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Concert Studies Recurrence of Scorned Women in Opera

by Christina Morgan

A woman scorned can be a very dangerous thing. Tuesday night's production "SCORN, Baroque Opera Scenes on the Subject of the Scorned Woman," reinforced this idea. The program was directed by Lydia Steier (OC '00), musically directed by Michael Sponseller (OC '00) and performed by senior voice majors.

The performance opened with Act III scene iii, iv of Marc-Antoine Charpentier's Médée , in which the heroine Médée laments the impending marriage of her lover Jason to another woman. Médée, performed by Rhiannon Giddens, flew into a rage and remarked "Withdraw! Your eyes will not be able to bear the horror I shall wreak here," as the scene ended leaving violent images of a "woman scorned."

In Act II scene x of Handel's Ariodante, the heroine Ginevra suffers hallucinations due to the suicide of her betrothed. The third piece performed, the final scene of Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas saw Dido, the Queen of Carthage, take her own life on account of a broken heart.

Jean-Philippe Rameau's character Phaedra, performed by mezzo-soprano senior Lauren Harrison, epitomized the evening's theme. Upon realizing that the object of her affections, her stepson Hippolytus, is commited solely to his lover Aricia, Queen Phaedra vows revenge. "She has been able to greatly please you: She will lose the day. Can I too ardently sacrifice my rival?" said Rameau's character as the scene ended.

The set consisted only of several black boxes and each of the performers dressed completely in black. The lighting was also very simple, allowing the audience to focus on the music and expressions of the performers.

All six scenes were handled extremely well vocally. One of the evening's main highlights, however, came during a purely instrumental section of the program. Sponseller's performance of Joseph-Nicholas-Pancrace Royer's La Marche de Scythes mesmerized the audience into a dizzying trance, leaving many shouting in admiration upon his completion. The performance demonstrated Sponseller's mastery of the harpsichord and added a beautiful touch to the program. Instrumentalists Conservatory senior Emily Folwer (baroque violin), Cnservatory graduate-student Heidi Powell (baroque violin) and Conservatory junior Nika Zlataric, (baroque cello) also enhanced the production.

After five scenes of dramatic presentations of opera's famed scorned women, the evening ended on a rather light note. The final scene, Act I scene iii of Rameau's Platée, told the tale of Platea, a homely water nymph. While everyone else was aware of Platea's sub-par looks, she herself was taken by her own beauty. Platea is scored for the part of male tenor and was performed senior Peter Tantsits. Tantsits donned a flaming neon-green dress, blonde wig and three-inch heels during the scene in which his character attempted to seduce another man. Needless to say, Tantsits' appearance spread many chuckles throughout the audience.

"SCORN: Baroque Opera Scenes on the Subject of the Scorned Woman" was submitted for inclusion into the annual meeting of the American Musicological Society in Toronto, and was invited. The production is currently performing in Toronto this weekend.

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Copyright © 2000, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 129, Number 7, November 3, 2000

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