Rameau’s Pigmalion, Pinchgut Opera 2017
When it comes to love, nothing is simple. At times it is unattainable, unrequited, at others it is fulfilling. It can also be heart breaking. The theme of love is potentially the most explored in all expressions of art perhaps because of its enigmatic, ephemeral charm. There is also something alluring about being in love with love, or being in love with a tortured existence that prevents a connection from being fulfilled.
The prospect of combining operas that seemingly don’t fit together was the primary challenge of this production. The central theme of love, however, permeated throughout them. I wondered how, using that theme, the characters in each of the stories could interact throughout an entire evening’s activities, culminating in a grand passionate gesture of the baroque period in which all three operas were written. What is so palpable in the operas is the emotion in the musical structure coupled with the text. The Rameau operas are not remarkably deep, but they do pose questions that were important topics of conversation and society in the 18thcentury. The Vinci Italian intermezzo is of the commedia dell’artetradition and very accessible. The play-within-a-play idea for the production was unavoidable, but it also seemed necessary to allow the pieces to be performed in earnestness so as not to diminish their beauty by our conceit.
It struck me, as well as my design team, that a contemporary approach would be the most useful umbrella under which the pieces played. There were various iterations of our thinking, but we finally honed in on the idea of the events taking place among art works in a gallery that was in preparation for a costume gala. Love and art, which are both so central to Pigmalion, can exist so well in a room where anything can happen in one evening especially under the influence of alcohol. Within this framework we came up with a series of archetypes that could inhabit this world including a curator, white glove art installers, cleaner, guard, an academic snob, the gallery’s biggest donor along with his wife and tomboy child, and a lonely bartender by day (artist by night) who is the most awake and sensitive character in the room. These archetypes in a party and celebratory atmosphere go through various degrees of play-acting where art imitates life…and vice versa.
The love stories in our production are at various times tempestuous, while at the same time each individual plays the role in the improvisation for which he/she is the most suited. The wealthy donor of the gallery, a questionable man, casts himself at the center of his own event that he has funded, with which his lovely wife grapples. But the donor harbors a secret in that the academic, casting herself as a Priestess who is against his way of life, is his ex-wife. The bartender/artist connects with the academic yet fears that the connection may never bear fruit because of their class difference. The security guard admires the cheeky cleaner, and the Curator connects with the passion of the florist. The White Gloves connect with their partner on the level pride of the artistic work that they do. As the evening continues, the gallery is slowly prepared for the gala with a pit stop of an Italian play-within-a-play inspired by 19thcentury exhibition of clothing and paintings. The academic gets back at her ex-husband for starting the game of improvisation by making him play a hypochondriac in a play found in a book. Finally, the bartender/artist is able to exhibit his work for the gala, yet finds that he is passionately in love with his creation. Unknown to him, the Academic has tricks up her sleeve to reveal her own sentiments. The evening culminates in love being the central enlightening event of the gallery gala and the lives of the players are forever changed. May this approach shed new light on these pieces for you as well.
Australia, 2017