"Opera and Its Discontents," a Talk by Mary Zimmerman, Thursday Afternoon at Washington University

On-location photo of Kate Healy as Aphrodite and Sally Wippman as Iris in Mary Zimmerman's Metamorphoses. Photo by David Kilper/WUSTL Photo Services.

By Liam Otten; reposted from Washington University's Record

Playwright Mary Zimmerman, whose production of Armida will be the Met's high-definition broadcast on May 1, will lecture on "Opera and Its Discontents" at 4:00 p.m. Thursday, April 22, in Room 276 in the Danforth University Center. The talk is sponsored by the Performing Arts Department and by the Department of Classics and the Center for the Humanities. For more information, call the Performing Arts Department at (314) 935-5858.

Also, beginning this weekend, the Performing Arts Department will present Zimmerman's hypnotic, Tony Award-winning Metamorphoses, an adaptation of myths by the Roman poet Ovid, as its spring Mainstage production.

Performances will take place in Edison Theatre at 8:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 23 and 24; and at 2:00 p.m. Sunday, April 25. Performances continue the following weekend at 8:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 30 and May 1; and at 2:00 p.m. Sunday, May 2.

Edison Theatre is located in the Mallinckrodt Center, 6445 Forsyth Blvd. Tickets are $15, or $10 for children, students, seniors and Washington University faculty and staff. Tickets are available through the Edison Theatre Box Office, (314) 935-6543, and through all MetroTix outlets.

Based on translations of Ovid by David Slavitt, Metamorphoses weaves 10 classical Roman tales into a visually spectacular yet decidedly low-tech evening of theater.

"Metamorphoses" is predicated almost entirely on the things that theater —- and theater alone —- does best," says Henry I. Schvey, professor of drama, who directs the cast of 12.

"It's filled with gorgeous, unforgettable images, but it also allows the audience to use its own imagination," Schvey says. "There’s a real fusion of movement, image and speech."

Central to that fusion is the bold set design, which largely consists of a 15-ton pool installed on the Edison stage.

"The play explores ideas of change and transformation, all of which take place through the conduit of water," Schvey says. "So in a way, this apparently complex set is very simple: a pool, a doorway entrance, a platform for the gods, and a chandelier representing the heavens above."

"Each myth is staged individually, and there’s a kind of postmodern aspect as the play moves in and out of time," Schvey says. "Some stories are set in modern dress, others in togas. King Midas is revealed as an ordinary businessman. Zeus’ thunder bolt may be symbolized by a glowing cigarette."

"Zimmerman connects these ancient tales with the ways people still behave today," Schvey says.

Individual scenes range from the familiar (Orpheus and Eurydice, Phaeton and Apollo, Eros and Psyche) to the less well-known (Vertumnus and Pomona; Alcyone and Ceyx; King Cinyras and his daughter, Myrrha).

"Metamorphoses does not provide a conventional theatrical experience, although there is certainly thematic unity," Schvey says. "Each myth explores some aspect of love —- whether it's Midas' love of money, Orpheus' attempt to bring back his love from Hades, the spiritual union of Cupid and Psyche or the selfless generosity of an elderly couple (Philemon and Baucis), who share their humble meal with Zeus and Hermes, who come disguised as beggars."

"And there is a narrative arc," Schvey says. "The stories gradually move from love of self to love of others and finally to a sense of transcendence and cosmic change in the universe.”

The cast is composed of six male and six female actors, all of whom portray multiple characters.

"There are approximately 60 parts in Metamorphoses, so everyone takes on at least five or six roles," Schvey says. "Everyone plays at least one god and narrates at least one scene, which provides a kind of fluidity and balance among the various myths."

Other roles are distinctly nonverbal, with actors portraying trees or abstractions like Hunger, or combining to form the dark cave where Sleep resides.

"The world of Metamorphoses is a world that is magically changing," Schvey says. "Everything is given life through the physical abilities of the actors and through the willing —- and creative —- participation of the audience."

Cast members are Gadi Abramowitz, Marissa Barnathan, Kate Healy, Micah Herstand, Sam King, Artem Kreimer, Megan Lacerenza, Jonathan Levinson, Maryse Pearce, Amanda Spector, Dan Tobin and Sally Wippman.

Sets and costumes are by Michael Loui, the PAD’s scene shop foreman, and Bonnie Kruger, senior lecturer and costume director, respectively. Choreography is by Cecil Slaughter, senior lecturer in the PAD’s Dance Program. Lighting and sound are by lecturers Sean Savoie and Tim Albert.