Hanna Schwarz as Herodias and Erika Sunnegårdh as Salome. Photo: Michael Cooper
By James Karas
For many of us the Dance of the Seven Veils evokes the image of the gorgeous Rita Hayworth as Salome undulating before Charles Laughton as Herod. That image may be forever removed from your subconscious if you see (and you should) Atom Egoyan’s interpretation of Salome with the Canadian Opera Company.
Egoyan manages to
produce an entirely new work while staying faithful to Richard Strauss’s setting
of Oscar Wilde’s play. The Biblical story as adapted by Wilde is that Salome is
the stepdaughter of Herod. He is married to Herodias, his brother’s wife and Salome’s
mother.
John the Baptist, a
zealous prophet, is under arrest for fulminating against the sinful life of
Herod and Herodias. Herod is attracted to Salome; Salome is attracted to John
the Baptist; John the Baptist will have nothing to do with her. Salome performs
her famous dance and asks for the Baptist’s head on a platter as her reward.
That is the barebones
of the opera’s plot. Enter Egoyan. When Salome is about to start her strip
tease of a dance, we see on a projected video a smiling, little girl on a
swing. As the dramatic music of Salome’s dance develops, we see images of the
little girl as a young woman and men enter the picture. Subtly, beautifully,
disturbingly we realize that Salome is an abused child.
Now her attraction to
the horrible-looking prophet makes more sense. Her lecherous stepfather and
probably others abused her and the Baptist is perhaps the only man who has not.
She does not take revenge on John – she makes love to him as she kisses the
lips and tastes the blood of the man’s severed head.
In the end, she is executed
by Herod himself and not by the soldiers as indicated in the libretto.
The most impressive
performance of the evening was given by soprano Erika Sunnegärdh in the title
role. She is physically lithe with a big, dramatic and supple voice. This
Salome is not a sexual magnate out for revenge but a woman wronged and in love
and Sunnegärdh gives a signature performance.
Baritone Martin
Gantner was a disappointing Jochanaan (John the Baptist). His voice never
achieved the power and intensity required of the passionate moralist, and the
orchestra frequently drowned him out.
Tenor Richard
Margison made a splendid Herod. This ruler of Judea was a classic dictator: a
bit demented, somewhat unstable and thoroughly egotistical. Margison’s big
voice stood him in good stead and his Herod was done superbly.
Mezzo-soprano Hannah
Schwarz, with orange hair combed in a bun on top of her head, wearing an orange
gown, made a good Herodias vocally and in appearance.
The set by designer
Derek McLane resembles a walled yard with a swing in the centre. The “cistern”
of the libretto where John the Baptist is held is under the stage and he is
brought out on a cart. However, there is a hole on the stage through which he
can be seen by the other characters. The only other props are a couple of chairs brought out during the performance.
Egoyan relies partly
on video projections to set the tone of the opera. Aside from the Dance of the
Seven Veils, we get glimpses of the party inside the palace as well as a
swimming pool and images of Salome almost naked. She leaves the party and comes
out of the pool and on stage wearing a while robe and swimsuit for her scenes
before the famous Dance.
Captain Narraboth
(well done by Nathaniel Peake) wears a suit while others wear robes. John the
Baptist, hair disheveled, looks simply wild. The impression is that of a futuristic
sci-fi setting rather than anything recognizable.
Salome is as much an
orchestral work as it is an operatic composition and Strauss’s marvelous score
makes high demands on the orchestra. The COC Orchestra under Johannes Debus
gave us what amounts to a full concert. Listening to them alone is worth the
price of admission.
This is an original,
thought-provoking and exciting production. A great night at the opera.
____Salome by Richard Strauss opened on April 21 and will be performed eight times until May 22, 2013 on various dates at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario. Tel: 416-363-6671. www.coc.ca
No comments:
Post a Comment