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| Michael Honeyman (centre) King Roger and Lorna Gore (far left) Roxanna |
This is the first time the Australian Opera has performed a Polish opera and none is more fitting than Karol Szymanowski's King Roger. Often described as rich and strange, in three Acts the Opera traces the enlightenment of Christian King Roger by a young shepherd who represents pagan principles and a devotion to hedonism. The underlying theme which Symanowski is exploring is the transformative impact of beauty on cultural orthodoxy for the shepherd's message is both enticing and destructive.
In terms of a synopsis: In Act I the Archbishop and the Deaconess demand that King Roger punish a new self-proclaimed prophet who is preaching a new, strange faith. Others call for the Shepherd's execution for blasphemy. Queen Roxanna urges to the King to summon the Shepherd to explain himself for she is drawn to his preaching of freedom, pleasure and love. In Act II the Shepherd arrives and describes his philosophy and faith of pleasure unleashing an orgiastic dance which seduces the citizens into ecstasy. In Act III the Shepherd is now in power and King Roger is on trial and wanders amongst the ruins. As night falls, the Shepherd then reappears and reveals his true identity as the god of pure pleasure and demands that all should follow him blindly. Roger resists and as dawn breaks he feels hopeful to build a new life and escape the Shepherd.
Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937) is widely accepted as Poland's greatest composer since Chopin and it is often thought that King Roger is actually a representation of himself, a suggestion which he never contradicted. The Opera is a synthesis of different musical forms drawn from varied cultural contexts including the Mediterranean and North Africa which Szymanowski experienced as he travelled across these regions.
The set design is imaginative and multifunctional with an enormous bust of Roger's head on stage which revolves revealing a split-level internal set design of Roger's palace apartments inside. Superb stage lighting also creates the impression that the eyes of the great head follow the cast as they move.
The capable key performers for this production were:
King Roger's theme and message still resonates in the current era as much as it did in the early 20th Century.In terms of a synopsis: In Act I the Archbishop and the Deaconess demand that King Roger punish a new self-proclaimed prophet who is preaching a new, strange faith. Others call for the Shepherd's execution for blasphemy. Queen Roxanna urges to the King to summon the Shepherd to explain himself for she is drawn to his preaching of freedom, pleasure and love. In Act II the Shepherd arrives and describes his philosophy and faith of pleasure unleashing an orgiastic dance which seduces the citizens into ecstasy. In Act III the Shepherd is now in power and King Roger is on trial and wanders amongst the ruins. As night falls, the Shepherd then reappears and reveals his true identity as the god of pure pleasure and demands that all should follow him blindly. Roger resists and as dawn breaks he feels hopeful to build a new life and escape the Shepherd.
Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937) is widely accepted as Poland's greatest composer since Chopin and it is often thought that King Roger is actually a representation of himself, a suggestion which he never contradicted. The Opera is a synthesis of different musical forms drawn from varied cultural contexts including the Mediterranean and North Africa which Szymanowski experienced as he travelled across these regions.
The set design is imaginative and multifunctional with an enormous bust of Roger's head on stage which revolves revealing a split-level internal set design of Roger's palace apartments inside. Superb stage lighting also creates the impression that the eyes of the great head follow the cast as they move.
The capable key performers for this production were:
- Michael Honeyman as King Roger
- Lorna Gore as Roxanna
- Saimir Pirgu as The Shepherd
- James Egglestone as Edrisi
- Dominica Mathews as the Deaconess
- Gennadi Dubinsky as ther Archbishop
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