''Helen Retires'' is the second

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

George Antheil George Johann Carl Antheil ( ; July 8, 1900 – February 12, 1959) was an American avant-garde composer, pianist, author, and inventor whose modernist musical compositions explored the sounds – musical, industrial, and mechanical – of the ear ...

. The

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

was written by John Erskine based on his novel ''The Private Life of Helen of Troy'' (1925). It was written in 1931 but not performed until 1934 when it was produced by the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

(where Erskine was president).

Synopsis

The opera is a telling of the story of

Helen of Troy Helen (), also known as Helen of Troy, or Helen of Sparta, and in Latin as Helena, was a figure in Greek mythology said to have been the most beautiful woman in the world. She was believed to have been the daughter of Zeus and Leda (mythology), ...

after her husband's (

Menelaos In Greek mythology, Menelaus (; ) was a Greeks, Greek king of Mycenaean Greece, Mycenaean (pre-Dorians, Dorian) Sparta. According to the ''Iliad'', the Trojan war began as a result of Menelaus's wife, Helen of Troy, Helen, fleeing to Troy with t ...

) death. It opens with his funeral banquet. Helen descends to the nether world to seek

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus () was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's ''Iliad'', he was the son of the Nereids, Nereid Thetis and Peleus, ...

on the Island of the Blest. Finding Achilles the two return from

Hades Hades (; , , later ), in the ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, is the god of the dead and the king of the Greek underworld, underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea ...

and proceed to sing love duets until an old fisherman convinces Helen that no love can last forever. She then sends Achilles back to Hades and stretches out to die. But along comes a young fisherman who dances and convinces Helen to try at love again.

External links

''Helen Retires - A Sound Collage In Two Parts '

References

The Operas of George Antheil
English-language operas Operas by George Antheil Operas 1934 operas Operas based on classical mythology Operas based on novels Operas based on works by American writers {{english-opera-stub