The Times raves some more about the Met's "Enchanted Island" which we enjoyed immensely on New Year's Eve.
The only remotely Talmudic connection we can find in this thoroughly pagan fantasy is the re-purposing of a Handel anthem from Zadok to Neptune, as the review explains:
What would a Baroque pastiche be without a star turn? This one had the tenor Plácido Domingo, no less, as Neptune: by his count, his 136th role (and first full-fledged god). Neptune, with flowing beard and silver raiment, is introduced in a dazzling underwater scene with an aquatic chorus of courtiers singing “Neptune the Great” (using “Zadok the Priest,” a Handel coronation anthem). Four mermaids float above. And Ariel, come to seek Neptune’s help, arrives in deep-sea diver’s gear.
Music Review Shiny Bibelot From Shakespeare, Handel & Co.
By ANTHONY TOMMASINI
The Enchanted Island, with Plácido Domingo as Neptune amid an ocean of courtiers, had its premiere on Saturday night at the Metropolitan Opera.“The Enchanted Island,” a pastiche incorporating elements from Shakespeare and Baroque works by Handel, Vivaldi and others, had its premiere Saturday at the Metropolitan Opera.
The Enchanted Island, with Plácido Domingo as Neptune amid an ocean of courtiers, had its premiere on Saturday night at the Metropolitan Opera.
Video: Metropolitan Pastiche
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