Last night I went to the Seattle opera and experienced the German play Ariadne Auf Naxos. Roughly conducted around the same time as the release of Proust’s ideas and novel In Search Of Lost Time at the turn of the 20th century, writers Richard Strauss and Hugo Von Hofmannstahl fashioned a score and opera which transcends normality and tradition much like the few examples of early 20th century expression we have experienced by occupying multiple emotions and plots into a single performance. Tragedy meets comedy, myth meets fact, and the present conjoins with the past. Moreover, what is captivating about the act is the Proustian, self reflective and at times – debilitating mindset that is so well preserved and dictated.
At the very forefront despite all the other aforementioned realms occupied however, are the series of transformations experienced by virtually all characters and furthermore are depicted as the emotional extremes which lay in all of us similar in delivery like Proust’s narrator. Over-emphasized dramatic detail is the pinnacle of this opera and seemingly of the times which proust, Strauss, and Von Hofmannstahl were living in during 1915.
The synopsis is composed predominantly in two parts which is divided into two equal acts; the first being a brief 40 minute opera about a contemporary wealthy man displaying his prestige by presenting an piece about the mythology of the abandonment of Ariadne by Theseus on the Greek island of Naxos and the eventual arrival of Bacchius – proving his godhead. One major stipulation however, is the time constraints the firework show at 9pm sharp holds on the evening therefore the realms of both comedy and tragedy will happen simultaneously together.
One century ago this idea was quite revolutionary to how opera was viewed and presented and at first sparked great controversy but turned into a masterpiece relatively quickly. Its intentions were to convert the preconceptions of the operatic experience into a chaotic, and at times what seems bipolar representation of reality such as the unpredictability of events in our lives which transforms our personalities. Lyrically, transformation is represented literally countless times and the overall perception of it lies with the dangers of stagnancy and that death comes early to those who don’t move on both figuratively and quite physically.
Between the lines of this play are radical challenges to the contemporary society – and to ours. Depictions of drama versus comedy can be seen as the emerging contrast of “high art and “low art” – otherwise known as the contrast between the formal, sophisticated notions of exquisite taste or beauty compared to notions of sophomoric, generic, or otherwise “common” art such as comic strips etc.
By incorporating disruptive clowns . comedic gestures paired with elegance and exaggerated dramatic emotions conjures a disorderly, exhausting performance. As the world was greatly transitioning into what many thought was dangerous, depressing, potentially dull, or confusing, opera and artistic expression refused to remain stagnant with the archaic traditions the world has seemed to leave behind.
Obsession is all too reoccurring like in Proust, and conveys the same feelings of attachment and desire as a force of immobility, and an eventual decay of the soul as we see with M. Swann, the narrator, and others. Although the nature of the play is extremes of both frantic and collective, a feeling of familiarity and reassurance came over me as it reminded me that life is always unfinished, and unpredictable. The expression of self is only as current as we are and can be carried away on a shopping cart full of wine like Bacchius rescuing Ariadne from her captive: herself, transforming her sorrow for Theseus into a rebirth of joy.