HGTV airs a show called Designers Challenge in which three designers compete to create the best design for a room in someone’s house. Each designer has a unique interpretation of the room. They all have good designs, but only one can win, only one stands out above the rest. Similarly, if we give one opera to four directors, each person will come up with a unique cast and visual design. Sometimes one interpretation stands out above all others. The Metropolitan Opera’s 2007 production of Richard Strauss’ Die Ägyptische Helena stands as one of those productions. While most productions tend toward a more realistic look, David Fielding, director and designer, decided on a more fantasy-driven look. Rarely performed, this opera requires something special to attract an audience. In Fielding’s production, the surreal sets and extraordinary cast attracts an audience. Once the audience shows up, the story pulls them in further.
Helena follows relationships between two married couples: Poseidon, the god of the sea, and Aithra; and King Menelas of Sparta and Helen. Aithra worries that her husband no longer loves her. Her oracle mussel shell reassures her of Poseidon’s faithfulness and tells her about Menelas and Helen, who are on their way home from Troy. Menelas wants to kill Helen. With her powers, Aithra sinks Menelas’ boat just in time to save Helen from his dagger. Menelas and Helen swim ashore to Aithra’s palace. Aithra gives Menelas a potion that makes him forget his past. Aithra then sends him with his wife to another land where they can live a new life together. She also gives Helen two potions, one that would give Menelas back his full memory and another that would take away the pains of Menelas’ past. The previous owners of the land that Aithra gave to Helen and Menelas end the peace when they appear. First Da-ud attempts to woo Helen with a song, then his father, Altair, tries to take Helen by force. Meanwhile, as the potion begins wearing off and his memories start to return, Menelas mistakes Da-ud for Paris and kills him. Tired of living in an artificial reality, Helen realizes that in order to live a happy life, she will have to give Menelas the potion of forgetfulness continually. She decides to give Menelas the potion of remembrance, confident that only it can save their marriage. He takes the potion and it restores all: Menelas recovers his memories and renews his marriage with Helen.
Fielding creates an interesting contrast between the characters and the sets. The sets match the magical element of the story. Planets and neon colors splatter the canvas and oversized beds, and slanted doors provide a surreal, grandiose atmosphere. When Menelas’ ship sinks, a giant silhouette of a running man with a briefcase appears in front of a background that looks like a raging sea. Later, when Altair and Da-ud emerge from the bathroom, a similar silhouette appears, but in front of a background that looks like a Sahara desert.
On the other hand, the characters wear plain, solid-colored outfits. The men wear business suits and the women wear straight-cut dresses that drag behind on the ground. The solid colors symbolize the identities of the characters wearing them. Aithra’s blue dress represents the sea and her divinity. The landowners wear yellow and orange suits, representing the land. Altair, in the autumn of his life, wears orange and Da-ud, in the sunny disposition of youth, wears yellow. Altair’s orange also symbolizes his aggressiveness when he tries to force himself upon Helen. Other characters wear white and black costumes, symbolizing the potions, Aithra’s oracle mussel shell, and the dagger with which Menelas wants to kill Helen. Another man wears a red suit to symbolize the deaths of characters. The colors also occasionally serve simply to brighten up the stage.
Symbolism, especially the use of colors and colored lighting, permeates the opera. When the owners visit Helen, they bring briefcases with lights inside of them, symbolizing jewels, their gifts to Helen. The shadows of characters tell the same story on the wall and make the characters and their colored costumes stand out. They also symbolize the darkness that follows each of us. Colored lighting emphasizes the colored costumes. The lighting also follows the mood of the events. The stage darkens during serious scenes and brightens during frivolous scenes. The character of Helen shines as a light. Like the lights used to symbolize jewels in the briefcases, her light shines as the ultimate treasure that every man wants to possess.
The story is not always easy to follow, but the abstract sets and costumes and the dissonant music fit an opera that tells the story of a mythical fantasy. The wonderful cast helps as well. Deborah Voigt draws most of the crowds in with her interpretation of Helen. She is not overly pretty. An opera company fired her once because of her obesity, but she later had surgery for it and had lost weight since then. She still qualifies as plump and what draws the audience to her is her voice. Voigt has a round tone to her soprano voice, and while most sopranos’ high notes are painful, her high notes are beautiful and make for easy listening. Her facial expressions and her hand gestures convey her character’s varying emotions.
Despite her pride, Helen will do anything to have her husband’s love again. In typical portrayals of her story (books, movies, and other productions that focus on the Trojan War), Helen loves Paris, but at the beginning of Helena, the story focuses more on who owns Helena. Paris took her, but Menelas won her back in battle and now she is under his dominion again. At the beginning of the opera, Helen’s love for Menelas remains in question because she had allowed Paris to seduce her. She might merely wish to keep her life, or she might submit to her husband as the conquerer. By the end of the opera, however, Helen clearly loves Menelas. Helen has tired of men trying to seduce her, causing her to realize she does love Menelas and does want to fix her marriage. The fact that Menelas loves Helen for who she is, not just for her beauty, convinces her to give him the potion of remembrance. She chooses real love over artificial, even with the risk that Menelas’ murderous fury might return along with his memory.
Although fictional, this story reflects relevant lessons about the human condition, the choices we make, and the values we ought to hold. The libretto, or text, of the opera and the emotions portrayed by the singers bring out these elements. One might not decode all the symbolism, but the attempt remains worth the effort. Overall, having the best singers, unique sets, and a beautiful story, Fielding’s staging stands as a masterpiece and a work of art.

Works Cited
Die ÄGyptische Helena. By Richard Strauss. Dir. David Fielding. The Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center, NYC. 23 Mar. 2007.
Designer's Challenge. Home and Garden Television. HGTV.