Sunday, May 02, 2010

Francesco Cavalli’s Giasone at Chicago Opera Theatre

From the Chicago Tribune review:

A first-rate cast of promising young singers and the city's period instrument group Baroque Band, under Scottish early music specialist Christian Curnyn, pumped new life into a baroque opera that could have proved a well-intentioned snooze. Nearly three hours in the theater flew by as if on winged feet. Everything about "Giasone" is good enough to make you wonder why the composer's stage works remained unperformed and under-appreciated until the Cavalli revival of the late 1960s and early '70s.
...
The libretto uses the legend of Jason winning the Golden Fleece as pretext for mixing a satirical cocktail of sex, lies, intrigue, low comedy and attempted murder. This Jason is not only a fearless hero but also a serial seducer who must juggle two royal paramours, Medea and Isifile, each of whom has borne him twins. Complication is heaped on complication until the pathetic playboy gets his comeuppance and everything is happily resolved at the last moment.

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