Hofstra Opera Theater 2014- Dido and Aeneas/ L'Ivrogne Corrige

With a new year comes a new opera production for the Hofstra Opera Theater. This year, we are proud to present a double bill. The first opera will be Henry Purcell's only full opera Dido and Aeneas. The second half will be Christoph Willibald Glück's comic masterpiece L'Ivrogne Corrige, ou Le Mariage du Diable. Both operas will be presented during each of our three performance from January 31st- February 2nd at Hofstra University's JC Adams Playhouse. For tickets and times, refer to this link.

As with last year, I am happy to be blogging our process during the rehearsal period as well as exploring the history of the works on this blog as well as my youtube channel, which is in no way affiliated with Hofstra University. This is simply an exploration through the eyes and ears of one of the performers. I am fortunate enough to be a member of the chorus for both operas and look forward to sharing my experience.

Production Concepts and Synopsis:

Dido and Aeneas (1689) (Sung in English) - Dido, Queen of Carthage, has been mourning the loss of her husband for almost two decades. One day, the greek warrior Aeneas gets shipwrecked along with his crew. Dido allows the men to stay and offers anything they desire. Her handmaiden, Belinda, believes that a marriage with Aeneas will bring an end to Dido's depression and make her a stronger leader. The two fall in love, and Dido soon accepts Aeneas' marriage proposal. Meanwhile, the evil sorceress plans to ruin the lovers' lives by tricking Aeneas to return on his mission to found Rome and then sink his crew at sea. Following a day of hunting and romance between Dido and Aeneas, the people of Carthage seek shelter from a rainstorm. However, Aeneas left alone with the sorceress' elf, disguised as Mercury, who tells him to leave Carthage and return to finding Italy. The next day, Aeneas and his men prepare to leave. Aeneas says goodbye to Dido, who curses him for leaving her. He decides to stay and defy the gods, which still leaves Dido upset because he was still willing to leave. After Aeneas sails away, Dido commits suicide by using Aeneas' sword, followed by a funeral pyre constructed from items Aeneas left behind.

The production, directed by Isabel Milenski, will delve into the psychological aspects of why people are willing to give everything for love. The set, designed by Jian Jung, takes on a minimalist perspective. From above, long incandescent lightbulbs will rise and descend to create the emotional and physical atmosphere, along with two large white boxes that will serve as a bed, a pedestal, and ship, and finally, a coffin. The choreography will be a homage to the work of Martha Graham and Pina Bausch. The costumes are a mix of modern style and classical greek fashion, changing throughout the story as the characters move from depression to happiness and depression again.

L'ivrogne Corrige, or The Drunkard Reformed (1759-61) (Sung in French with English Dialogue)- Mathurin and his pal Lucas constantly neglect their work to drink. Mathurin decides to give Lucas his niece, Colette, to wed as a token of his friendship. However, Colette is in love with Cleon, a young actor. Together with her aunt Mathurine, Colette and Cleon devise a plan to get the drunken uncle to quit the bottle and consent to the marriage of the two lovers. They decide to dress as furies and trick Mathurin and Lucas into thinking they have drunk themselves to death. Cleon, in the role of Pluto, offers clemency to the two misguided men if Mathurin consents to Colette and Cleon's union and they give up alcohol. After the marriage contract is signed, the masks are removed and Mathurin becomes a changed man, while Lucas returns to the bottle in anger and confusion.

The action for this production will take place at several bars in 1960's France. The concept is to convey the light and dark sides of alcoholism. In addition to a new set and actors, this opera will incorporate set pieces and chorus members in costume from Dido to play Cleon's actor friends. Mathurin and Lucas will be mailmen, a profession where some can get away with being late. The set will be lopsided when the two men are drunk, and straighten out with their realization of soberness.

Program Notes on Maurice Durufle's Requiem

Recently, I had the great privilege to perform Maurice Duruflé's Requiem, his opus 9. Its a brilliant work and the performance itself was brilliant. My fellow choir members and myself received great reviews. Another opportunity I had was to write program notes about the work. Due to the high attendance of the concert, not everyone went home with a program. Therefore, I have decided to post the notes here, along with the notes my classmate Sean Kelly also wrote concerning the Latin text of the Requiem mass. We hope that they enlighten and open your mind.

Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986) began his musical career in Louviers, France, where he was as a choirboy and assisted at the organ. He eventually studied with organists Charles Tournemire and Louis Vierne, who, in addition to their rigorous instruction in organ technique, gave him a deep appreciation for the liturgy and its reliance on Gregorian Chant. In 1929, Duruflé succeeded Louis Vierne as the head organist at St. Etienne-du-Mont. He remained at this position until injuries he and his wife sustained in a car crash in 1975 forced him to stop playing. He died 11 years later in 1986, having composed only a setting of the Lord's Prayer in the interim.

First published in 1947, Duruflé's Requiem combines ideas old and new. The use of ancient Gregorian chant as melody lines pervades each movement, and the corresponding liturgical chants for each movemet are presented at least once. As each movement progresses, the chant melody is then morphed in simple ways, such as transposition and augmentation, as well as more complexly. In the Kyrie for example, the chant is sung by the Basses and then answered by the Tenors in a fugal exposition. Later on, the organ augments the line as a cantus firmus under a new melody sung by the singers.

But while utilizing centuries-old melodies as building blocks, Duruflé was simultaneously concerned with a more modern interpretation of the requiem text and use. "This Mass," he writes, "is not an ethereal work which sings of detachment from earthly worries. It reflects...the agony of man faced with the mystery of his ultimate end." Like Fauré before him, Duruflé removed much of the Sequence, (otherwise known as the Dies Irae: “This day of wrath shall consume the world in ashes”), thus mitigating the atmosphere of fear and damnation which are so prevalent in the requiems of Mozart, Berlioz, and Verdi.

When listening to this requiem, I believe we are not necessarily given an answer to what lies beyond the world of the living. This requiem allows the listener focus on life rather than death, while receiving some comfort in the face of the unknown. In this writer's opinion, this beautiful work can be enjoyed by people of all religions and ideologies; it neither confirms nor disproves an afterlife, and allows the freedom to question what is ahead for us all.        -Andrew Weinstein, junior, music history major