Lyric Opera 2018-2019 Issue 11 Ariodante

O P E R A N O T E S | L Y R I C O P E R A O F C H I C A G O March 2 - 17, 2019 | 29 It is in recitative episodes that every significant event in the opera takes place, and where the important relationships – above all, Ginevra/ Ariodante and Dalinda/Polinesso – can unfold. ose scenes make clear that a complete Handel singer is both a top-flight vocal technician and a detailed vocal actor, alive at all times to every nuance of text. Some notable dance music graces Ariodante, with a ballo in each of the work’s three acts. In Act One we have nymphs and shepherds celebrat- ing the love of Ariodante and Ginevra; in Act Two, the dancers inhabit the dreams of the unhappy Ginevra, both pleasant and unpleasant (the latter expressed through incisive, aptly harsh unison lines for low strings); and in Act ree the libretto specifies in the opera’s final pages that the knights and ladies of the Scottish king’s court “form the ballet,” meant to celebrate the Ginevra/Ariodante and Dalinda/Lurcanio unions. e dances would undoubtedly not have figured in the opera at all had Handel not had at his disposal the renowned French dancer/choreographer Marie Sallé, whose performances brought a new sensuality and drama to classical dance of the period. All the elements of Ariodante add up to a work that dazzles the ear while enriching the heart. We should all applaud its long-awaited arrival at Lyric! Roger Pines, dramaturg of Lyric Opera of Chicago, has appeared annually on the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts’ “Opera Quiz” for the past 13 years. He contributes regularly to opera-related publications and recording companies internationally. He has recently presented lectures at the inaugural Teatro Nuovo bel canto opera festival (New York), the Newberry Library, and DePaul University’s Opera Department. Scotland’s rugged, glorious Isle of Skye, which one can imagine as the setting for Richard Jones’s production of Ariodante. SHUTTERSTOCK (Top) Rachel Bloom as Rebecca Bunch in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend; (Bottom) Sonia Prina as Polinesso in Ariodante . Modern Match - Ariodante Baroque opera, especially Handel opera, prioritizes beautiful melodic singing while relying on emotion to carry the plot. e convoluted schemes, mistaken identities, and star-crossed lovers of Ariodante are connected by a series of heart-wrenching arias – moments when the plot pauses to allow the audience to engage their empathy. Modern television shows like Glee and Smash also use music to express the characters’ emotions. No show does this better than Rachel Bloom’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend . PASCAL VICTOR/FESTIVAL D’AIX-EN-PROVENCE Ariodante and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend share similarities in their premises. Both shows feature jealous lovers who set in motion schemes designed to help win over their beloveds. Polinesso tries to win Ginevra from the noble Ariodante. In Crazy Ex-Girlfriend , Rebecca Bunch moves across the country to find her childhood crush, Josh Chan. Both Polinesso and Rebecca manipulate the people around them, using others’ admiration as weapons of jealousy. Both shows see these characters punished as a result. But beyond the similar plot points, the shows are united by the overwhelming role that music plays in providing insight into the characters’ emotions. What separates Crazy Ex-Girlfriend from other musical comedies is that it uses only original music written by the show’s creators. Loosely parodying Broadway tropes and pop favorites, songs like “Settle for Me,” “ e Math of Love Triangles,” and “We’ll Never Have Problems Again” have a comedic bent that manages to keep things light, but they also reveal the underlying delusions of the crazy ex-girlfriend herself. At first, these songs seem to spring from Rebecca’s unhinged imagination, but the music begins to infect everyone in town as more characters sing, dance and participate in the musical fantasy. Viewers are exposed to the innermost thoughts of every character through music, letting audiences experience greater empathy, exploring a larger emotional range than a typical sit-com. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is funny, but it also explores darker themes of family trauma and mental illness. e characters in Ariodante also manage to engage audiences through the power of Handel’s magnetic melodies. e music conveys an incredible range of emotions. Take, for example, Dalinda’s assertion that she is willing to go to extremes to win Polinesso’s heart, or “Scherza infida,” Ariodante’s aria in which he contemplates death in the face of Ginevra’s seeming infidelity. We don’t typically expect such vulnerability from the male hero, yet Ariodante endures due to its emotional honesty. Rebecca Bunch sums up her own sentiments when she sings, “I’m just a girl in love / I can’t be held responsible for my actions!” Whether we’re talking about Handel's opera or a television show created more than 275 years later, all these characters use music to examine what it means to be driven “crazy” by love. — Meg Huskin e writer, an intern in Lyric’s marketing and communications department last spring, is currently the relationship marketing associate at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.