Montreal, March 10, 2004 � For the first time at the Op�ra de Montr�al: Ariadne auf Naxos. A woman delivered by the god of wine and pleasure... profound entertainment! In the principal roles, several artists with flourishing careers: Canadians Dani�le LeBlanc, Aline Kutan, and John Fanning, along with Americans Margaret Jane Wray and Michael Hendrick. Jacques Lacombe, Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestre symphonique de Montr�al, leads an orchestra formed for this occasion, the Orchestre de l�Op�ra de Montr�al. A production from the Seattle Opera, directed by Chris Alexander.
Here nothing is pure! All is finished here. Two opposing artistic genres collide and reconcile in this opera in two parts. The prologue. Preparation for an evening of festivities at the home of a rich patron of the arts. The scheduled entertainment is to include the simultaneous performance of a comedy and Ariadne auf Naxos, an opera by a young composer who is beside himself with anger at this unexpected m�lange of highbrow and lowbrow. The opera. A tearful Ariadne, abandoned by her lover on a deserted island, awaits death. Ariadne pays no attention to the antics of the buffoons who attempt to cheer her up. The arrival of Bacchus delivers her from her anguish as she is carried away to a life of eternal happiness. Ariadne auf Naxos� where buffa meets seria� in an updated, present-day setting, taking place in a contemporary art gallery! (Review) |
