Kira was a news anchor for a TVchannel.
She delivered the news related to culture, but her ambition was to add
some personal touch to some important stories. One night she watched an
opera by Mozart “Mitridate
Re Di Ponto”. The opera was set in Roman times. It was about the King
Mithridates of Pontus and his two sons, all in love with Aspasia, while struggling
with state issues, loyalty and betrayal. Women sang both brothers’ roles.
Moreover, the third much younger brother, also a soprano, replaced the old
and wise king’s advisor, as it was originally present in Racine’s
libretto. Mozart was commissioned to compose the music when he was 14 years
old. He probably sung himself, while composing, thus the three parts become
the sopranos, she thought. She could imagine the panel of the XVIII century
experts, discussing the oddness of the situation. It would be hard to change
the music they liked, and hard to do the same to the text.