Eire Wexford Pageant Opera 2025 [3] – Handel, Deidamia: Soloists, Refrain and Orchestra of Wexford Pageant Opera / George Petrou (conductor). O’Reilly Theatre, Wexford, 26.10.2925. (RB)
The ultimate opera to be staged at this yr’s Wexford Opera Pageant was Handel’s Deidamia. The primary efficiency was in 1741 in London, and it loved a brief run of simply three performances. It proved to be Handel’s remaining opera, and it was not revived once more till the center of the 20th century. The work is an opera seria provided that it’s principally involved with the inexorable nature of destiny and the inevitability of dying. Nonetheless, it comprises many buffa parts which revolve round cross-dressing, scheming and disguises.
The opera takes place in opposition to the backdrop of the Greco-Trojan Conflict. The Oracle predicted that Achilles would die if he fought within the Trojan Conflict. To stop this destiny, his father Peleus disguises him as a lady and sends him to reside within the palace of his good friend Lycomedes on the island of Skyros. Whereas on the palace he turns into the lover of Lycomedes’s eldest daughter, Deidamia. Because the Greeks put together for his or her battle in opposition to Troy, the priest Calchas reveals that the town can’t be taken with out Achilles’s assist. Ulysses, Phönix and Nestor are dispatched to Skyros to persuade him to affix them within the battle. The opera opens with the arrival of those three males on the island of Skyros. It steadily turns right into a recreation of wits because the three males deploy numerous wiles and ruses to attempt to unmask Achilles whereas Deidamia and her confidante, Nerea attempt to block them.
George Petrou had the twin position of conductor and stage director for this opera. His manufacturing is without doubt one of the most ingenious and spectacular I’ve seen. Petrou used a mix of elaborate set designs, drawings and ingenious visible projections to deliver the drama to life. Through the Overture the stage was coated in billowing swirling mists, and it was attainable to see the define of mythic figures. Within the opening scene, the set consisted of a giant boat moored on the sand in opposition to a scenic backdrop of the Aegean Sea. The ocean tended to predominate in subsequent set modifications. Petrou then launched a twin narrative with two separate timelines. Whereas the legendary characters of the Trojan Conflict remained of their historic guise, a modern-day vacation celebration arrived on the island of Skyros. The 2 units of characters initially don’t seem to see or acknowledge one another however steadily they begin to work together. In some scenes the traditional characters struck or disrupted the actions of their modern-day counterparts, and this resulted in some bodily comedy. In different scenes the modern-day characters carried out choreographed routines with umbrellas or supplied a backdrop to battle with their military camouflage outfits. The manufacturing confirmed how the occasions of Greece’s mythic previous proceed to permeate and affect the current day.
Arnim Freiss’s designs, utilizing AI, had been extremely imaginative and so they complemented the motion brilliantly. On the finish of the primary act, Lycomedes sang his aria underwater as fish and a contemporary diver floated by. Whereas Deidamia was singing her well-known ‘nightingale’ aria, silhouettes of white birds fluttered in opposition to a darkish display screen. In one other of Deidamia’s minor key arias, one might see flowers coming into bloom after which fading. Petrou and Freiss included a mock trailer for the movie ‘Ulysses’ simply earlier than the tip of the opera which confirmed all of the principals and artistic artists concerned with the manufacturing. There was additionally a extremely disturbing montage of battle scenes proper on the finish. At one level I questioned if the dazzling array of visible results would possibly overwhelm the narrative and occasions occurring on stage. Nonetheless, the results complemented and enhanced the motion completely and one couldn’t assist however be received over by such a such a blinding visible show.
The performers had been all on the high of their recreation. Sophie Junker was enormously spectacular within the position of Deidamia. She captured the conflicted nature of the character and went by a rollercoaster of feelings as she labored to save lots of Achilles from his destiny. She was on high of Handel’s vocal pyrotechnics, whereas additionally bringing nice poignancy and depth to the minor key arias. ‘Nasconde l‘usignol’ was a blinding show of vocal agility which noticed Junker executing a succession of trills and gildings with cut-glass refinement at pace. She sang ‘Se Il timore’ with nice poignancy and beautiful colouring. Sarah Gilford was additionally spectacular within the position of Nerea, Deidamia’s fast witted and dependable confidante. She too did an outstanding job executing Handel’s vocal fireworks whereas her Act I aria reflecting on the facility of female wiles was an enormous success.
Achilles and Ulysses had been portrayed by Brazilian male soprano Bruno de Sá and Italian countertenor Nicolò Balducci. De Sá’s Achilles was impulsive and boisterous, and he appeared to benefit from the recreation of wits being performed earlier than being outmanoeuvred by Ulysses. He dealt with the dazzling vocal line with virtuoso aplomb, and I appreciated the clear ringing tone and brilliance he dropped at Handel’s arias. Balducci’s Ulysses was a shrewd, crafty character clearly centered on his mission. He efficiently blended moments of comedy with excessive drama and Balducci’s vocal agility was by no means unsure.
Greek bass, Petros Magoulas, was the voice of sanity within the opera. He tried to steer a uneven path between loyalty to family and friends and his obligations to his nation. He introduced vocal heft and depth of sound to the vocal line whereas expertly negotiating Handel’s difficult writing. He appeared submerged in a fascinating underwater kingdom when he sang his aria concerning the want for contentment – a rare coup de théâtre. Rory Musgrave was convincing within the position of Ulysses’s comrade Phönix. He labored with Ulysses to attain his mission whereas concurrently falling in love with Nerea. He sang with authority and conviction, though a number of the phrases obtained misplaced in his preliminary aria and he didn’t at all times appear utterly comfy with Handel’s elaborate vocal calls for.
George Petrou performed an genuine Baroque orchestra for this manufacturing. The Overture opened in sombre mode with the strings creating wealthy sonorities earlier than partaking with the woodwind in an intricate contrapuntal show. The WFO introduced dynamism and vitality to the piece and Petrou did a superb job in sustaining the dramatic momentum. The gamers had been alert to the shifting moods within the rating and moved from pageantry to moments of excessive comedy, drama and plangent soul-searching. Petrou maintained a superb stability of sound with the singers and the WFO supplied a versatile, wealthy accompaniment.
General, this was an impressive manufacturing that reveals precisely how Baroque operas must be carried out. It makes a robust case for Deidamia to be staged way more broadly.
Robert Beattie
Featured Picture: Wexford Pageant Opera’s Deidamia © Pádraig Grant
Manufacturing:
Stage director – George Petrou
Set and Costume designer – Giorgina Germanou
Manufacturing designer – Arnim Freiss
Co-Lighting designers – Daniele Naldi, Paolo Bonapace
Refrain grasp – Andrew Synnott
Solid:
Deidamia – Sophie Junker
Nerea – Sarah Gilford
Achilles – Bruno de Sá
Odysseus (Ulysses) – Nicolò Balducci
Phönix – Rory Musgrave
Lycomedes – Petros Magoulas
