L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 26 L'Italo-Americano A fter the big success and recognition from the last years playing different operas around the Bay Area, Ars Minerva will per- form Ifigenia in A ulide on November 30 th and December 1 st at the ODC Theater in San Francisco. The opera was composed by Giovanni Porta, believed to have been born in Venice. One of the masters of early 18th century opera and one of the leading Venetian musicians, Porta made his way from Rome to Vicenza and Verona, before heading to London, where his opera Numi- tore w as performed in 1720 by G eorg F riedrich H ändel and the Royal A cademy of Music.  Iphigenia's libretto was writ- ten by Apostolo Zeno, a Venet- ian poet, librettist, journalist, and man of letters . P as s ionately devoted to the study of history, Zeno wrote libretti with histori- cal and mythological themes. The reputation of French tragedy had already begun to extend throughout Europe, and he freely availed himself of its best pro- ductions, using them as models. Among more than 30 operas which he brought to the public, some were borrowed from the French classics. Same for his lfi- genia in Aulide, borrowed from Jean Racine. Ars Minerva takes Ifigenia on stage in San Francisco, follow- ing its Executive and Artistic Director Céline Ricci's passion for classical music. The non- profit organization never misses the opportunity to remind its main mission, that of engaging new audiences in classical music through innovative productions of Baroque operas. That's also why the organization created Baroque for Kids, an outreach program for high school stu- dents, with the Italian class of the Ruth Asawa School for the Arts. We talked to Director Ricci, who will lead the opera and also join other performers on stage playing Achilles' role. Director Ricci, can you tell us more about your latest pro- ject? Ars Minerva is very excited to bring back to life Ifigenia in Aulide, an opera composed by G iovanni P orta in 1738 and never performed ever s ince. Based on Euripides' tragedy called Iphigenia in Aulis, Porta's opera dramatizes an episode dur- ing the Trojan War, when King Agamemnon is compelled to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia to the goddess Artemis, so that the Greek army may set sail for Troy. How long did it take you to put it together? We always try to work as fast as possible in order to make those recreations available to our audience. The creative work started about a year ago and it included making a modern per- forming score, translating the Italian text into Englis h for supertitles, brainstorming the concept, creating projections, and putting together costumes. The rehearsals won't start before November though. You are part of the opera itself. How does it feel to be both a singer and the Stage Director? For now, I can only say that it is and is going to be very diffi- cult. Being a performer and a director at the same time means to follow very different energies. But I am up to the challenge. Why did you decide to play Achille? In this opera, the role of Achilles is the only one I can sing. In fact, I believe that the vocal range is good for my voice. This role has been origi- nally created by castrato Loren- zo Ghirardi, back in the late 1700s. The role allowed us to imagine a very long, agile, and perfectly mastered voice. With- out access to a legendary status, G hirardi w as undoubtedly a solid singer of his time, and the traces that remain of his reper- toire are very seductive. He sang in Antonio Vivaldi's Catone in U tica, Leonardo Leo's L'Olimpiade, Baldassare Galup- pi's L'Antigona, Niccolò Jom- melli's A ttilia among other roles. How is this different from any other operas you took on stage? The previous operas Ars Min- erva has recreated were from the 17 th century. For those who don't know or remember, we took La Cleopatra, Le Amazzoni nelle Isole Fortunate, and La Circe on stage in the last few years. The style of Porta's Iphi- genia, instead, is firmly located in the newer musical language of the eighteenth century. Unlike Venetian operas from the previ- ous century, there is always an absolute and unmistakable divi- sion between recitative and aria. Arias are invariably da capo, meaning their form is ABA. The music dramatically expresses not only the words themselves, but also the strong emotions behind them. It is different from the operas w e have recreated because this is not a tragicome- dy, it represents what is called an opera seria. Per Director Ricci's, Iphige- nia is a woman who is sacrificed in order to guarantee the success of an army of men, and therefore it's a metaphor of how all women sometimes have been sacrificing their lives, careers, and ambitions over the centuries. It is an old and recurrent theme because, after all, history tends to repeat. That's why we also asked for Director Ricci's opinion on why Euripides' work, that has had a significant influence on modern art, became source of inspiration for both antique and current pro- jects. "Not only is the version by Apostolo Zeno based on Euripi- des' play but it is also inspired by Jean Racine Iphigénie en Aulide," she explains. "Out of more than thirty operas which he brought to the public, some were borrowed from the French clas- sics. His libretto of Ifigenia in Aulide was very popular and many composers set it into an opera like, for instance, Antonio Caldara, Giuseppe Maria Orlan- dini, Giovanni Porta, Nicola Por- pora, Girolamo Abos, Giuseppe S arti, A ngelo Tarchi, and G ius eppe G iordani. The story is not just about Agamem- non, Achilles or Iphigenia per se – but also concerns the institu- tionalization of military victory and masculine honor over all else." Ars Minerva is based in San Francisco but it aims to involve people around the Bay and it will perform also in Berkeley. Why is it important to show this work to both audiences , w e as ked. "There is some cultural and his- torical preservation reasons," D irector Ricci highlights . "Nowadays, most major opera houses, ensembles, and orches- tras tend to play a 19 th -century- dominated standard repertoire. As a consequence, the audience's experience of classical music can be repetitive and beautiful music from our past remains unplayed and unheard. Part of our operatic heritage remains hidden from audiences and artists. Also, we want people to be able to discov- er an additional version of this Greek tragedy, which is always an interesting process. Neverthe- less, there are so many great Bay Area artists, that is worthy to watch and listen to. How does your 2019 look like? "There are interesting projects still in discussion," Director Ricci concludes. "We are a small organization and, for this reason, it is not always easy to be able to plan in advance, but we will announce what we are preparing pretty soon." The Ifigenia in Aulide opera will play on November 30th and December 1st at 7.30pm - Semi- Staged Performances at the ODC Theater (3153 17St, San Francis- co) and, on November 9th at 8pm, for an abridged Concert Version at the First Congrega- tional Church in Berkeley. Tick- ets for sale on ODC theatre web- site. SERENA PERFETTO Ifigenia in Aulide, by Giovanni Porta is the first opera seria bought to the stage by Ars Minerva Photo by Teresa Tam Director Céline Ricci brings forgotten music back to life with the new Fall production Ifigenia in Aulide SAN FRANCISCO ITALIAN COMMUNITY

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