Conductor - Fabio Luisi; Aithra - Diana Damrau, Helena - Deborah Voight, Melenas - Torsten Kerl, Da-ud, Garrett Soreson, Altair - Wolfgang Brendel.
Story. The traditional Helen of Troy story has Helen carried away by Paris and marrying him. This story presents the alternate legend that it is actually a facsimile of Helen that is carried off, while the real Helen remains in Egypt. She has to convince Menalas that she has always been faithful. When given the choice of a lotus potion that will eliminate all the bad memories or a potion that will bring back remembrance of those bad times, Helen chooses the later. Still, they manage to overcome the pain and are reunited with their child Hermione.
I chose this Met performance because Deborah Voight is in it. I had read many reports on Voight who is proclaimed as a great Wagner soprano. My interest was really piqued when she was dismissed from a London performance because she was too overweight, and her subsequent decision to have her stomach's size surgically reduced.
That this opera was composed by Richard Strass was a bit of a deterrent. We saw his Capriccio (NYC Opera) in 2005 and I came away puzzled. Alas, this sentiment is repeated with this opera.
The premise of the story is interesting enough, although with the way the plot unfolds in the opera, there is not much suspense or drama. The set is minimal and not very interesting, especially by the Met's usual elaborate standards. The costume was modern – dresses and suits, no togas.
Both Damrau and Voight have great voices. Voight supposedly had to hit a C#, I missed it, probably because she did it so effortlessly. I was a bit surprised that Voight's timbre was a bit on the harsh side, maybe that's why it carries so well? Damrau's voice is very pleasant. In comparison, the tenor Kerl's voice was weak.
A few interesting notes. The elves all wear sunglasses and dresses, but they all have beards. There is also a group of men in white suits carrying black briefcases that have light bulbs in them. They remind me of the “agents” in the Matrix movies. Also, they made Aithra lie on the stage at the end of Act I and before Act II for quite a while. The sets of Acts I and II are mirror images of one another.
Opera News magazine had a couple of articles on Diana Damrau and the Met production of this opera. Perhaps these writers have a better appreciation of the opera.
The Met put this opera on soon after it was written in 1928. It wasn't repeated until this series. One wonders when the opera will be produced again!
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