Laughter and delight await opera lovers as the Israeli Opera presents an original production of Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss, with a libretto by Hugo Hoffmannsthal, directed by Ido Ricklin, and conducted by Asher Fisch. The opera is a co-production with the Krakow Opera and Oper Dortmund, and is sung in German, and performances will take place from May 19 – 30, 2025.
Merging opera seria and commedia dell’arte, the opera pokes gentle fun at the indulgences of the wealthy, the stage-thirst of actors, and the ego of composers, as well as telling a dramatic tale of abandonment, grief, and new love, with beautiful arias. It’s really an opera within an opera, and at its center is a tale from Greek mythology. According to various sources, Theseus, son of King Aegeus, was a hero who accomplished many great feats, including the slaying of the Minotaur in the Labyrinth built by Daedalus (you may want to read more about it – it’s fun), which put an end to the sacrifice of Athenian youths to the Cretan beast. However, his success was due to Ariadne, who gave him a sword and a ball of thread so that he could fight the Minotaur and find his way out of the Labyrinth. Theseus had promised to take her with him when he escaped Crete, which he did, but then he abandoned her on the island of Naxos. After having betrayed father and country for the love of Theseus, Ariadne awoke to find herself abandoned by her lover, alone on Naxos. Don’t worry, she was literally be saved by a god, one of the fun ones, Bacchus.
Strauss’s opera does not begin on Naxos, but rather in the home of a wealthy Viennese personage. This would-be patron of the arts has commissioned an opera on Ariadne from a serious young composer. The opera is to premiere at a gala evening in the patron’s home, however, when the composer arrives hoping to rehearse with the musicians, he is informed that they are busy entertaining the patron’s guests at dinner. But that is the least of his problems. His mentor, the Music Master, has been informed by the Major-Domo that the opera is to be followed by an operetta, a bit of low-brow comic entertainment called “The Faithless Zerbinetta and Her Four Lovers.” It gets worse. As the guests are lingering at dinner, some scheduling adjustments are necessary so that the fireworks display will take place on time. The Major-Domo announces that the opera and operetta will have to be performed simultaneously. It sounds impossible, and indeed chaos ensues, which makes this a hilariously fun opera. The opera’s director, Ido Ricklin, describes the production of Ariadne auf Naxos as “directing three operas simultaneously…one is a tragic opera of sublime, divine, love; one is an entertaining show that celebrates a more earthy love; and the exciting encounter between the two, which is the love of music and the stage.”
Yet another distinctive feature of the opera is the role of the Major-Domo, which is a speaking role, to be performed by Itay Tiran in a special guest performance. Soloists in the opera will be: Ann Petersen and Cornelia Beskow alternating as Ariadne; Bryan Register and Peter Wedd alternating as Bacchus; Hila Fahima and Nofar Yacobi alternating as Zerbinetta; Rachel Frenkel and Anat Czarny alternating as the Composer; Ionut Pascu as the Music Teacher; Anthony Webb as the Dance Master; Oded Reich as Harlequin; Yuri Kissin and Yoav Ayalon alternating as Truffaldino; Adi Ezra as Scarramuccio; Eitan Drori as Brighella; Yoav Ayalon and Kirill Odintsov alternating as the Footman; Yael Levita and Tali Ketzef alternating as Naiad; Shay Bloch and Rona Shrira alternating as Dryad; Efrat Hacohen Bram and Shaked Strul alternating as Echo; Roi Witz as the Wigmaker.
Performances will take place: Monday, May 19th at 20:00; Tuesday, May 20th at 19:30 (premiere); Thursday, May 22nd at 20:00; Friday, May 23rd at 13:00; Saturday, May 24th at 21:00; Tuesday, May 27th at 18:00; Wednesday, May 28th at 20:00; Friday, May 30th at 13:00.
Tickets and additional information may be found on the Israeli Opera website.
