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Vicente I. Sánchez | @Snchez1Godotx
It is interesting how some works that were complete failures in their time gain strength and meaning when seen from a contemporary perspective. Such is the case of Theodoraby Georg Friedrich Händel, an oratorio premiered on March 16, 1750 at Covent Garden in London, which only had three performances due to its cold initial reception. This failure was attributed in part to the complexity of its protagonist: a Christian martyr, ahead of her time, executed in Antioch during Diocletian’s persecutions. Curiously, Händel always considered this work, with a libretto by Thomas Morell, as one of his most significant creations.
Theodora has arrived at the Teatro Real in Madrid under the musical direction of Ivor Bolton and with a staging by the British Katie Mitchell. This production features an all-star cast, including Joyce DiDonato, Julia Bullock and Iestyn Davies. After performing at the Royal Opera House in 2022, this baroque gem can now be enjoyed in Madrid until November 23.
Based on the story of a Christian martyr who died defending her faith and, in a way, rebelling against the male authority of her time, Mitchell has reinterpreted Theodora in a provocative and current way. The action takes place in a dark contemporary embassy, inhabited by gangsters, prostitutes and martyrs who coexist in a fragile balance, always on the verge of exploding into violence. In this version, Theodora He becomes an active and modern figure, who leaves behind the resignation of traditional martyrs to adopt an empowered and combative stance. Julia Bullock plays a determined and fierce woman, ready to shoot if she feels threatened.
Here lies the most provocative aspect of this version: the Christian martyr becomes a guerrilla willing to do anything. Something that was not, by any means, present in Händel’s original vision, whose objective was to explore Theodora’s faith through the beauty of baroque music, with choirs that invited spiritual and emotional reflection. This spiritual depth is maintained under the direction of Ivor Bolton, an expert in baroque music who knows how to highlight the richness of Handel’s score, and also has a first-rate cast, led by the brilliant Julia Bullock. Without a doubt, the beauty of baroque music permeates every second of the work.
However, in this staging there is a profound dissociation between form and content: Theodora It transforms into something totally different. On numerous occasions, the libretto and the stage action seem to follow separate paths, especially in the shocking ending, which gives a radical turn to the meaning of the work. Added to this is a provocative scenography, which includes a brothel with pole dancing bars and an atmosphere where religious fervor feels distant. For the sex and explicit dance scenes, the Teatro Real has had Ita O’Brien as intimacy coordinator.
Theodora It is, without a doubt, one of those productions that elevate the art of opera, uniting talent and creativity. This can be seen in the direction of Katie Mitchell and the set design by Chloe Lamford, who present a mobile stage that gives rise to different dark and ambiguous rooms in which the action will take place: from a kitchen and a luxurious living room to a refrigerator. sinister and a brothel. Mitchell and Lamford manage to transform this work into a totally new creation, with a modern aesthetic and cinematographic references that evoke the sustained movement of Matrixusing the story of a religious martyr to address current issues such as violence against women, social hypocrisy, terrorism and new forms of control and manipulation.
“Death to the patriarchy” could well be the motto of this work, which, 274 years after its premiere, is still surprisingly relevant.
#Theodora #death #patriarchy #Teatro #Real
