Ariadne on Naxos (1991)

The Background

The wealthiest man in the big city has engaged a large number of artists to provide entertainment for a dinner party he is giving. To impress his guests, he has even commissioned a new opera which will receive its world premiere that very evening in the theater which lies within his vast mansion. This new opera, Ariadne on Naxos, will share the evening with a vaudeville show, Zerbinetta and Her Fickle Lovers, and a magnificent display of fireworks.

THE PROLOGUE

The action takes place in the backstage area of the theater not long before the entertainment is to begin. The music teacher has just discovered, to his complete surprise, that his pupil’s operatic world premiere will share the evening with a vaudeville comedy for which he himself has composed the music. Embarrassed and certain that his sensitive student will fly into a rage, he protests. He is reminded by the management that a contract is a contract and that things will proceed solely at management’s discretion.

As members of the opera company and the vaudeville road show gradually discover their parts in this unusual “double bill,” the tensions increase: “How can we be expected to share the stage with such cheap performers?” complain the opera people. “Opera is so boring. The audience will be asleep by the time we go on!” counter the vaudevillians. “You’ve sold out on me!” cries the young composer to his older teacher.

At the peak of these arguments, the management re-enters to announce a change in program. In order for the fireworks display to begin promptly at 9:00 PM, the vaudeville and the opera will have to be performed simultaneously. The details are left to the artists. The performance begins in five minutes. All contracts are expected to be fulfilled.

THE PERFORMANCE

The world premiere of Ariadne on Naxos begins. Tension is high backstage. None of the artists has ever participated in a performance like this. The opera singers have received last-minute cuts and the vaudevillians, though accustomed to improvisation, don’t quite know when to jump in and do their show.

They read the synopsis in the program:
Ariadne, having abandoned her native Crete by eloping with Theseus, finds herself on the island of Naxos, deserted by her lover. Driven to the depths of despair, she seeks transcendence into the realm of death and awaits its messenger for her deliverance.

Bacchus, having barely escaped a very different type of transformation at the hands of the sorceress Circe, arrives on the island. He is delirious and confused after Circe’s attempts to transform him by means of a magic potion into a swine. Only because he is half-god has he escaped the fate to which his fellow shipmates succumbed.

They finally meet, she believing him to be the messenger of death, he seeing in her the enchanting sorceress, and both seeking transcendence beyond their painful realities. In this, they succeed as, in each other’s arms, they leave an existence of loneliness and despair which is the island of Naxos.

As the performance proceeds, this most unusual artistic marriage results in a strange experience for all the artists involved.

THE MYTHS

Ariadne was the daughter of Minos, King of Crete. She had fallen in love with Theseus, a young warrior from Athens, to whom Minos gave the formidable task of entering the labyrinth and slaying the deadly Minotaur. Ariadne helped him to accomplish this deed and subsequently enabled Theseus and his men to escape Crete. For her reward in thus aiding the Athenians, she asked only that Theseus should take her away with him. This he did but shortly thereafter he abandoned her on the island of Naxos.

Dionysius (generally known by his Thracian name, Bacchus) was the offspring of the god Zeus and the mortal Semele, daughter of King Cadmus of Thebes. Unwisely, she was persuaded to beg repeatedly for a glimpse of the god in his divine form. Worn out by her importunity, Zeus ultimately complied, with the consequence that she was consumed by the fiery spectacle. The child in her womb was, however, saved from the ashes by the god who nursed it within his own thigh until ready for birth. Young Bacchus was then raised by nymphs. The abandoned Ariadne was discovered on the island of Naxos by the demi-god Bacchus who carried her off, married her and over the years had a large brood of children by her. As a rather touching gesture of affection and admiration, he set her coronet (which Theseus had given her) among the stars, where it is known as the Corona Borealis.

April 15. The Courtyard of Musette’s Apartment.

Musette has been evicted; she has been living with a rich banker who is disgusted at her affair with Marcello and has stopped paying her rent. M. Durand, the concierge, is piling her belongings outside in the courtyard. She is distressed when she remembers that she has invited guests to a party that night; but the Bohemians urge her to go ahead and have it in the open air. Viscount Paolo, a rich friend of Barbemuche, tempts Mimi to leave Rodolfo and run away with him; when the party is in full swing and the Bohemians are doing battle with the tenants in the neighborhood who are trying to sleep, Mimi and the Viscount slip away.

October. Marcello’s Attic

Schaunard has broken off his relationship with Eufemia, and Rodolfo is heartbroken at the faithlessness of Mimi. Musette, who has been living with Marcello, decides she can no longer bear the hunger and deprivation of Bohemian life; when he leaves on an errand with Schaunard, she writes him a farewell letter.

Suddenly, Mimi appears; she wants to return to Rodolfo. Musette insists that if she does so, she faces a life of poverty and hunger. Mimi withdraws as Marcello returns with Musette’s letter in hand; he and Musette acknowledge their love, but he soon sees that she is resolute in her determination to leave him. He is enraged and accuses her of infidelity. When he discovers Mimi hiding, he assumes that she has persuaded Musette to leave him, and summons Rodolfo to witness her treachery. Rodolfo refuses to believe Mimi’s passionate declarations of love for him, and in despair, she leaves with Musette.

Christmas Eve. Rodolfo’s Attic.

Schaunard, Marcello, and Rodolfo are sharing a bleak Christmas, haunted by memories of happier times. Marcello has invited Musette to return just for a day, but so far, he has heard nothing. Mimi appears, sick and exhausted.

She has been abandoned by her lover, and although she is dying, she has been discharged from the hospital since she is unable to pay the bill. The Bohemians desperately try to save her; Musette arrives at last and gives them her jewelry to pay for medicine and a doctor, but it is too late.