Michael Hendrick … credible in the role of Aeneas, thanks to the spirit of the editing, argued, despite being ill, the demands of the score.
What a fool, this Aeneas! Unable to take his own destiny into his own hands, like a self-respecting hero. It could never be played by Vin Diesel in the cinema, unless the script was changed. So, he would have to pierce the horse’s belly, kill all the Greeks, kidnap his beloved to a paradisiacal beach, or become the boss of Carthage. None of that. He lives on the run, at the mercy of fires, winds, tides and storms.
With the fixed idea of founding Rome and ending up being, in the end, responsible for the existence of Benedict 16.
Escape from burning Troy, sail blindly, stumble upon a smiling kingdom [Carthage], full of beautiful women with a queen who is the most beautiful of them all.
Talk goes on, talk comes, Dido, the queen, falls in love, wants to get married and have children. Aeneas scratches his head, says well, you see, I don’t think it’s going to work, I have to go and found Rome, the gods ordered it and that’s it.
Dido, furious, burns all the gifts they had exchanged and kills herself. Aeneas escapes, with the mysterious little voice whispering in his ear: “Italy! Italy!”
Virgil, the Roman poet, wrote an epic poem about it [“Aeneid”], and Berlioz wrote an opera, not only epic, but also deranged in his megalomania. Hundreds of interpreters; the fall of Troy represented on stage; five and a half hours of show.
While São Paulo and Rio, in terms of opera, are going through a hell of a drought, the Amazonas Festival, in Manaus, is healthily crazy to mount this super production.
Quantities
Tackling the production of Berlioz’s “The Trojans” is a feat, and it’s a miracle that it was completely successful. Intense, it leaves the audience mesmerized, without a minute of boredom. Caetano Vilela was responsible for the production full of happy inventions, very powerful in dramatic moments. Without denaturing anything, without carnivalizing, he infiltrated orixás into this world of classical antiquity full of prophecies and spells.
He introduced capoeira, which in itself has an Apollonian spirit in its regulated demand for balance. The scenarist, Renato Rebouças, invented a wonderful Trojan horse. Perhaps there was just a little lack of attention to the lyricism of certain scenes, like the one that takes place in Dido’s gardens. But it is the least of it, compared to the total result, carried forward thanks to the unusual scenic intelligence.
Masks
Berlioz’s writing puts his singers to the test. In this “Os Troianos” from Manaus, everyone was worthy of the great composer. It’s unfair to name just a few, but come on: Brazilians Luiza Francesconi, fragile Dido, and Sávio Sperandio, imperious Narbal [Dido’s minister].
Marquita Lister, American, formidable Cassandra [Trojan princess]. Michael Hendrick, another American, with an ungrateful physique, but credible in the role of Aeneas thanks to the spirit of the editing, maintained, despite being ill, the demands of the score.
With them, the beauty of this superb, truly incomparable music became evident. She drew viewers into the passions, pleasures and suffering of the noble and tormented humanity that she brings to life.
Pillars
It is a joy to listen to the Amazonas Filarmônica [orchestra], with its warm and precise sounds. Laurent Campellone, the conductor and director of the Saint-Étienne opera house in France, unfurled the long musical tapestry, interested in every detail and the drive of the ensemble. Splendid choirs – wonderful moment in which the Trojan women beg Cybele to save them from the Greeks. Enthusiastic and lively dance group. Berlioz revived, magnificently, in Manaus.