HANDEL’S
SEMELE
THE COC ENSEMBLE HELPS EAST MEET WEST BY JON KAPLAN
T
hough they’re not as frequently produced as the works of Mozart, Verdi and Puccini, the operas of George Frideric Handel are the stuff of great musical theatre. It’s not hard to see why: they’re tuneful, offer all sorts of opportunities for impressive singing – including vocal fireworks and limpid melodies – and explore a wide range of human emotions. The 2011/2012 Canadian Opera Company season closes with its first production of Handel’s Semele; the COC’s last foray into Handel territory was a memorable Rodelinda, in 2005. The plot of Semele is drawn from Roman mythology, retold in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Jupiter, king of the gods and frequent seducer of mortal women, has set his eye on Semele, daughter of Cadmus, King of Thebes; she is delighted to have his company when he appears to her in human form. 12
Canadian Opera Company 2011/2012 Season
Juno, Jupiter’s jealous wife, comes to Semele disguised as the princess’s sister Ino and convinces her to force Jupiter to appear to Semele in his divine form. The resultant meeting of deity and mortal leads to Semele’s fiery death. Despite the fact that the tale derives from classical myth, don’t look for a production that evokes Arcadian glades and Roman statuary. Chinese director, designer and visual artist Zhang Huan has blended aspects of Chinese and European theatre, using as his backdrop an actual Ming Dynasty ancestral temple, some 450 years old. He discovered the temple in the city of Quzhou, dismantled it and made it the central element of his set. The production has been performed in Brussels and Beijing. The May 23 performance of Semele is cast with members of the COC’s Ensemble Studio, giving the young singers an exciting opportunity to sing on the stage of the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts as part of the company’s season. The practice began two years ago with Mozart’s