JUSTICE | REVENGE • TRUTH • REDEMPTION • FREEDOM
As our North American premiere performances of Adam Gorb’s heart-rending Anya17 draw nearer, we’ve been exploring the timeless operatic themes which connect Anya with great operas of the past. Starting with Betrayal, on through Evil, we arrive this week at Justice.
Anya has been betrayed by her lover Uri and enslaved by evil incarnate Viktor. Gabriel, a client who has fallen in love with her, seems to represent a chance for freedom. But can she trust him?
Cleverly cast to be sung by the same singer who plays the role of the deceptive Uri, (in our production, the handsome young tenor Andres Ramirez), Gabriel becomes the instrument of in the brutal and climactic confrontation with Viktor, as Anya17 explores the fine line between justice and revenge.
Justice takes many forms in the world of opera.
- Justice is freedom. There is a triumphant sense of justice in Fidelio after Leonore frees her wrongfully imprisoned husband Florestan from the terrors of an evil political regime.
- Justice is revenge. All of the offended parties find justice in the spirited presto finale of Don Giovanni when the statue of the Commendatore returns to torment and bring about the demise of the Don who assassinated him in the carnal pursuit of his daughter Donna Anna.
- Justice is redemption. At the end of Der Rosenkavalier, the Marschallin exonerates Octavian and Sophie who have been caught between the lustful advances of Baron Ochs and the Marschallin’s own attempt to cling to her youth by keeping a young lover.
- Justice is truth. In Dead Man Walking, De Rocher finally breaks down and confesses his crime to Sister Helen Prejean. Expecting her to hate him, she instead forgives him and promises to be the “face of love” for him in his final moments.
What kind of Justice will there be for Anya?