Omer Ben Seadia’s career is on a nonstop upswing.
I first profiled the Israeli director for CityBeat in May 2014 when — as a grad student at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) — she was granted the rare distinction of directing a mainstage opera production. Five years later, Ben Seadia, now 32, returns to the Queen City to rack up yet another achievement: directing a new Cincinnati Opera production of Richard Strauss’ comedy, Ariadne auf Naxos.
Between those productions, she has worked on stagings for Houston Grand Opera, the Atlanta Opera, Opera Canada and smaller companies throughout the U.S., all of which garnered rave reviews. Two years ago, she directed a stunning production of Craig Hella Johnson’s Considering Matthew Shepard presented by Cincinnati Opera and the Vocal Arts Ensemble.
“That rekindled my relationship with Cincinnati Opera,” says Ben Seadia.
So when CO Artistic Director Evans Mirageas approached her with the idea for Ariadne, she says her choice was “a no-brainer.”
The production unfolds in the elegant home of a wealthy man hosting a gala evening that includes an opera — Ariadne auf Naxos — and a slapstick comedy. The butler announces that both must be presented at the same time; a clash of high and low cultures ensues, with performers wandering in and out of each other’s shows.
Mirageas’ idea was to set the opera in Pinecroft, a Tudor-style mansion in Mount Airy built by Cincinnati inventor and entrepreneur Powell Crosley, Jr. That worked for Ben Seadia, who wanted to localize the production. She chose the 1950s for the time period, an era where she says “many artists were challenged in both the political and artistic arenas.”
Three of the opera’s main characters are portrayed in the guise of cultural icons. Acclaimed playwright Arthur Miller (Death of a Salesman, The Crucible) serves as the model for the Composer, who sings an impassioned aria about the supremacy of music. The soprano singing the Prima Donna is based on renowned diva Maria Callas while the saucy comedienne Zerbinetta resembles Marilyn Monroe.
“Miller was such an interesting character, a successful dramatist reflecting the internal conflicts in American culture and also was drawn to popular culture,” Ben Seadia says.
A famous photo of Callas and Monroe inspired Ben Seadia to model the leading soprano roles on these legendary figures, both of whom were famously unlucky in love.
“I see these two as part of what makes up most people, in terms of what we want to define as love,” Ben Seadia says. “Is love devastating and heartbreaking, or is it frivolous?”
Strauss’ opera — with libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal — is both a screwball comedy and an intense drama. Ben Seadia acknowledges the challenge of balancing both, but she’s confident about the results.
“The best collaborations I’ve had are when we’re all striving for the same goal: making the storytelling work with the people in the room,” Ben Seadia says. “It has to have all the whimsical fun and leave our hearts and lives full. That’s what Strauss and Hofmannsthal wanted.”
Ben Seadia has worked with many of the cast members from previous productions both at Cincinnati Opera and elsewhere.
“I worked with Twyla Robinson (the Prima Donna/Ariadne) when I was assistant director for Cincinnati Opera’s Rosenkavalier,” she says. “Luis Orozco (Harlekin) was in my class at CCM and Kyle van Schoonhoven (Tenor/Baccus) was at San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program when I was there in 2014.”
The production team includes another CCM colleague, scenic designer Ryan Howell.
“At CCM, you’re in the same classes as singers and what ends up happening is there’s a natural feeling that we’re coming from the same place, that we’re all in this together,” she says.
Raised in Tel-Aviv, Ben Seadia calls Cincinnati one of her home spaces. Unlike many stage directors, she will stick around after the July 6 opening to catch up with Cincinnati friends and take in the rest of the CO season.
Cincinnati Opera presents Ariadne auf Naxos at the School for Creative and Performing Arts’s Corbett Auditorium July 6, 11, 13 and 14. Tickets: cincinnatiopera.com.
