Dr. Crawford H. Greenewalt, Jr., the late field director ofthe Harvard excavation, commissioned the opera to commemorate the 50th anniversary ofthe Sardis excavations, which took place in what is now western Turkey. Theexcavations revealed stunning mosaics, including some that depicted themythical contest of Pan and Apollo.
Judgment of Midas was developed inAmerican Opera Projects’ “First Chance” program, which provides first-timehearings of new works before a live audience. AOP offers several programs tofoster new opera, but “First Chance” is at its core.
MiriamSeidel’s original English libretto is based on the myth of the musical battlebetween Pan and Apollo as told in Ovid’s Metamorphoses.There is a twist added to the myth: Seidel interweaves the story of Theo andFranny, a modern American couple, with that of Ovid’s Pan and Apollo. Theo is aserious concert music composer, and Franny is into pop music and culture. Thetwo lovers travel to Sardis and fall back in time to experience the mythicalbattle.
The opera is scored for more than 20instrumentalists (including musicians flying in from Turkey), six soloists andan eight-member choir provided by Milwaukee Opera Theatre. The soloists are MattDiBattista (Midas), Abigail Fischer (Franny), Gregory Gerbrandt (Theo),Jennifer Goltz (Pan), Philip Horst (Apollo) and Mikhail Svetlov (Timolous).
Midas promises to showcase Ince’s diversecompositional talents, which include a kaleidoscopic palette of world, ethnic,popular, folk and concert music. These varied colors explode into a battle ofmusical aesthetics, with Pan’s raucous street music raging against the orderedart music of Apollo. The opera addresses the question, “Which music is better,mine or yours?” Through wild-versus-reason battles, and the judgments of Mount Timolousand King Midas, we are transported and left with the responsibility to decidefor ourselves whether there is such a thing as better music.
When askedabout the opera, Ince said he hopes it will show that “it is not about what you listen to, but how you listen to it.”
Midas tops the list as Present Music’s most expansiveproject in its innovative 26-year history. “It has been thrilling to watch thisproject develop over the last 10 years,” says PM Artistic Director KevinStalheim. “This opera has several dimensions: From the contest between the gods,to a love story between two people struggling to understand their differences. Judgment of Midas inspires us to hearand listen in new ways.”
Of themany pre-concert events offered, the lecture “Unearthing the Muse: TheArchaeology that Inspired an Opera” willbe offered on Thursday, April 11 at 6:30 p.m. in the American GeographicalSociety Library at UWM’s Golda Meir Library, 3rd floor, 2311 E. Hartford Ave.
Judgment of Midas is presented inpartnership with Peck School of the Arts’ “Year of the Arts.” Performances takeplace at the Helene Zelazo Center for the Arts, 2419 E. Kenwood Blvd., at 7:30p.m., April 12-13. A pre-concert talk begins at 6:45 p.m. For tickets, visitpresentmusic.org or call 414-271-0711 (ext. 5).
