For Opera Columbus’ upcoming production of Jean-Baptiste Lully’s Armide, Artistic Director
Photo by Scott Cunningham
Peggy Kriha Dye
Peggy Kriha Dye will be playing roles both on and off the stage.
Dye took the time to chat with CityScene about her history with the famous French opera, juggling the opera’s title role along with her responsibilities as artistic director and how she’s altered Armide for a modern audience.
CityScene: You’ve performed this particular opera several times, in places such as Toronto with Opera Atelier and the Royal Opera House in Versailles. How has your approach changed since then?
Peggy Kriha Dye: The role is really big. My first approach was just trying to learn it accurately and get the French to sound like I speak French! The volume of music and words is so large. My whole focus was just to wrap my arms around the role properly. It took me a year to learn it. Because I’ve done it so many times, and because I’ve performed it, I feel like I can put my own mark on it now. I know the opera inside and out. I can view it in a different way. I think it’s going to be a much better performance this time for me.
CS: Is there a way you separate your role in Armide and your job as artistic director, or do those roles meet in the middle in any way?
PKD: I’ve not done this before. It’s going to be really challenging. I’m really going to try to separate the roles. In rehearsal, I’m going to let other people lead. I want to act like a hired performer. As soon as rehearsal is done, I will change roles, for sure. The challenge will be to stay strong physically and vocally while working another job at the same time.
CS: This is the first collaboration with Opera Columbus, Cleveland’s Apollo’s Fire Baroque Orchestra and BalletMet. Did this arrangement fall together organically, or were there any challenges that came along with it?
PKD: There are so many challenges when you add a whole other company to your production. I feel like Twisted prepared me for this production. That was really helpful to have that under my belt. Baroque opera is the most complicated opera to produce because you need a ballet, a specialized orchestra and singers. It’s a very complicated endeavor to begin with. Everyone was eager to participate and excited to make this work.
CS: Are there any notable alterations you’ve made in the Opera Columbus staging of Armide?
PKD: If you close your eyes, it’ll sound the same. We’ve cut the opera in half. It’s an hour and a half, and traditionally it’s a three-hour opera. There are a few parts that are very beautiful, but not necessary to tell the story. I wanted to do it in a bite-sized format. The other big difference is it looks completely different. We took a modern couture look for the show. It’s really funky. It’s really edgy, really modern. It’s going to look as if the characters don’t really belong to any era.
CS: What would you say to encourage someone to buy a ticket to Armide?
PKD: I think this opera is really special. It’s action-packed with the chorus, ballet and the specialized orchestra. The look of the show is couture. There’s so much to see and hear in this show. It’s not a traditional opera. It’s a really unique spectacle.
How to Go:
Opera Columbus presents Armide at the Southern Theatre, 21 E. Main St. There will be a preview performance on at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 17 with additional performances 7:30 p.m. on Sept.18 and 2 p.m. Sept. 20. All performances will be sung in French with English subtitles provided.
Tickets are $25-$88 (preview tickets are $15-40) at the CAPA Ticket Center, 39 E. State St.; all Ticketmaster outlets; and www.ticketmaster.com. To purchase by phone, call (614) 469-0939 or (800) 745-3000. Young people aged 13-25 may purchase $5 All Access tickets while available. For more information, visit www.GoFor5.com.
