Hercules

Photo by Dan Rest
Lyric Opera of Chicago

Peter Sellars, the rock star of opera, gave the lecture his very self before the opera started. So famous he didn't need an introduction and didn't bother introducing himself, he gave an amazing lecture to a very full auditorium of very attentive opera goers.

Without notes or lectern, he gave a concise and strong argument for an underlying reason for art in society. More amazing, he naturally linked it to the story of Hercules. It's the sort of lecture you need to listen to a few times, but I remember one of the reasons the arts are invaluable for a democracy is because it is most often the place where the stories of the minority are told. It's a place we go to listen to those stories so that we can decide what is best for the entire society.

This story, in particular, is about the two sides of war. The spouse in battles and the stresses of war on the front and the toll it takes on the house left behind. The household essentially separates in its experience to the point where communication becomes almost impossible. Hercules is about the difficult transition of the soldier returning home and the attempt to reintegrate into civil society and the household, in particular. In this story Hercules returns, but he both figuratively and literally brings the war home with him, as he has brought with him the lovely daughter of the leader he killed.

Unfortunately, the opera wasn't as stunning as the lecture. To be fair, it was an extremely hard act to follow. Only a few operas I've seen over the years could have done justice to such a great lecture. So, it was something of a bad set up.

I like Handel operas. Everyone takes a different journey through music. And, I've never left anything behind, but mine started with the big brassy pieces and then moved modern and then added in Baroque. And, I've found a love for what it is. That's a major piece of music appreciation, though, I think - you have to let whatever you are listening to be precisely and only what it is. When the comparisons drop away, sometimes you can appreciate it much better.

So, I like Handel operas - the repetition. And, as Sellars pointed out, it does sort of reflect how we think when we are processing something. We obsessively repeat the same things to ourselves and after awhile they start to change. I like that. It is true.

The stage was a little bit bare for the lengthy amount of time we spent looking at it. The female leads were lovely, extremely appropriate. I think that maybe, just maybe, the Lyric could put more than one countertenor on their payroll. I find it hard to believe there is just one who will come to Chicago. I would have liked two different singers in a season that had two decent parts for the voice.

Would I recommend it? It's gone, but yes I would. I think it was worth the trip. But, what I'd really recommend is any bootleg copy you can find on that lecture. It will get you so excited about the arts, and opera in particular.