Haymarket
Opera company’s Actéon
 |
| altar dedicated to Diana on the rightmost periaktos |
Once
again I had the pleasure of painting sets for a Haymarket Opera company production, this time of Charpentier’s Actéon
with a pastoral prelude of Le Jugement de
Pan and an interspersed divertissement (all orchestrated by Ellen Hargis).
For Actéon a new set, a woodland
scene, complemented the reused pastoral set from Orphée. Research into the cult of Diana in the Roman world informed
details like the ruined altar, and the woods were meant to be understood as the
other side of the temple-crowned hillock of the pastoral. The Chicago press
appreciated the performance, and with regard to the audience’s appreciation I
quote John Van Rhein’s review, a hopeful metaphor for the possibilities of
public appreciation of classical imagery and culture generally:
The urge to breathe fresh contemporary life into these forgotten
musical gems from the late 17th century speaks directly to the artistic mission
of Haymarket Opera Company. The enterprising Chicago troupe did so again with
its super-stylish performances of two delightful pastorales by Marc-Antoine
Charpentier, "Acteon" and "Le Jugement de Pan," over the
weekend at Mayne Stage in the city's Rogers Park neighborhood...
As with every Haymarket
recreation, there was an interesting paradox at work. While the performers
adhered to an artificial vocabulary of declamation, movement, gesture and
facial expression – meticulously drawn from French singing and acting manuals
of the period – everything was done with such fluid elegance that it didn't
come off as musty or quaint – indeed, the studied poses and other period
refinements took one directly into Charpentier's world. It was a nice place to
visit.
The
Chicago Tribune review is available here
the
Chicago Classical Review here
and
the Sun Times review here
