Melinda Delorme in Strauss's Ariadne
Ariadne Auf Naxos was composed by Richard Strauss in 1916 with librettist Hugo von Hoffmannsthal. It’s notable for its unique combination of Italian commedia dell’arte, all lightness and frivolity, Greek mythology, notable for its tragic appeal. Essentially an opera-within-an-opera, the piece mixes elements of musical theatre popular in the composer’s time with the mythical tale of a tragic woman left to die on a desolate island before finding love anew. The opera is notoriously difficult for its high passages and even higher drama, which moves from comic to tragic in relatively short lengths of time.
 | “It’s an interesting piece,” says Melinda Delorme, one of the sopranos who will be performing the title role, “there’s the prologue, then the opera proper. In the first half, I play the Prima Donna as the stereotypical diva. Then you get into the opera, which is portraying Ariadne as the prima donna. It’s been pretty interesting. I’m trying to think of her as young and grieving.” Delorme, who hails from Port Perry, Ontario and is a recent graduate of the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio, got her start in singing when she joined her local choir. She says she originally wanted to be a veterinarian, and when the time came to choose between her beloved sciences or her music passion, she chose both when applying to universities across the country. Then a bigger choice presented itself. “Decision time came, and it wasn’t, ‘will I go into music or science?’, it was, ‘where will I go for music?’ When I started, I was so green and naïve, I’d come back to my classmates and think, ‘oh lord I’m behind.’ It all sort of happened from there.” |
Delorme attended the University of Toronto, where she received first her Bachelors, then her Masters degree in Music. She was also awarded the Richard Bradshaw Graduate Fellowship in Opera, named after the COC’s visionary Artistic Director. Her roles with the company have included understudying the roles of the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro plus Tatyana and Madame Larina in Eugene Onegin this past season, as well as parts in Elektra, Lady Macbeth of Mtsesnk, The Barber of Seville. In addition to working with the COC, she’s sung with the Toronto Operetta Theatre, Opera in Concert, and with the thematically driven Aldeburgh Connection. Ariadne find Delorme back in her old university performance space, at the Macmillan Theatre. How does it compare with singing at the Four Seasons Centre? “Oh, I’m used to that theatre,” she laughs, referring to her old singing grounds, “it’s fine, it’s just different. After (being used to) the horseshoe shape in the Four Seasons, this is just (singing) straight out to the audience.”
Bacchus and Ariadne by Titian
Following her role as the mythical Ariadne, Delorme will be returning to the Canadian Opera Company, where she’ll be performing Donna Elvira in Mozart’s darkest opera, Don Giovanni. The singer confesses a fondness for the works of librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte, who helped write Cosi Fan Tutte, The Marriage of Figaro, and Giovanni. While Delorme’s role in Figaro was demanding, it’s nothing compared with the vocal pyrotechnics that will be on display in Ariadne Auf Naxos, where she will face off against Desiree Till, who sings the challenging role of Zerbinetta.
“It’s one of the most difficult roles for that voice type,” she explains of the Zerbinetta role, “the aria is very long, and there’s tons of vocal gymnastics and fireworks. That character is interesting, because she represents the coquettish, ditzy, floozy sort of entertaining woman. She has these moments of insight and depth, and I think she stands in contrast to Ariadne. Zerbinetta feels like, ‘if he breaks your heart, move on’ whereas Ariadne feels abandoned and thinks, ‘my life is over, I’ll wait ‘till I die.’”
“I think he’s trying to say a few different things,” she says of the opera’s composer and his portrayal of women in the operatic/theatre world, “I’m not sure if it’s (about) working with opera singers. I mean, his wife was a singer, and he writes so beautifully for the voice, but he’s probably looking at social and musical styles and the idea of entertainment versus high art, and asking, ‘what is the difference?’”
In the past few years, there’s been what Delorme terms “a renaissance in terms of interest in live performance”, especially, she notes, at the Canadian Opera Company, which has had a record number of sell-out seasons. “There’s a huge spectrum of people coming to free concerts and dress rehearsals and performances. It’s pretty exciting actually.” In terms of Strauss’ appeal, Delorme is firm in her belief that the show “will appeal to anyone. It’s very funny, there are moments of darkness and sorrow, but the overall arc is definitely lighter. I would even bring younger people, like my cousin who’s in grade nine. Younger people would see the humour easily.”
Having said that, Delorme notes Ariadne “is the most serious thing I’ve ever done. I did the more comedic mezzo stuff. Well, I did the Countess (in Figaro), but she has a lot more light in her than Ariadne does. This is definitely the most serious dramatic thing I’ve done. People see me as the comedian rather than the more serious artist.” In terms of perhaps getting the opportunity to further explore her dramatic side, the soprano is cautious, if open to suggestion. “Every role is different and interesting. It’s neat to extract parts of yourself that are applicable to different roles, and fill in the rest with imagination.” When asked about whether she leans more to Italian or German operas, having done both now, her answer is unequivocal. “German. I feel it opens the voice up, (so) it comes out in a more natural way. Italian opera is more about representing an emotion, like, ‘we’re gonna roll around in it’, whereas German is an evolving thing… it makes you think about it.”
Delorme will be kept busy with the upcoming Toronto opera season starting in the fall. As well as performing in Don Giovanni, she will be auditioning in what she terms “the big months” of November and December. She’s eager to “get out there this year and see what happens” and is also tossing around going to Europe for language and coaching. “I feel like things have been offered, a path has opened, and I’ve followed it. It’s a strange career to pick, really. Nobody thinks, ‘oh I think I’ll be an opera signer now’. It’s a hard lifestyle, a hard profession in terms of security, but you never know… you just work hard, and keep going.”
Ariadne auf Naxos is playing August 14th to 17th as part of the Toronto Summer Music Series. For more information, go to www.torontosummermusic.com.
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