This week we have Jacques Ibert's one act opera from 1929, Perseus and Andromeda. The libretto by Michel Veber is based on the ancient Greek legend. Ibert was born in Paris in 1890, and died there in 1962. He was a prolific composer, and wrote in many genres and many moods.
By order of the gods, Andromeda is held captive on an island guarded by the hideous monster Cathos, who in true "Beauty and the Beast" fashion really is quite a gentleman and loves her dearly. They enjoy playing chess together. Enter Perseus on his winged steed intent on rescuing Andromeda, his turtledove. Andromeda finds his heroic blustering and oversized ego more monstrous than Cathos, and when Perseus kills Cathos (rather gratuitously, just to prove he can), she rejects Perseus in horror and tells him to go away. He obliges - you don't have to tell someone like me to leave twice, he says. No sooner does Andromeda lament the loss of Cathos than a handsome prince pops out of his body and in a reversal of operatic convention, the baritone gets the girl.
The cast is headed by Annick Massis as Andromeda, Phillipe Rouillon as the monster Cathos, and Yann Beuron as Perseus. Jan Latham-Loenig conducts the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra and the women's chorus of the Strasbourg Conservatory.
