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"Medea" would be the ideal title of Haendel's third opera house in London. To understand the witch's motives, Handel and his librettist Nicola Francesco Haym embarked on five acts in "Teseo", their tragic drama based on French models – as a solitary piece in the composer's work. They recount this part of Medea's life in which she has already left Jason and her children and falls in love with the very young Teseo / Theseus, but loses it in favor of Agilea.
No self-control, but as if pushed from within, desperate, dominated by their own power, Haendel and Haym wanted to show Medea. This succeeded in the first version only conditionally, because some strands were incomprehensible by deletions. The new production of the Theater an der Wien solves this problem: the music director, René Jacobs, used a copy of Handel's missing autograph to piece together previously canceled recitals and reconstruct missing pbadages from the original libretto in the style of Handel. He moved tunes and duets in places where they seemed more coherent, caressing tunes, which only served to show the vocal qualities of the protagonists. In part, he even added short parts of other operas by Handel.
A drama of soul in the 1940s
This version of "Teseo" is focused on the drama of the soul, to which filmmakers Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier are interested in the first place. They settled "Teseo" in the forties of the twentieth century, the palace of Egeo, actually king of Athens, looks like a military hospital. War disabled people are accompanied accompanied or pushed on a stretcher across the stage. You hear detonations. In this context, Agilea worries about his beloved Teseo, who supports his adoptive father, Egeo, in the fight against enemy troops. She is the counterpart of the powerful Medea, who is introduced in dress and fur coat in the second act.
Right now, it's clear: a lot of things are contradictory. Although Medea sings "dolce riposo" (sweet tranquility), her gaze is, though penetrating, suffering. Leiser and Caurier explain the intention of Haendel and Haym: this Medea is afraid of his own power, she fears what could happen to her hand if she became in love again. Presented here by Jacobs Familiar Fedra supports Medea's understanding. The fact that she gives him an injection and that Medea, later, repeatedly attacks with alcohol, seems a lack, as well as the scene in which Medea, overwhelmed by its power to float, is raised on the floor by some ropes. In a homogeneous setting, these scenes, which deal with the magic of Medea, constitute a foreign body. Huge fingers reach Agilea, wolf-like beasts are rushed to Teseo, armchairs and curtains are magically displaced. Leiser and Caurier transmit with much greater force the overwhelming power of Medea. The actress Gaëlle Arquez is formally depressed.
Arquez succeeds like a triumph Medea. From the beginning, she's scared presence. His punchy and very large mezzo, as well as his multi-layered demonic portrait, lasted all evening. Husband Eriksmoen as Agilea is going through a difficult time – not always deserved, as both singers must run a marathon. But Eriksmoen can not match the volume and the presence of Arquez.
The evil after the happy ending
Lena Belkina stays far behind Teseo, who is discreet and often weak. Benno Schachtner as Arcane and Robin Johannsen as Clizia give the equivalent of Teseo and Agilea, though they are obsolete, but the voice remains upright. Soula Parbadidis as Fedra legitimizes the reintroduction of Jacobs of this figure. The choral parts, as usually sung by the Arnold Schoenberg choir, were improved by Jacobs. As expected, he is himself on the podium of the Berlin Academy of Early Music, an example of the new version created by him.
Christophe Dumaux as a king likes in his role not too big, but difficult as a visibly weakened king. Already his first air, in which he gives an account of the victory of his troops, he has nothing to rejoice, but to end in suffering. In the end, as Medea arrives with her intrigues and leaves the castle, she shows her apathy during the celebration. And indeed: Medea recently escaped revenge and throws a grenade into the stomach. Strong Tobak with a strong actress who has been celebrated by the public.
("Die Presse", printed edition, 16.11.2018)
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