In a production at the Seattle Opera, a company of dancers carries Semele away, while the chorus watches. (Photo by Avi Loud)
Soprano Lauren Snouffer, who plays the lead, talks about this colorful new production and the timeless themes that still resonate centuries later.
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George Frideric Handel had many successful works during his life, but Semele wasn’t one of them. The use of English in the libretto was unorthodox, and the work as a whole was regarded as profane by audiences of the time. As such, the opera vanished from the stage after six performances in 1744. The work would later be revived in the 20th century.
One hundred years later, the Atlanta Opera launches its production of Handel’s Semele this weekend on June 7. In a chat with Lauren Snouffer, the Texas-born soprano who plays the titular lead, she reveals the production to be a mixture of classical antiquity and modern staging.
Thematically, Semele occupies the kind of ancient Greek high fantasy that forms the backbone of classic theater: a story of girl meets Jupiter; girl loses Jupiter; Jupiter’s scorned wife plots revenge. Snouffer says that there’s a strong component of the cautionary Icarus motif throughout but notes that the piece’s real appeal lies in its attention to poetic details and impressionistic, implied storytelling.
“Tomer says that this story is a series of poems,” she observes, referring to Atlanta Opera General and Artistic Director, Tomer Zvulun. “There is certainly some aspect of it that is abstract that we try to concretize. There are the elements of vanity and flying too close to the sun — becoming a little too self-obsessed.”
Those abstractions, Snouffer notes, are critical to forming the larger, impressionistic scope of the narrative. “The arias are more musically colorful. The text isn’t telling a super clear story about very complex things. A lot of times, we’re singing about very philosophical concepts.”
That impressionistic narration can often make for challenging character development. “We as actors have to ask ourselves what the music is saying because the text exhausts itself quickly.”
From what she describes, the AO’s usual array of multimedia accoutrements will be assisting in that narration as well, with projectors playing a key role in the staging. “There are these projections on the back wall that look like a big window looking out on Mount Olympus,” she enthuses. “Sometimes our own images are projected around the stage, so there’s a very dynamic technological component.”
What she describes echoes the design of the AO’s 2022 production of Madame Butterfly, which, like Semele, featured the work of scenic and projection designer Erhard Rom. Similarly, Snouffer commends the costume designs of Vita Tzykun, which she describes as “innovative, quite beautiful and tell a story in and of themselves.”
As with all stories hewn in the realms of Greek tragedy, Semele’s timeless truths resonate at the human level. As Snouffer notes, the AO’s interpretation positions the character as a driven, ambitious woman looking to escape her provincial background. Such ambition, when intersected with toxic romance, is a recipe for disaster even when the pantheon of Greek gods isn’t involved.
“I sing a lot of contemporary music,” explains Snouffer. “And with a lot of contemporary stories, it’s a lot easier to get myself into a character because the things they go through are a lot more relatable than being swept away onto Mount Olympus.”
Nevertheless, the story’s underlying themes guided her character development. “When I get a shape of the entire story, I ask myself: ‘What are the universal truths? What can Lauren relate to in this character?’” The subsequent self-examination led her to find that the struggles of gods and their earthly amours are far more relatable than one might imagine. Even in mortal relationships, feelings of limerence, heartache and betrayal can feel like lightning from the gods.
After time off this summer, Snouffer will be off to New York City to sing in her Metropolitan Opera debut as a part of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, the stage adaptation of Michael Chabon’s novel of the same name. That’s exciting to say the least, but she emphasizes how much she’s enjoyed her visit to Atlanta. “I’m renting a house over by Piedmont Park. I have my two dogs here, and we’ve been going on walks every day. I can’t get over how gorgeous the park is. It’s a really lush and beautiful city.”
Where & When
The Atlanta Opera brings Semele to the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre at 8 p.m. June 7 and June 13; 7:30 p.m. June 10; and 3 p.m. June 15. $25-$187. 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, Atlanta. atlantaopera.org
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Jordan Owen began writing about music professionally at the age of 16 in Oxford, Mississippi. A 2006 graduate of the Berklee College of Music, he is a professional guitarist, bandleader and composer. He is currently the lead guitarist for the jazz group Other Strangers, the power metal band Axis of Empires and the melodic death/thrash metal band Century Spawn.
