Press Review of Ariadne

"And if that is how Ms. Chekhovskaya sounds when she’s sick, one can only wonder at her full powers." - Ann Arbor Press

"When guest conductor Kamal Khan (visiting from South Africa) first emerged, baton in hand, he announced that Antonina Chekhovskaya, the soprano scheduled to sing the part of Ariadne, had a head cold and might not be able to perform the entire show. Since the opera has been double cast, another Ariadne was available if necessary, but the show went on as planned. And if that is how Ms. Chekhovskaya sounds when she’s sick, one can only wonder at her full powers. As the lovesick Ariadne, abandoned on the desert island of Naxos by Theseus after helping him defeat the Minotaur in the labyrinth, her scenes are mesmerizing. Shrouded in black fabric, sometimes projecting from a completely prone position, she begs for death to the accompaniment of melancholy violins. She is attended by three dreadlocked sea nymphs whose voices blend like rolling waves, while shades of the underworld reach their hands up around Ariadne from the floor. Chekhovskaya’s desperate longing is entirely convincing."

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Ann Arbor.com press review