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Greek Heroes Brought to Life Wexford
O’Reilly Theatre, National Opera House
10/18/2025 - & October 22, 26 & 30*, 2025
Georg Friedrich Händel: Deidamia, HWV 42
Sophie Junker (Deidamia), Sarah Gilford (Nerea), Bruno de Sá (Achilles), Nicolò Balducci (Odysseus), Rory Musgrave (Phönic), Petros Magoukas (Lycomedes)
Wexford Festival Orchestra, George Petrou (conductor)
George Petrou (stage director), Giorgia Germanou (sets & costumes), Armin Friess (projection designer), Daniele Naldo & Paolo Bonpace (lighting)
B. de Sá, S. Junker (© Pádraig Grant)
The biggest challenge today in producing Handel’s operas (and baroque opera in general) is that these works were written as vehicles for virtuoso singers. With Gluck’s reforms and the advent of Romanticism, the public’s taste changed. Beautiful voices were still admired, but they alone were no longer sufficient. Beyond emotions generated by impressive voices, some semblance of a plot, preferably with interesting pacing, was needed.
As many roles were written for castrati, the modern day revival of baroque operas started with the appearance of countertenors, such as Alfred Deller (1912‑1979) and James Bowman (1941‑2023) in the 1950s and 1960s. Initially, their voices were tentative and often uneven. Enormous strides have led to today’s abundance of excellent countertenors with superlative technique. Today, the countertenor “revolution” has gone a step beyond, with a previously rare category, the male soprano. To many, this sounded like a freak show, but Brazilian male soprano Bruno de Sá has recently taken the opera world by storm. His easily accessible (on YouTube) rendition of “Casta diva” from Bellini’s Norma (1831) and arias for both Romeo and Giulietta from the same composer’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi (1830) have astounded opera lovers.
Perhaps this is one reason why Deidamia (1741), Handel’s last Italian opera, has been chosen for this edition of the Wexford Festival of Opera. The role of Deidamia was created by a male soprano portraying the very male hero Achilles, in disguise as the maiden Pyrrha. The two other leading roles are Deidamia, daughter of the king of the island of Skyros, and Odysseus (Ulysses) in disguise as Antilochus. The former is a female role created by a female soprano, while the latter male role was created by a castrato. With the phenomenal Bruno de Sá cast as Achilles, we finally have a very different voice from either Deidamia or Antilochus/Odysseus.
During the Trojan War, Achilles is predicted to die fighting in Troy, so his father Peleus sent him to his friend Lycomedes, king of Skyros, to hide – disguised as a maiden – among his daughters. Achilles falls in love with the king’s oldest daughter, Deidamia, the only one – other than Lycomedes – to know of the subterfuge. As it is predicted that Troy will only be vanquished with Achilles’ participation, Odysseus – disguised as Antilochus – comes to Skyros in search of Achilles. When the young hero is easily tempted to join a hunt organised by Odysseus, his disguise falls, and he agrees to leave Skyros and join the war.
Another challenge is the staleness of the plot of Handel’s last opera. Conductor George Petrou, renowned for his recordings of Handel’s operas on the German label Dabringhaus und Grimm, concocted the unusual idea of having the mythological characters appear simultaneously with a group of present day tourists. They do not take part in the plot, but provide a diversion from the slow moving events, where a florid aria can seem longer than eternity to finish. This may seem like a perilous enterprise that could easily distract. However, thanks to Petrou’s inspired staging (he is both music and stage director), the modern‑day characters enhance the mythological action. Apparently, the idea came to Petrou at various sites, such as Athens’ Acropolis, Venice and Imperial Vienna, where sensitive souls who know their history feel the weight of the past and the presence of historical figures.
Thanks to this ploy, a normally drab opera was rejuvenated; it was entertaining and time passed agreeably. Obviously, the virtuosity of the singers was the main reason for this triumphant production. De Sá simply dazzled the audience as Achilles. His florid Act II aria “Sì, m’appaga” was especially appealing. Italian countertenor Nicolò Balducci and Belgian soprano Sophie Junker as Odysseus and Deidamia were equally dazzling. Hearing three exceptional yet palpably distinct high voices throughout the evening was a real treat. Deidamia’s Act II aria, “Va, perfido” was impressive for both Junker’s virtuosity and expressivity. In contrast to this rage-filled aria, her “M’ai resa infelice” powerfully expressed Deidamia’s sadness at Achilles’ departure. Likewise, Balducci’s voice and virtuosity were equally admirable. Even the secondary role of Nerea, spellbindingly sung by British soprano Sarah Gilford, almost stole the show with the Act II aria, “Diè lusinghe.”
Despite the Wexford Festival Orchestra not being an early music ensemble, George Petrou expertly inspired the musicians to produce the appropriate sonorities. With exceptional singers and a great conductor (who’s also an intelligent director), this production amounted to one of the best baroque operas I’ve ever seen. Let’s hope Petrou will be a regular guest at Wexford, unearthing further baroque treasures.
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