
The Egyptian Helen 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.
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.
Artists

Mildred Tyree
Soprano
Helena

Dennis Bailey
Tenor
Menelas

Sheryl Woods
Soprano
Aithra

Clarity James
Mezzo-soprano
The Omniscient Mussel

Michael Devlin
Bass-baritone
Altair

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
Dancer

Katherine Warner
Dancer

Nancie Woods
Dancer

Patrick Cea
Dancer

David Christel
Dancer

James Jordan
Dancer

Michael Lott
Dancer

John Crosby
Conductor

Göran Järvefelt
Director

Michael Yeargan
Scenic Designer
& Costume Designer

Craig Miller
Lighting Designer

Rodney Griffin
Choreographer

Gary Wedow
Chorus Master