New Opera Adaptation of Ancient Epic Gilgamesh Premieres in California

A new operatic production based on the ancient Mesopotamian epic of Gilgamesh premiered on March 28 and 29 at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts in California. The work, titled 'Gilgamesh: The Opera,' is a collaboration between the Assyrian Arts Institute, the Lyric Opera of Orange County, and the chamber ensemble Bridge to Everywhere. Composer Derrick Skye, a Grammy nominee, created the music, while artistic director Diana Farrell wrote the libretto, with Maria Fatima Corona del Toro conducting. The production incorporates traditional Assyrian elements, including ritualistic movement and dances choreographed by Stephen Martin Allan, and features instruments like the zurna, dawla, oud, nai, qanun, and tambour. Chants from the Tyareh Assyrian tribe, including male Rāwēḥ and female lilyana chants, are integrated to enhance authenticity, as noted by dramaturge and ethnomusicologist Dr. Eve Sada, a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Divinity School. Parts of the English libretto have been translated into Akkadian by Assyriologist Zack Cherry to align with the epic's original rhythmic patterns. The cast includes performers from major opera companies, such as Ahmad Joudeh as Young Gilgamesh, Anne Elise Teeling as Ishtar, and Michael O’Halloran as Humbaba/Utnapishtim. The epic, dating back to around 2100-2000 BCE and compiled in a standard Babylonian version around 1200 BCE, explores themes of friendship, mortality, and heroism, with scholarly debates over homoerotic undertones in the relationship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu. This production aims to highlight the human aspects of the story, as emphasized by executive producer Nora Betyousef Lacey. The opera follows previous adaptations, including a 1973 work by Danish composer Per Nørgård and a recent staging in Istanbul of Ahmet Adnan Saygun's opera, which had been unperformed for decades.