La Calisto – Review of 2025 Aix-En-Provence Festival Production

The Aix-en-Provence Festival offers a beautiful production of La Calisto, Francesco Cavalli’s 1651 wonderful opera at the Théâtre de l’Archevêchê. It is splendidly sung accompanied by the orchestra conducted by Sebastien Daucé and directed by Jetske Mijnssen. It has magnificent sets by Julia Katharina Berndt, and it all add up to a marvelous night at the opera. It is done in the open air under the stars and who cares if it starts at 9:30 p.m. and lasts until almost 1:00 in the morning.
La Calisto is based on Greek mythology via Ovid’s Metamorphoses and has a noble theme of saving the world, but the reality is a lot of testosterone-driven gods and mortals, and followers of the goddess Diana. That means virgins, gods and men and a lot of sexual attraction, rejection and tragedy turned into apotheosis.
The main story is about Callisto (Laurenne Oliva), the beautiful nymph and dedicated followers of the goddess Diana (Giuseppina Bridelli), the virgin goddess whose followers are of course virgins. Oliva has a gorgeous voice, and she defines a woman of class and high manners.
Enter Jupiter (Alex Rosen) who wants to save the world but as we know he has more testosterone than sense. He sees Calisto and wants her. She rebuffs him and he wants to rape her. But his companion and son Mercury (Dominic Sedgwick), the god of lies, suggests a gentler method: deceit. Jupiter disguises himself as Diana and approaches Calisto sexually. Calisto responds positively. Kudos to Rosen and Sedgwick as singers and performers.
But we know that problems are inevitable. First, Calisto approaches the real Diana lovingly and is thrown out of the group of virgin followers. Worse is to come when Juno (Mrs. Jupiter) figures out her husband’s ruse and takes revenge on the poor Calisto but that can wait for a couple of hours.
In the meantime, the handsome shepherd Endymion (Paul-Antoine Bénos-Djian) comes looking for Diana. He is madly in love with her, and she loves him but secretly because of her vow of chastity. Linfea (Zachary Wilder), an innocent virgin, has some amorous urges but she knows nothing about men and love. When the Satyr (countertenor Théo Imart) approaches her with a marriage proposal she rejects him, and he is very unhappy about that. The god Pan (tenor David Portillo) is also madly in love with Diana, but he too is rejected. Will Diana relent and accept sexual fulfilment. I won’t tell you everything.
Pan, the Satyr and Silvano (bass-baritone Douglas Ray Williams), decide to spy on Diana to figure out what she is up to! Well, she finds Endymion sleeping and sidles up to him amorously, but the three spying clowns see them. Endymion does not get anything.
We need more complications and some real fury. Who better than the harridan of the mythical world Juno (Anna Bonitatibus). She knows of Jupiter’s debauchery and descends to Earth for the details and revenge. She overhears Calisto's tears and questions her, recognizing in her story her husband's methods. Jupiter appears in the guise of Diana, but Juno recognizes him by the presence of his sidekick Mercury. In short, Juno figures out what her husband is doing.
La Calisto has a large cast and many of the singers have more than one role. David Portillo sings La Natura. Pan and Furia. Jose Loca Loza plays Silvano and Furia. Imart sings Destino, Satirino and Furia. Bonitatibus is June as well as L’Eternita. Kudos for highest quality singing and acting.
There are amorous, humorous and dramatic complications carried by comic scenes, gorgeous arias and accompanying choral pieces that are a delight to the ear and the eye.
The set by Berndt consists of a panelled stage with a revolving middle piece. Half of it is an open half circle whereas the other half resembles the rest of the stage. It is effective, practical and beautiful. The costumes by Hannah Clark are just what you expect immortals, nymphs and shepherds to wear. They may look suspiciously like fancy baroque attire but who are we to argue with the gods.
There is the ugly side of the opera where Juno turns Calisto into an ugly animal, a bear according to Ovid. But Fate intervenes and Calisto is turned into an eternal constellation. Jupiter and Callisto come down to earth to say farewell as a celestial choir celebrates the lovers. And so do we.
La Calisto by Francesco Cavalli opened on July 7 and will be performed a total of eight times until July 21, 2025, at the Théâtre de l’Archevêché, Aix-en-Provence, France. www.festival-aix.com

Scene from La Calisto,. Festival d’Aix-en-Provence 2025 © Monika Rittershaus