Ariadne: The Mesmerising Sunday Times Bestselling Retelling of Ancient Greek Myth

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Overall I really enjoyed Ariadne. I enjoyed learning more about her after the events in the labyrinth and I really liked her as a character. This production of Ariadne auf Naxos gives the many ideas it contains space to ruminate. The visual language is a little muddled, but doesn’t detract from some very exciting performances. Another issue I had: with the timeline of other heroes, speaking of Heracles in Theseus’ past because he was Theseus’ mentor, and then later introducing Perseus, who was not described as old as far as I can remember, knowing Perseus is actually Heracles’ GREAT GRANDFATHER doesn’t make any sense. It’s Ancient Greece so I’m going to assume that Perseus should be dead if Heracles was in his prime before Theseus even met Ariadne (so probably like 15+ years in the past at that point) Ariadne balances farcical comedy with intensely serious reflections on the art of Music and the nature of Love. How difficult is it to balance these opposing themes in production?

This is the year of the staircase. Up and down they go in Glyndebourne’s new Don Giovanni. Down and up they go in the Royal Opera House’s Il Trovatore. While first-nighters were enjoying Ariadne, other music-lovers were glued to the final of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World. Congratulations to its overall winner, the sumptuous Italian bass Adolfo Corrado. If he wants a career in opera, I hope he’s got good knees. This is one of the many challenges. I’ve tried to serve the piece and the ultimate purpose of each scene. The prologue offers ample opportunities for comedy, as well as very moving moments. I try not to be too caricatural in the depiction of the characters, whilst playing with some of the in-jokes. Then when we get to the opera, I want to know why the buffi are going to Ariadne in the first quintet, how does Zerbinetta responds to her interaction with Ariadne, knowing what we know from her in the prologue? I often find when watching productions of Ariadne that the two worlds are miles apart in the opera and in conflict, but that leaves me unfulfilled. The very first appearance of the buffi in the opera shows them deeply moved by Ariadne. How do I carry this forward? I want to try and combine the two worlds with the ultimate purpose of showing how one can have an influence on the other. Ariadne lives on the island of Crete with her controlling father Minos and her bull brother The Minotaur. That’s a really interesting point. I had never thought about it. We discussed Cosi in studio rehearsals but not as clearly as you’ve put it. I guess Despina and Fiordiligi do represent these two attitudes to love and men. Ariadne for me is a step ahead of Fiordiligi and represents an ideal, a concept. Zerbinetta on the other hand is real, human, with a conflicted sense of self. I find the character of Zerbinetta fascinating. She is a complex character with considerable human appeal, whilst Ariadne is more a symbol that appeals to the intellect. Zerbinetta is the only one who has the same name in both acts, and it isn’t a traditional commedia dell’arte character, it is who she is. She is Zerbinetta, a woman playing a role that’s expected of her, the only one in the piece where performer and character are meant to be one. If we believe what she says in her duet with the composer at the end of the prologue to be true, how does this impact her in the opera when she comes face to face with the character of Ariadne? Here, Ariadne takes centre stage in a lyrical, insightful re-telling that explores her motivations and emotions and the grievances caused by grumpy, cold-hearted gods and warm-blooded men, who are equally vengeful and self-interested.' - Daily Mail

Ariadne is a retelling of the Theseus and the Minotaur story from Greek myth, aligning with Ariadne's perspective, one we don't see much of in the original myth. I'm a huge fan of Greek myth retellings and just knew this one would be a hit for me - I wasn't wrong.

I would not say this was a feminist retelling in any way, honestly, so I would warn others who might read it for such things (as it has been advertised as such) as Ariadne makes one decision in the beginning of the book and then becomes a brittle leaf in the wind, blowing which ever way at the mercy of the men around her. Phaedra, Ariadne’s younger sister, was also given a perspective throughout the novel and explored her life.... and you’d never guess how that ends *heavy sarcastic tone and pointed look* Ariadne, Princess of Crete, grows up listening to her nursemaid's stories of gods and heroes. But beneath her golden palace echoes the ever-present hoofbeats of her brother, the Minotaur, a monster who demands blood sacrifice. When Theseus, Prince of Athens, arrives to vanquish the beast, Ariadne sees in his green eyes not a threat but an escape. Defying the gods, betraying her family and country, and risking everything for love, Ariadne helps Theseus kill the Minotaur. Always, these myths are told of the greatness of the male hero and little of the women they trample on their way to fame. Reading this retelling from Ariadne and Phaedra’s points of view was insightful and refreshing. The sisterhood between Ariadne and Phaedra was told very well, from their childhood bond to the strife and ravages of marriage and adulthood and shared sense of being wronged by men.No longer was my world one of brave heroes; I was learning all too swiftly the women's pain that throbbed unspoken through the tales of their feats.” No longer was my world one of brave heroes; I was learning all too swiftly the women's pain that throbbed unspoken through the tales of their feats." An arresting novel in verse which brings the Greek monster Geryon (who features in the 10th Labour of Heracles) into a modern-day setting. Drawing on surviving fragments of the lyric poet Stesichorus’s work Geryoneis, this is a moving coming-of-age tale about love and yearning which is whimsical, sad, and a fascinating take on a character overlooked in favour of the larger-than-life man who slayed him. She is appalled with the cruelty her father metes out towards the Athenians in demanding that Athens send across fourteen young men and women to be

This is one of the most difficult parts of Ariadne. It feels like a different act altogether and this is where often in performance the energy drops and the audience loses interest. I love the text and the music and it’s my job to show how these two characters start off on a complete misunderstanding that leads to transformation for them both. I have used a scenic device to help communicate this at the beginning, which I’m excited about, and I’m exploring the emotional element when they do come together. Let’s not forget that Bacchus was also the god of theatre. Hofmannsthal is very clear in the libretto where he wants the stage to deliver certain things, and I think he is right. Progression is needed in the duet on a visual as well as an emotional level. I want to use ‘theatre’ as a means to touch the audience and express the transformation.A low-key production, then, with a slightly mid-century look and wondrous singing from the principals: Welsh-Ukrainian soprano Natalya Romaniw luscious in the ever-increasing depths of her voice as broken-hearted Ariadne, coloratura soprano Jennifer France as vivacious trouper Zerbinetta, South Korean-born tenor Young Woo Kim as Bacchus, who washes up on the shores of Naxos and falls for Ariadne, and mezzo-soprano Polly Leach as the indignant, high-minded Composer. There's great teamwork here between dazzling Leech and William Dazeley’s perfect Music Master – the two pictured right by Julien Guidera – ditto between Dazeley and John-Graham Hal las a very precise Dancing Master, and Walter van Dyk’s Major Domo, who doesn’t camp it up but is still very funny; tired old gags are banished in this Prologue). Rosenkavalier pays homage to Mozart’s L e nozze di Figaro. Do you think it is true that there are also parallels between Ariadne and Cos ì fan tutte? Zerbinetta and Ariadne are similar to Despina and Fiordiligi in their attitude to men and love, and Ariadne’s aria ‘Es gibt ein Reich’ is about faithfulness until death, as is Fiordiligi’s ‘Come Scoglio’ as well as being in the same key. Then it is time for dinner, a stroll around the gardens and perhaps another glass of bubbly in the glorious Wormsley estate before the opera-come-italian comedy begins.