Handel, Partenope at the SF Opera with David Daniels

Man Ray     (1890-1976)  Nancy Cunard (1926)

One of the opening scenes in Partenope. The Queen of Milan stands on the stair, and Eurimene(Rosamira) in green,
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This sophisticated opera is a real departure for Handel, and is situated in 1920's Paris.    David Daniels and Danielle de Niese's appearances as Partenope who is Queen of Naples, vulnerable and beautiful, with her many bracelets, as in the Man Ray photography,  The man she loves, Arsace,  loves but betrayed Princess Rosmira, appears in disguise as Eurimene .   The appearance of these two stars was  funded by a couple, Joan and David Traitel,  who makes a gift to the Great Singers fund for performances such as "The Masked Ball" and "Partenope", both part of my subscription.     

Erotic longing and its satire are the focal point of this "subversive" theater.  It is a question of whether Partenope is loved for her wealth and power, which is not really a question; of course, she is.  Like a Queen Bee, everyone in the hive flocks around her in concentric circles. The measure of the man is how favored he is by Partenope. As a counterweight, Rosmira/Eurimene amplifies Partenope's control over the men.  Both Partenope and Arsace have beautiful arias.    Gender and identity confusion is part of the dilemma, as Rosmira dresses and presents herself as a man through most of the production, though that is not the only sexual ambiguity in play.  She is a counterpoint to Partenope, but is defeated by her hidden female interior, In this way, Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and As you Like it are evoked. .  

The work of May Ray was very influential to the production. The image of Madame Cunard is a mirror of the presentation of Partenope, complete with the many bracelets, which she must remove, before engaging in a tryst. This is the first time the SF Opera has performed this opera, and it is the first time I have seen the performance.  An intricate character study and a sophisticated situation comedy, the libretto had been set by other composers. 

 The poet Silvio Stampiglia (1664-1725) penned Partenope in 1699 for a theater in Naples. A part of the reform of the overwrought over ornamented imagery of early Baroque librettos, Silivio Stampiglia was part of the Arcadian Movement, which Goethe includes a passage about, in his Italian Journey(which I recommend reading).

 The opera is presented in a very contemporary staging, and in anti-heroic fashion, the battle and duel being one of that between the sexes and within sexes. Like the "Battle of cards" , it satirizes rivals and war.  "The battle is a metaphor for desire and eroticism as a force that comes into our lives and attacks us like an enemy." says Christopher  Alden, director. .  " Haven't we heard this before, in that love makes a man both mad and a poet, and the ideas about loving our enemy, and hating to love the one we hate, and learning to hate the one we loved and all the other variants. 

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The director of this production, Christopher Alden continues, "What attracts me to opera, and especially to these Handel pieces, is that the music portrays so many different levels than what you find in straight naturalistic or spoken theater.  Opera is a much more subconsious art form, a more opened up art form that uses these different ways to get at things that are unspoken." 

A Personal Note:  The music is beautiful, and has sent me to the choice of Philharmonia Baroque recording( I received due to being a subscriber; the envelope was placed on my seat - what a nice gesture and surprize!)   I chose Handel's Atalanta recorded live in the First Congregational Church, Berkeley, CA  September 2005.    I also have a recording of Handel's  "Acis and Galatea", which was performed in the Spring by the Philharmonia Baroque and is lovely.  I recall seeing Handel's  Guilio Cesare at the Metropolitan Opera with my husband and mother in law.  So Handel is known for more than his "MESSIAH" performed every Christmas and his famous Music for the Royal Fireworks and Water Music.   What a pleasure to explore this composer on a deeper and wider level.