Acteon: The Inside Story
by El Gato

I was biking to work one day and noticed a family of five on various types of bikes. Dad on a mountain bike, with trailer attachment for young son to sit and pedal, mom on a cross bike, with trailer holding a child too young to ride, and the oldest child, a girl, on her own fancy kids' bike. All wearing helmets. Mom and dad were arguing, or, rather, discussing how far they should go, where to get off the trail, whose turn it was to clean the bikes, and just really enjoying the family experience. Made me think of how the couple met and how they chose the path that brought them to the Burke-Gilman trail in Seattle, Washington. You know, that timeless theme of boy-meets-girl, of getting married and living happily ever after, dealing with mid-life crises, keeping up with the dot-com Jones's, and how to rationalize driving an SUV in the urban jungle and running cyclists off the road because of talking on a cellular phone.

Speaking of timeless themes, in this program Benevolent Order for Music of the Baroque once again presents a Charpentier masterpiece based on the ever-popular and ever-exciting story of Boy-Meets-Goddess. Yes, this opera is your basic boy-meets-girl story but with a twist. Acteon, the Hunter, (aka Boy) "happens upon" the Goddess Diana (aka Girl) bathing (naked, obviously) in a forest stream. Girl (aka Goddess) says boy must be punished for his indiscretion, turns boy into a stag, where he is devoured by his own hunting hounds. (One has to admire the swiftness and unambiguous sense of justice in the Pantheon.) Hunting party realizes what has happened, sings songs of sorrow and praise to Acteon, live miserably ever after but with happy ending. Just another day in the land of Bullfinch's mythology.

The run down:
Great music by Charpentier
Fabulous singing by tenor in the role of Acteon
Mezzo fu, Soprano fu
Wild chorus of hunters, in flannel hunting caps, Wild chorus of wood nymphs (No goat leggings)
MASSIVE continuo band
Baroque Dancer, in costume

Drive-in Opera Academy Awards to Acteon, for singing his guts out as he goes through a metamorphosis worse than adolescence; to Juno, for being unbelievably mean and evil, and smiling the whole time; to Diana, for following mythological protocol to the letter, even though she would like to do otherwise; to the Chorus of Nymphs, just for being nymphs; to the Chorus of Hunters, for properly mourning their loss but still knowing how to have a great wake; and to Benevolent Order for Music of the Baroque for doing it the drive-in way. Four stars. El Gato says check it out.

Back to the Innocence Lost: Charpentier's Acteon page.
2000-01 Season / Baroque Northwest / Previous Seasons & Concert Programs