Opera Atelier – which will be celebrating forty years of performance next year – has quietly earned itself a place as a beloved Toronto cultural institution, offering audience-pleasing operas (and operettas) drawn largely from the Baroque repertoire.
October’s recent, too-short run of Handel’s 18th century “serenata” Acis and Galatea is a prime example of what Atelier does best, even if the libretto in this case isn’t entirely up to the task.
Acis and Galatea (HWV 49) technically isn’t an opera at all. Composed by Handel in 1718 a few years after his relocation to England, it’s an English-language adaptation of the Ovid version of the “Acis and Galatea” myth. The story of two lovers who attract the jealous attention of the evil Cyclops Polyphemus – incidentally, that’s the same Polyphemus who harassed Odysseus in The Odyssey – it was intended as a one-act showcase of Handel songs, later fleshed out into the two-hour version shown here.
To say the plot of Acis is low stakes is to suggest there’s much in the way of plot at all: when the opera begins, the title characters (tenor Antonin Rondepierre and soprano Meghan Lindsay) are already in love with zero obstacles in their way, resulting in a first act which consists solely of love declarations while maidens and woodnymphs prance about them. (Atelier co-Artistic Director Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg’s dance choreography is, as always, excellent).
In the second act, things mildly pick up with the appearance of Polyphemus (bass-baritone Douglas Williams, who clearly understood the assignment), who sets out to win Galatea by charm or by force. Engaging, roguish, and with a wonderfully low voice (which elicits more than a few chuckles), Williams is the clear standout of the production.
There are parts of Acis which work in isolation, and certain arias – Acis’s “Love in her eyes sits playing” or Polyphemus’s “I rage, I melt, I burn” – have made their way into the concert repertoire. The Overture and Act 2 Chorus “Galatea, dry thy tears” are also quite lovely, and were the clear standouts of the Atelier production.
Still, a clunky libretto – sample lyrics: “Happy we! Happy we!” – suggest that even at two hours this one probably runs a bit long. (And I say this as an avowed devotee of Strauss, whose Die Frau ohne Schatten runs over three-and-a-half hours.)
As is typical for Atelier, this Acis was also a joy to look at, with colour-coded dresses clearly inspired by Disney princesses, and painted backdrops worthy of fabled Disney artist Eyvind Earle. I was not expecting to be shepherded back to the days of Cinderella and Aurora and Snow White, but it was a pleasant surprise.
Next up at Atelier is Charpentier’s 17th century David and Jonathan, hot off a successful run at the Ópera real de Versailles (France). An Old Testament adaptation written for Charpentier’s Jesuit patrons, David and Jonathan tells the story of the powerful friendship between King David and Jonathan, son of Saul. This is Charpentier at his best.
Atelier’s David and Jonathan (“David et Jonathas“) runs April 9–13, 2025 at Koerner Hall.
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Want to learn more about Toronto’s other opera company?
Check out our interviews with Opera Atelier set designer Gerard Gauci and Co-Artistic Directors Marshall Pynkoski & Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg.
