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The Egyptian Helen 1986

July 19 - August 21, 1986

Helen of Troy’s fateful beauty lures us…

…to enchanted islands and exotic deserts for her turbulent reunion with Menelas. Steadfast love wins out over potions and trickery in Richard Strauss’ inspiring tribute to this eternal pair.

Music By
Richard Strauss
Text By
Hugo von Hofmannsthal

Synopsis

Act I

A magical island. Aithra is waiting in vain for her lover, Poseidon. Her maidservant attempts to console her with a lotus drink -the drink of forgetfulness. She refuses it.

In a vision, The Omniscient Mussel sees a ship, on board which a man tries to kill his wife. They are Helena and Menelas on their way back from Troy to Sparta. The Trojan War has just ended. Menelas sees it as his duty to the gods and his subjects to kill his wife, who has been responsible for shaming himself and their daughter.

Aithra raises a storm thus preventing the murder; she sinks the ship and Menelas and Helena are enticed to her island.

Again Menelas tries to kill Helena with his dagger. Helena assures him of her love and despite her years in Troy now wants him again as her husband and lover. Menelas cannot forgive her.

Again Aithra wants to save Helena. She calls her elves and spirits to bewitch Menelas who is already very tense and excited. The elves transform themselves into Trojan warriors. Menelas believes himself back at war. He imagines he sees Paris and rushes out to kill his wife’s lover.

Meanwhile, Aithra pacifies Helena with the lotus drink. Through magic spells Aithra makes Helena young and beautiful and puts her to sleep in her bed.

Menelas bursts in, half insane. He believes he has murdered Paris and Helena, whose vision he also saw. His revenge is complete. He is now alone and mad, a murderer, only, with a motherless shamed daughter waiting in Sparta.

Aithra, whose desire is to reconcile the couple, creates a myth, a lie: in Troy and aboard ship there was a phantom Helena. It was the phantom Helena that Menelas has just killed. The real Helena, his faithful wife, had been brought to this island ten years ago and is now waiting to greet Menelas.

Menelas hardly believes his good fortune, but Aithra drugs him and Helena and Menelas are thus brought together.

Helena is happy to have won her husband’s love again, but she does not want to risk the lie being exposed. She asks Aithra to transport them to a remote place where no one has heard of the Trojan Helena.

Aithra’s magical cloak flies the loving couple away.

The elves and spirits mock the trick. Aithra silences them.

Act II

An oasis in the desert. Helena awakes happy after her second wedding night, but the trick has not fully restored Menelas to her. When he awakes he remembers that he killed Helena; that is reality to him, while the young woman at his side is a dream. He mourns the loss of the “real” Helena.

Helena understands that the trick of the “Egyptian” Helena is not the proper way to win back his true love. It only lasts as long as the drug is effective. She curses Aithra’s potion.

Desert warriors with Altair, their leader, ride past. They all fall in love with the beautiful Helena. They all pay homage to her and swear to die to win her.

Menelas relives his experience of Troy through these scenes. Half conscious, he kills Da-Ud, a young warrior, believing him to be Paris. The haunted Menelas wishes he were dead himself. He longs for the dead Helena and wants to join her in death.

Helena rejects all suitors. She only wants one thing: to win back the love of her husband, fully and truthfully without lies or tricks. She realizes that Menelas feels bound to the Trojan Helena and is prepared to reveal the trick, even if it means risking her life.

Helena forces Aithra, against her will, to mix the drink of remembrance. Helena gives Menelas the drink which he believes to be a death potion. Instead of dying he awakes, sees his unfaithful, real Helena, grabs the dagger but lets it fall when he witnesses the true repentance and love in her eyes. He accepts Helena for herself, relinquishing pride, honor and convention. Suffering and symbolic death have brought them to a new, deeper understanding.

Altair and his warriors try to wrench them apart but Aithra calls for Poseidon’s help and Helena and Menelas are saved. Their daughter, Hermione is spirited to them and at last they come together as a true and loving family bound for a new life in Sparta.

Artists

Mildred Tyree

Soprano

Helena

Dennis Bailey

Tenor

Menelas

Sheryl Woods headshot

Sheryl Woods

Soprano

Aithra

Clarity James

Clarity James

Mezzo-soprano

The Omniscient Mussel

Michael Devlin

Michael Devlin

Bass-baritone

Altair

Glenn Siebert headshot

Glenn Siebert

Tenor

Da-Ud

Julia Davidson

Mezzo-soprano

Second Servant

Jane Munson

Soprano

First Elf

Rebecca Kwart

Soprano

Second Elf

Wendy Hoffman

Mezzo-soprano

Third Elf

Kim Kodes

Mezzo-soprano

Fourth Elf

Patricia Chamberlain

Soprano

First Servant

Genevieve White

Soprano

Hermione

Anne Christian

Dancer

Denise Oustalet

Denise Oustalet

Dancer

Katherine Warner

Dancer

Nancie Woods

Nancie Woods

Dancer

Patrick Cea

Patrick Cea

Dancer

David Christel

Dancer

James Jordan

Dancer

Michael Lott

Michael Lott

Dancer

John Crosby headshot

John Crosby

Conductor

Goran Jarvefelt headshot

Göran Järvefelt

Director

Michael Yeargan

Scenic Designer

& Costume Designer

Craig Miller headshot

Craig Miller

Lighting Designer

Rodney Griffin

Choreographer

Gary Wedow headshot

Gary Wedow

Chorus Master