Fairytale operas end so happily—Cinderella gets to marry the prince, Mythical figures on the other hand usually end up in a bloody grusesome death scene.
We know from the news that while Cinderella might have gone off to be a princess, that is far from the happy ending for real life princesses! But what to be made of the mythical females, like the princess Iphigenia who gets slain so that Greek ships will to have wind for their sails to Troy.
The opera “. . . (Iphigenia)” opens to ancient sailors thundering and roaring, drinking and cavorting. One Iphigenia after another is brought on stage, and led to the altar to be slaughtered like a goat for a celebratory feast to appease the female goddess Arthmis for the slaying of her favorite deer.
How wlll this ever end? The myth spinners who go on for centuries have offered many versions in opera and paintings and movies (ione happy ending favorite is that Iphegenia is turned into a deer.)
Stop! “. . . (Iphigenia)” brings up a new possiblity - that Iphigenia can decide for herself what her fate willl be.
Composer/performer Esperzna Spalding has brought a new take to the myth, one that doesn’t end, but keeps us posed on what can be. Is that not what myth is meant to be, what we are
meant to be? With jazz luminary Wayne Shorter, she has created an opera that is everything an opera should be with both the wonder of music and of story.
This is only the beginning with one of its first performances at The Kennedy Center (Dec. 11-12, 2022). Watch for more to come!