Unholy Wars is one of three operas included, with an array of concerts and recitals, in Opera Philadelphia’s two-week long Festival O23. This work premiered at the Spoleto Festival in 2022 to great acclaim; the performers and creative staff are those from Spoleto. This opera, or music drama if you will, was created by Lebanese-American Karim Sulayman; the work is a musical patiche of Italian songs and operatic selections from the 17th and 18th centuries with additional music inspired by Arabic folk idioms by Armenian-American composer Mary Kouyoumdjian. The cohesive theme of Unholy Wars is the retelling of an historical event by those on the “other side” (creed or culture) to provide balance, and to improve understanding of each other as a path away from conflict and war. Mr. Sulayman takes aim at refocusing European stereotypical depictions of middle eastern people in art and literature as exotic. His production fits very well with the spirit of OP’s Festival O23, works that explore the boundaries of opera.
Dancer Coral Dolphin and Tenor Karim Sulayman. Photo by Ray Bailey; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.
The historical focus of Unholy Wars is the Crusades of the 11th century, known in western culture as the “Holy War”, bloody battles fought to overthrow the Saracen/Muslim occupation of middle eastern land, especially Jerusalem. The longest and central element of Unholy Wars is a dramatic acting out of Monteverdi’s Il combattimento di Tancrédi e Clorinda (1624) by three singers and a dancer. In the opera, Tancrédi, a leader of the European forces fights hand to hand in bloody combat in full battle gear with the leader of the Muslim forces, neither knowing the identity of the other. After slaying the Saracen leader, Tancrédi lifts his opponent’s visor to see the face of the leader. He sees the face of Clorinda, his Muslim lover, and is overwhelmed by grief.
l to r: Bass-baritone John Taylor as Tancrédi, tenor Karim Sulayman as narrator, soprano Raha Mirzadegan as Clorinda, and dancer Coral Dolphin. Photo by Ray Bailey; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.
The story of Tancrédi and Clorinda as well as the entire production is played out with clever, evocative props and gestures against a large screen of images of middle eastern buildings, people, animals, and seas, sometimes being enveloped by fire or water. The visual images, with frequent animations, by Kevork Mourad and projections by Michael Commendatore are beautifully artistic and enjoyable. Sometimes travel log-ish and sometimes phantasmagorical, the projections were a major element in conveying “otherness” in this production. They give the feeling that they are drawn from an art museum in the Middle East. Director Kevin Newbury’s placements and movements of his actors provided effective story telling with only a few props such as buckets of sand and water to evoke images of deserts and the sands of time passing. There were physical struggles, but mostly symbolic in nature. It is the emotions of the performers that were the focus, the sense of love and then loss. The talented dancer Coral Dolphin with choreography by Ebony Williams was a constant companion to the singers, moving as a ghostly companion trying to offer comfort and warnings to the players, adding another delightful artistic feature to the production.
Dancer Coral Dolphin, John Taylor Ward as Tancrédi, Karim Sulayman as narrator, and Raha Mirzadegan as Clorinda . Photo by Ray Bailey; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.
A powerful element of the storytelling and a highly pleasing aspect of the performance was the music and its playing. The performance began with “Gloria Patri” by composer Kouyoumdjian, a tenor duet, where with electronic help, both parts were sung by Mr. Sulayman. Then came compositions by Monterverdi and Caccini, and in the latter section of the production, those of Kempis, Rossi, and d’India. The last piece before Ms. Kouyoumdjian’s Outro was the well-known “Lascia ch’io pianga” from Handel’s Rinaldo, expressing the desire to weep over a cruel fate. The small ensemble of musicians delivering these works included two theorbos, a violone, and a harpsichord, as well as violins, viola, and cello, adding to the authenticity of the baroque music. Led by violinist Julie Andrijeski, this integration of works with connecting interludes by Ms. Kouyoumdjian were well played as seamlessly as possible, and well-coordinated with the singers on stage.
John Taylor Ward as Tancrédi, Raha Mirzadegan as Clorinda, Karim Sulayman as narrator, and dancer Coral Dolphin. Photo by Ray Bailey; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.
I find late Renaissance, early baroque music to be among the most beautiful music ever written that couples so well with operatic voices; the music often possesses an innate spiritual quality. The songs and arias were delivered by three very talented singers. Tenor Sulayman, soprano Raha Mirzadegan, and bass-baritone John Taylor Ward had voices that were excellent choices for baroque music. They sang with affecting emotion and delivered engaging acting performances. This was a highly pleasing evening of baroque music and singing within an emotionally involving story line.
The cast of Unholy Wars in silhouette. Photo by Ray Bailey; courtesy of Opera Philadelphia.
I liked the premise behind Unholy Wars very much: reducing “otherness” through a war on stereotypes might reduce conflict and destruction and help us come to terms with a shared history of conflict. Unquestionably, Unholy Wars had pretty music and pretty singing, and it was a rewarding artistic experience, but how did it do on reducing “otherness”? It was gentle in its approach, not preachy or into blaming, other than stressing the needless destruction of wars. Instead, it tugged at the human heart. Anger was exposed, deriving from the conflict between a sense of honor and our human needs, but if Unholy Wars wounds, it also wraps you in a warm blanket of love for comfort. Differences were presented but to me they didn’t seem so different. Maybe that was the message.
The Fan Experience: Unholy Wars was scheduled for performances on September 23, 27, 30, and October 1. The opera is sung in Latin and Italian with English translations projected. The opera is 70 minutes long without an intermission. Information and tickets can be accessed at this link
Opera Philadelphia has placed a helpful, short video on Youtube giving an overview of the opera and its history by scholar in residence, Lily Kass. The video is eight minutes long and well worth viewing.
Festival O23 continues through October 1. The two-week program, which also includes performances of Simon Boccanegra and 10 Days in a Madhouse as well as many concerts and recitals. can be viewed in its entirety at this link. I might also add that Philadelphia remains one of my favorite places to visit, offering so much in history, culture, entertainment, and great food!