An Opera about a Medieval Woman Mystic?

 

                             This image of Hildegard’s is known as The Cosmic Tree, or The Wheel of Life.

I may have written about the 11th century Christian mystic, Hildegarad of Bingen, but after 19 years of blog writing the post is lost in the mists of time. 

Hildegard was a nun, eventually an abbess who pushed back against patriarchy in the church. And either despite or because of migraines she had visions of the cosmos and the interconnection of life on Earth that were revolutionary. The convent she founded gave remarkable freedom for the creativity of the sisters and she was a popular figure of her time despite efforts to silence her. It only took 900 years for the Roman Catholic church to canonize her.

In Molly Ireland’s costumes for the opera Hildegard, angels wear dresses made of prints taken from illuminated manuscripts.Credit...Angel Origgi

So much has been written about Hildegaard in recent years and there is a film as well. Now there is an opera, Hildegard, which sounds intriguing and is favourably reviewed in the New York Times by Joshua Barone who prefaces his assessment with this description of the nun's life:

 Somehow, she was a pioneer on every front, believed to be a vessel of God through visions that, when rendered in illustrations by her peers, were so shockingly modern, they could have been made in the 20th century.

Hildegard has long fascinated artists, mystics and more who often respond to what she represents rather than what she did. Judy Chicago placed her among the great women of her installation “The Dinner Party”; Lauren Groff adopted her strong will and sapphism for the protagonist of her novel “Matrix”; Rosalía has said she was inspired by her expansive virtuosity when writing her new pop album, “Lux.”

It sounds as though the opera focusses more on the relationship between Hildegaard and Richardis von Stade, the troubled woman who helped illustrate her visions. 

I won't pretend that I'm a fan of opera although I have attended one and it was a surprisingly positive experience. I have been fascinated by Hildegaard for a long time and while I can't imagine that the opera will take the world by storm, you never know. It might be second to nun. 

The soprano Nola Richardson, front, in the title role of Sarah Kirkland Snider’s opera “Hildegard.”Credit...Angel Origgi