Word: semeleã
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Dates: during 2009-2009
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...core, “Semele?? is a familiar story—men will say anything for sex. In this case, the man (or god) is Jupiter (Joshua Taylor), the king of the gods, and the focus is on his affair with Semele (Kathy D. Gerlach ’07, GSAS ’13), a mortal. At the guileful behest of Jupiter’s divine consort, Juno (Stephanie Kacoyanis), Semele withholds intimacy until Jupiter promises to give her immortality and show her his true form, a move which ultimately kills...
...archetypal example of Baroque opera. Each character sings recitatives (narratives that serve the purpose of advancing the story) and arias (songs that do not move the plot forward). Characters are accompanied by a small pit orchestra of strings and a harpsichord. Eccles’ “Semele?? is a more sexually graphic version than the better-known Handel opera of the same name. Because the Early Music Society shifts the setting of the story, however, the raunchy nature of the opera does not seem as out-of-place as it might have at the time...
...costume design of “Semele?? orients the audience immediately to the ’70s. Costume designers Janice J. He ’11 and Ashley N. Kaupert ’12 ensure that each costume has at least a hint of either the disco era or flower power. For example, the priests wear bellbottoms or a long, flowery skirt with a headscarf. The dresses of Juno and those of Iris (Aria L. Guarino ’13), the goddess of the rainbow and handmaiden to Juno, are ball gowns with an inner layer of flashy...
Lily T. Kass ’10, as Ino, Semele??s sister, and Robin W. Reinert ’10, as Cupid, are particularly notable. Kass—decked out in a bright mini-skirt, white tights, and high heels—plays Ino perfectly. Her lovelorn glances and flirtatious advances towards Semele??s betrothed, Athamas (Clare McNamara), provide much of the comic relief throughout Act I. More than just funny, Kass fills the role of the unappreciated lover with darling and panache. During Athamas’ aria about Semele??s insensitivity, for instance...
Without a boring moment, “Semele?? takes the audience on an exciting journey through this mythological tale, masterfully incorporating the dated material into a more functional setting. And though Eccles’ Baroque opera is ‘broke,’ in this production, the Harvard Early Music Society fixes...