I found at the core of the story of Silla is the price of ambition. Silla becomes obsessed with power in all its forms and eventually pushes all of his supporters and friends away. In that sense he becomes weaker than ever. I also believe every story is a love story. What happens when we put love for material things above love for another person? Love for power? Love for our country, even?

The dictatorship, the themes on gender, the themes of love and ambition, fear and patriarchy incredibly poignant for not only today’s audience but for a modern group of young artists, specifically young women, to explore. We had an entirely female cast for this opera so I specifically wanted to explore what these ideas meant for women.

This brought me to the idea of internalized misogyny in women- specifically when a woman comes into a position of power. How strong do you have to be to deny this almost naturalistic internalization? At what point do we lose femininity in pursuit of a dominant personality that is coupled with success or victory?

I decided to show this by setting our Silla in a political dreamscape where everyone is androgynous in closing, except Silla and Metella, who play the role of the classic political power couple. It starts as a party- Silla has led everyone to victory, but then it gets sour when Silla announces himself as dictator of Rome. His friends betrayed, they try to stay together as Silla separates and exiles them one by one. Throughout the show, Silla becomes more and more corrupted with black ink from Il Dio, a mystical figure I had representing the act of killing with a written order, and the corruption that follows.

In the end, Silla apologizes and everyone is “happy.” Very Handel. Very baroque. Underneath it all there is a sadness and embarrassment in Silla’s actions, and an uncertainty in this newfound responsibility Metella has. His friends are alive and loyal to Metella, but the hurt cannot be forgotten. I was interested in the mess this all created, so that’s exactly what the set is- a huge mess of confetti and balloons the first act, and with paper and ink the second act.

What would you do for love? What would you do for your country? What comes first?