In Geoffrey Chaucer's The Wife of Bath's Tale, a knight has to atone for his crime by traveling across medieval England to discover what it is that women want most. But what answers will he get when he encounters a host of modern characters, from Virginia Woolf to Sigmund Freud?
Their responses will be revealed in the comic opera The Loathly Lady, premiering at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Irvine Auditorium. This modern adaptation of Chaucer's story will be performed in three acts for one night only, and was written and produced by English professor Wendy Steiner. The opera score is composed by Paul Richards, associate professor of composition and theory at the University of Florida.
The central question of the play is "timely," as it is relevant to "the debates over feminism today," Steiner said. Yet, the answer to the question that both Chaucer and the modern opera explores remains as elusive as ever, because women are "full of contradictions," Steiner said.
But Steiner believes that the numerous answers to the question of what women want are part of a whole.
"One of the great things about this opera is that it allows us to explore the partial answers that all the women give," Steiner said. "It is a way to let all aspects of a person speak."
The relationship between women is another theme that the opera inspects. A scene that showcases this is one between Woolf, Eliza Doolittle from My Fair Lady and the Lady of Shalott. The scene is about "solidarity and the connection between women of the past and present," Steiner said.
Soprano Julianne Baird, who plays many of the opera's leading characters, said her favorite scene involves the Furies - female deities of vengeance in Greek and Roman mythology. "All the ladies of the opera come together and conspire to chew out the knight," she said.
Not all scenes will be dominated by female characters, however. Merlin, the wizard of Camelot, and Freud will provide comic relief with a scene depicting their drunken arguments.
College junior Brian Young said, "I'm a little wary of modern adaptations, but I'm curious to see how the different characters will interact."
Tickets are priced at $25 and $30 depending on the seating. Student discounts are available.
