Feb. 02, 2011 - Issue #798 : Communion
I dream of Mozart?
Seraglio gets a '60s makeover
If I asked you to guess the subject of this discussion, I'm betting "a Mozart opera" wouldn't be your first response. But that is exactly what Michael Cavanagh, director of the Edmonton Opera's production of The Abduction from the Seraglio, is discussing.
Cavanagh chose to stage Abduction as a 1960s-era espionage caper for several reasons. "It's very hip right now, all this early-60s stuff—so people have an instant connection to that era; it's nostalgia," he explains. The setting was also chosen for reasons concerning the plot: the opera centres around the rescue of two women from the clutches of a villain, so framing it as an espionage story fits perfectly.
Politics provided a third motivation for the change in setting. "This [opera] is set in the Middle East, and there's references to Islam and Allah," Cavanagh notes. "We wanted to take all the controversy off the table and set it in an earlier time, before what we immediately think about with the Middle East these days, before it was really such a part of our popular culture."
Despite the ample liberties taken with the setting of the opera's storyline, Cavanagh emphasizes that the score has remained unchanged. "No one was better than Mozart at scoring the human heart," he says, "and allowing music to speak for us in emotions we can't even put words to."
And therein lies the real challenge with this production: balancing the silly with the sophisticated. "There's lots of hijinks and silliness going on, but then there's also moments of real ethereal beauty," Cavanagh states. "That's been the greatest challenge, to make sure we give each of them full value."
Were Mozart alive today, it's quite possible he would be tickled pink to see his opera—especially one that has traditionally been taken very seriously—adapted into a light-hearted and occasionally lewd spy story. "Mozart was not very politically correct either," says Cavanagh. "He also had a great sense of fun, and he loved to tweak the noses of anyone around him."
The Abduction from the Seraglio is often an overlooked work when considered alongside the rest of Mozart's operas, and Cavanagh notes that it is not performed very often.
"It's a great opera if you've never seen an opera before," he says. "And it's a bit of a Mozart rarity, so it's great to see it given a big treatment like this." V
Sat, Feb 5; Tue, Feb 8; Thu, Feb 10 (7:30 pm)
The Abduction from the Seraglio
Directed by Michael Cavanagh
Jubilee Auditorium (11455 - 87 Ave),
$32 – $160 vueweekly.com comments: powered by Disqus
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