Teatro Real (the royal theatre) of Madrid
is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year. The house is well
known for the fact that despite its traditional building (golden decorations
and red velvet) the operas shown in it are often made with a modern twist. I
had picked up in the programme a relatively seldom featured baroque opera “La
Calisto” by Francesco Cavalli and when my winter holiday destination was
Madrid, I was really looking forward to seeing what Teatro Real had got out of
it.
The story of the opera is based on a
chapter in Metamorphoses by Ovid about the nymph Callisto (a follower of
goddess Diana), who gains the attention of Jupiter. Callisto isn’t at all interested in Jupiter,
but he refuses to give up and masks himself as Diana to win her over. Callisto
and Jupiter (as Diana) have an affair and she becomes pregnant. Jupiter’s wife
Juno is not amused; she is totally fed up with her two-timing husband and turns
Callisto into a bear. Jupiter cannot break Juno’s curse, but once Callisto
dies, he turns her to the constellation Ursa Major.
As those
who read my blog regularly know, I am a big fan of baroque operas, so I enjoyed
this opera also, though it did not hit me quite as hard as my favourite Handel
usually does. However, Orquestro Barroca de Sevilla played the music
beautifully and the soloists also were very good. My personal favourite was Wolfgang
Stefan Schwaiger, who sang the role of Jupiter, but I did also like Anna Devin
in the role of Callisto. She was wonderfully girlish especially in the
beginning of the opera.
But the
most intriguing part of the opera was without doubt the visual side and what is
more suitable than seeing a visually superb opera in a city like Madrid that has
some of the best art museums of the world (Prado, Reina Sofia,
Thyssen-Bornemisza just to mention a few). The opera was not featured as a posh
antique drama, but it expressed the spirit of cubism and surrealism that are so
alive in Madrid. Director David Alden, set designer Paul Steinberg, costume
designer Buki Shiff and light designer Pat Collins were all supporting each
other in this. My absolute favourite actor on the stage was the lizard-waitress;
it was a bigger than normal lizard, who, however, moved just like a real lizard
slowly across the stage carrying a tray on its back. Of course, there also was
a goat, a sheep, a horse, a snake and a cow (funnily enough a male cow, but quite
an obnoxious cow), so there was plenty to see on the stage in addition to beautiful
music.
All in all,
my first opera experience in Madrid was so positive, that I can easily imagine
going there again to see some interesting new operas and I can definitely recommend
Teatro Real to others, too.
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| The main entrance to the Teatro Real |
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| Inside Teatro Real |
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| The performers |
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