is scheduled to make a deus ex machina appearance as the sea god Neptune.
The merits of playing "Dr. Frankenstein" and creating a new work from parts of other operas by multiple composers should be a subject for heated debate in the weeks leading up to the premiere on New Years' Eve. Baroque specialist William Christie will conduct. Hopefully, he will provide the electric spark to bring this creation to life.
Recording Recommendations:
Since The Enchanted Island is a new work, no recordings are available. But as it's made from music by Handel, Rameau and Vivaldi, I decided to recommend one opera by each composer.
Handel: Alcina (1735)
Les Arts Florissants cond. William Christie (Erato, 2000)
This recording is a superb entry point for the budding baroque enthusiast. Alcina is one of Handel's most inspired operas. But the selling point of this set is the cast, with Renée Fleming, Natalie Dessay and Susan Graham in what she does best, a trouser role. William Christie conducts a brisk, energetic performance.
Vivaldi: Motezuma (1733)
Il Complesso Barocco cond. Alan Curtis (DG Archiv, 2006)
Antonio Vivaldi is best remembered for his violin concertos, particularly The Four Seasons. But the "Red Priest" claimed to have written 94 operas in his lifetime. (To be fair, a number of them may have been pasticci.) Today, about twenty survive. Moctezuma, from 1733 and based on the story of Montezuma and Cortez, is one of the more interesting ones.
The opera was thought lost, until the score was found in the archive of the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin, a choral association. The library had been "liberated" to Kiev by the Red Army following the fall of Berlin in 1945. Brought back to Germany, it was discovered in 2002. Tautly played by Alan Curtis and his experienced period ensemble, and in stellar DG sound.
Rameau: Hippolyte et Aricie (1733)
Les Musiciens de Louvre cond. Mark Minkowski (DG Archiv, 1995)
The first opera by the 50-year-old Rameau is based on Phèdre, a play by Racine. The story deals with the Greek hero Theseus, his son Hippolytus, and his love for Aricia, the daughter of his enemy who breaks her vow of chastity.
Rameau's opera, which also premiered in 1733 marked a turning point in the development of opera, from the old tragedie de Musique style of Jean-Baptiste Lully toward the theatrical reforms of Christoph Willibald Gluck. Rameau had to fight to get his work accepted and performed.
Return to the Metropolitan Opera Season Preview!
