February 17, 2006
XERXES - Thoughts Before Opening Night
It's 10:30 the night before Xerxes opens with the Pittsburgh Opera Center, and I find myself in the customary position of any stage director. After pouring over the score with Shawn Kaufman and Antje Ellermann (the designers), Gary Wedow (the conductor), and the singers for the last six months, it's difficult for me to put down my score for the final time. I find it hard to believe that it's actually done. It has been such an amazing journey of discovery, not only in terms of the production, but also for me as a young director.
Baroque opera, especially Handel's operas, presents any director with a very difficult task: to find dramatic truth that will be effective before an audience within the confines of a strict, and sometimes counter-intuitive, musical form. This is made even more difficult by the length of the opera. To carry a consistent dramatic arc through a Handel score can prove to be quite challenging.
So taking all of the elements of Handel into consideration, I set out to tell the story of Xerxes in a way that would be most immediate to an audience and to the singers. So, how, you ask yourself, did I arrive at a production set in New York in the 1920s?! Even though most of Xerxes deals with basic human relationships, Handel still made Xerxes a king and wrote the other characters to respond to Xerxes as if he were in a position of power. Where else, other than in royal circles, have we seen people in such positions of power in which violence and rage are the main tools of keeping that power? The 1920s seemed like an ideal time. A time in which mob bosses ruled the streets and honest citizens (the balance of the cast) were at their mercy. This time period also fit in with my desire to create a visual world that would be more accessible than Handel's original 18th century. It has been extremely gratifying to see the trust that the cast and production team has put into the concept. It is because of their trust and dedication that this production works.
That's all for now. More to come after opening. Hope to see you at CAPA.
Baroque opera, especially Handel's operas, presents any director with a very difficult task: to find dramatic truth that will be effective before an audience within the confines of a strict, and sometimes counter-intuitive, musical form. This is made even more difficult by the length of the opera. To carry a consistent dramatic arc through a Handel score can prove to be quite challenging.
So taking all of the elements of Handel into consideration, I set out to tell the story of Xerxes in a way that would be most immediate to an audience and to the singers. So, how, you ask yourself, did I arrive at a production set in New York in the 1920s?! Even though most of Xerxes deals with basic human relationships, Handel still made Xerxes a king and wrote the other characters to respond to Xerxes as if he were in a position of power. Where else, other than in royal circles, have we seen people in such positions of power in which violence and rage are the main tools of keeping that power? The 1920s seemed like an ideal time. A time in which mob bosses ruled the streets and honest citizens (the balance of the cast) were at their mercy. This time period also fit in with my desire to create a visual world that would be more accessible than Handel's original 18th century. It has been extremely gratifying to see the trust that the cast and production team has put into the concept. It is because of their trust and dedication that this production works.
That's all for now. More to come after opening. Hope to see you at CAPA.
