The fanciful story of the sorceress who enthralls men in her island prison of sensual delights.
That is pretty much all I knew about the opera “Armida” by Gioachino Rossini. Sounds like fun! Echoes of The Tempest by William Shakespeare along with one of my favorite stories from the ancient world “The Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor” which I have read in the original hieroglyphic Egyptian thanks for asking.
With seven friends from China – including a 4 year old boy who miraculously sat still for 2 of the 4 hours – went yesterday afternoon to experience again a live broadcast of a performance by the New York Metropolitan Opera.
Approaching the end of the first act I thought “so where is this magical island?!?” Oh. Second act.
The performance was exceptional. Renee Fleming – most at home with the operatic works of Strauss but here stretching herself to take on difficult coloratura – was magnificent as Armida. Lawrence Brownlee continues to distinguish himself as a powerful tenor with his rendition of the paladin Rinaldo. All of the singers were excellent. As well as the music. The chorus. The sets. The costumes – the demons were delightful! There were some nice bonuses such as the ballet during Act II. Which – if you were paying attention – was very sensual (sexual?) without being dirty.
Some of the passages are not only beautiful they were sung with uncommon sweetness. Such as the duet Amor, possente nome in Act II with Armida (Fleming) and Rinaldo (Brownlee). And the unique terzet for tenors Uniteva a gari in Act III. It was nice to be well prepared for that by the between-acts interview with Brownlee (Rinaldo), Banks (Carlo) and van Rensburg (Ubaldo).
So the performance? 10/10.
But the story itself is weird. Seriously bizarre and difficult to follow. Takes a while to figure out the story is set during the time of the Crusades. When and how did Armida and Rinaldo fall in love with each other? Why does Armida think Crusaders would help her gain back her throne? What is this strange magical island? Who are all these demons and spirits? And the opera ends with Armida embracing rage and the forces of hell?
Wth?!?!?
It helps – boy does it help – to know that “Armida”:
[W]as inspired by the 16th-century epic Gerusalemme Liberata (“Jerusalem Delivered”) by the Italian poet Torquato Tasso. Set in the time of the crusades, it tells of a seductive sorceress who lures Christian soldiers to her island prison.
Yeah I know. Some of you are thinking I was just about to say that! Sure you were.
But my Chinese friends enjoyed it immensely and it generated quite a discussion in the van on the way back to the church then the university.
