The French Composer Jean Crassus and the Greek Myth of Polyphemus: A Story of Love and War

“The French composer Jean Crassus (1879-1932), a warship captain, wrote his version of the Greek myth of Polyphemus during the First World War. While the music vibrates with wonderful impressionistic harmonies and melodies, the plot of the opera is defined by the unrequited love of the robust Cyclops for the young, fragile Galatea, ” emphasizes Viesturs Gailis, the musical director of the production.

Any myth takes us back to the time when everything was created. It contains the cause and purpose of the existence of things, providing the opportunity to return to it, restore it, repeat it in today’s reality. Viesturs Gailis and Ināra Slucka, the creators of the new production of Polyphemus, emphasize in their message that the version of Jean Kras’s opera created by the opera studio Figaro cannot be viewed outside the current context, outside the current situation in the world.

The mythological son of Poseidon, Polyphemus, whose name in Greek means “filled with songs and legends”, has had different interpretations in the sources of different eras: Homer in the odyssey he is depicted as a wild giant, a man-eater, but in the works of later authors he is described as both a successful lover and a musician. In the poetic drama of the French writer Albert Samin (1858–1900), which inspired the opera Polyphemus composer, the title character is a robust yet affectionate forest giant who desperately craves love in loneliness. Opera studios Figaro in the play Polyphemus is not violent. He is responsible, he has defended his land, his love, but the war has transformed him physically and mentally after its terrible face. The starting point for what is happening in the opera – the main character has returned from the war with physical and mental injuries, and his only reason to live is his love for Galatea.

The new production version of the opera with the libretto by Albērs Samēns was created by a team of professionals: director Ināra Slucka, scenographer Aigars Ozoliņš, costume designer Evija Dāboliņa, conductor Artūrs Gailis, concertmaster Inguna Puriņa and artistic director Viesturs Gailis. Cast: Rihards Millers or Artis Muižnieks (Polyphemus), Laura Kancāne or Paula Mihailova (Galateja), Liāna Muižniece (Līkasa), Andris Kipļuks or Dainis Kalnačs (Akids), as well as students of the Riga Cathedral Choir School Jāzeps Kehris and Jurďs Pudulis.

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2023-11-02 15:25:03
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