
Ermione 2000
Passions run high…
…among survivors of the Trojan War. , and Rossini puts them to good use to fuel flights of vocal pyrotechnics. Take Ermione. Never take a jealous woman at her word, at least not in grand opera. She’ll have the last aria!
Synopsis
Act I
Ten years of war are at end. Troy lies in ruins. The Greeks, led by Agamemnon, have returned triumphant though exhausted. They have lost many of their greatest heroes, including Achilles. In the aftermath of war, thousands of Trojans have been taken prisoner, including Andromaca, widow of Hector, and their son, Astianatte. The two are being held in the town of Epirus by Pirro, son of Achilles and ally of Greece. The Greeks, terrified that the son of a Trojan hero still lives, have already tried to execute the child, but he was saved by Pirro who, despite his engagement to the Grecian princess Ermione, loves Andromaca.
The opera opens with a rare choral overture, preempting the first scene where the captive Trojans mourn the fall of Troy. Andromaca embraces her son and rejects Attalo’s reminder that she could set him free by returning her captor’s love. As mother and son are separated, the scene shifts to Ermione’s followers, who try to distract Ermione from her terrible jealousy and anger at Pirro’s desertion. Pirro arrives and the two defiantly confront one another. Oreste, who loves Ermione deeply, arrives and Ermione rejoices that she will at last be avenged, to which Pirro replies with further defiance.
Oreste tells Pilade how he is tortured by his unrequited love for Ermione, and his friend attempts to calm him. Pirro’s court gather to hear Oreste, an important ambassador from Greece, and, as expected, he asks for Astianatte to be handed over to the Greeks. Pirro vows to make Astianatte his own heir and asks Andromaca to marry him. The chorus foretells the start of a new war, but Andromaca remains adamant that she will never marry Pirro.
Ermione meets Oreste, and the two bemoan their ill-fated loves. The chorus announces that Pirro has changed his mind and will return to Ermione. The finale grows to a climax of conflicting emotions.
Artists

Alex Penda
Soprano
Ermione

Gregory Kunde
Tenor
Pirro

Barry Banks
Tenor
Oreste

Charles Castronovo
Tenor
Pilade

Michael Krueger
Baritone
Fenicio

Sara Mingardo
Contralto
Andromaca

Richard Crawley
Tenor
Attalo

Celena Shafer
Soprano
Cefisa

Kellie Jenkins
Mezzo-soprano
Cleone

Evelino Pidò
Conductor
(July 15 - August 3)

Robert Tweten
Conductor
(August 9 - 17)

Jonathan Miller
Director

Isabella Bywater
Scenic & Costume Designer

Duane Schuler
Lighting Designer

Robert Moody
Chorusmaster