Operas on two coasts team in Greek drama

  • By Mike Murray Special to The Herald
  • Thursday, October 11, 2007 4:37pm
  • LifeGo-See-Do

When Seattle Opera signed on with New York’s Metropolitan Opera to co-produce an opera, the design and technical teams in Seattle had to consider big stuff, such as building the sets here, transporting them in trucks to New York to make sure they fit the Met stage, then back to Seattle.

And the small things, such as fire codes. An opera set in ancient times is going to have flame, not light bulbs, to illuminate the scene. How much onstage fuel will the New York Fire Department allow?

These and hundreds of other details come to fruition Saturday when Seattle audiences get first crack at “Iphigenia in Tauris,” an opera by the German composer Christoph Gluck that opens for eight performances at McCaw Hall.

Gluck (1714-1787), whose music influenced such titans as Mozart and Wagner, reshaped the opera of his time, cutting the frills to tell stories in a more direct and straightforward way. “Iphigenia,” based on a classic Greek drama by Euripides, is such a story.

Agamemnon’s eldest daughter is saved by the goddess Diana from death at her father’s hands. A priestess held against her will in Tauris, Iphigenia is commanded to kill two Greeks who have been captured. She discovers that one is her brother and saves both their lives and returns with them to Greece.

In its first-ever collaboration with The Met, Seattle has pulled out all the stops, assembling the award-winning team behind its acclaimed “Ring” production: director Stephen Wadsworth, set designer Thomas Lynch and costume designer Martin Pakledinaz. After its Seattle run, the opera heads for New York, where it opens in November.

The set is a soaring Grecian temple with a huge statue of Diana. “It’s a very handsome production,” said Robert Schaub, technical and facilities director for Seattle Opera. Schaub, a 17-year veteran of Seattle Opera, oversaw the construction at the company’s Renton shop.

Seattle has done co-productions before, but working with The Met is a step up. The Met is so big that it presents operas in repertory, meaning several productions can be running simultaneously. Few companies can manage that.

“They have vast resources, built around their needs,” Schaub said. “I am impressed by how hard they have to work. It’s almost like a military operation, working 24 hours a day.”

Seattle’s McCaw Hall and The Met are two different venues with differences in stage size, weight capacities of the rigging systems, stage machinery and so forth. All that had to be considered in the design and construction of the sets and the staging.

The Met wanted a technical trial run in the opera in May, and Seattle complied, filling five 53-foot semi-trailers with scenery for the long haul to Manhattan, then back to Seattle for Saturday night’s opening.

It’s no longer enough to have great music and singers. Modern opera audiences also want eye-popping productions with innovative staging and special effects, and Seattle has met with the challenge with a long run of impressive productions.

Nowhere is that more on view that in the company’s Seattle acclaimed productions of Wagner’s “Ring” cycle. Working on the “Ring” (which is scheduled to return in 2009) has been a highlight of Schaub’s tenure at Seattle Opera.

But every production is an opportunity to advance the technology and refine techniques. “We try to make it better in every way,” Schaub added.

Preview

“Iphigenia in Tauris”: Seattle Opera premiere of the Christoph Gluck opera in a new co-production with New York’s Metropolitan Opera, opening Saturday night at McCaw Hall, Seattle Center. Eight performances through Oct. 27.

The cast: Nuccia Focile, alternating with Marie Plette, singing Iphigenia. Brett Polegato, William Burden, Phillip Joll, Michele Losier, David Adam Moore, Ani Maldjian, Leena Chopra. Gary Thor Wedow conducts.

Sung in French with English subtitles. Approximate running time, 2 hours and 30 minutes including one intermission. Tickets: $25 to $162, 206-389-7676, 800-426-1619, www.seattleopera.org.

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