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Arts / Toby’s Herculean, brave new opera

Mezzo-soprano Christina Wilson as Dejanira. Photo by Peter Hislop
Mezzo-soprano Christina Wilson as Dejanira. Photo by Peter Hislop
IS George Frideric Handel’s 1745 musical drama “Hercules” an opera?

Artistic director of Canberra Choral Society Tobias Cole, the brains behind its coming production of “Hercules”, says it is.

“Handel called it an oratorio to please the punters,” Cole tells “CityNews”.

“It’s narrative-driven, so I’m calling it an opera.”

Besides, the great Handel expert Winton Dean said it was without doubt an opera, so why not?

“We’ll have fabulous visuals, 1970s costumes, great lighting, and drapes at the back, and we’re having three staging rehearsals, which is three more than last year so we can confidently say it’s ‘semi-staged’,” says Cole.

The normally sweet-tempered Cole is in a fighting mood and asks: “Do you not think the capital of Australia deserves an opera company?” While now he’s making do with Pozible crowd-funding, he’d really like artsACT funding for a full week of stage rehearsals in future.

He may be cross, but he’s not an out-of-touch music snob. He and the conductor of “Hercules”, Brett Weymark, have been in London checking out the theatre. Cole couldn’t resist seeing the choirs at Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s, but he also caught “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” play, “Treasure Island” and “Sweeney Todd”. Theatre tragic Weymark sometimes went to two shows a day.

“Hercules” will be in the Playhouse, where his last Handel works have been staged. Cole believes it’s “a fabulous space” with intimacy for the audience and clarity of sound without reverb that means the audience actually knows what’s going on.

This Hercules story is based on Sophocles’ “Women of Trachis” and is more about his wife, Dejanira, who goes mad and unintentionally causes his death.

Mezzo-soprano Christina Wilson plays Dejanira, who spends much of the opera lambasting her husband for supposed infidelity and the rest in a frenzy that climaxes in a mad scene to die for.

Greek-style, the title character’s death happens offstage, announced by Cole’s character, Lichas the Herald. But then there’s an exciting re-enactment of the hero’s suffering, sung in recitative to an unusual orchestral backing.

Christopher Richardson, the bass baritone who sang Ptolemy last year in “Alexander Balus”, will sing the not-very heroic Hercules, while Melbourne soprano Janet Todd plays the princess role; up-and-coming Melbourne tenor Jacob Lawrence plays Hyllus, the son of Hercules, all supported by Canberra Choral Society Chorus and Baroque Ensemble. Canberra singer Andrew Fysh provides a quasi-religious happy ending when, as Jupiter, he sends Hercules to the top of Mt Oeta to become a divine protector.

“Hercules”, The Playhouse, Saturday, May 30, bookings to canberratheatrecentre.com.au or 6275 2700. Donations to pozible.com/Hercules

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Helen Musa

Helen Musa

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