Eigiertairmient
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Painter's Private Life
Comes To The Stage
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MICHAEL ELKIN SPEC A 0 HE EW SH NEWS
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work.
The painter who turned to
the heavens for inspiration
in his work deferred to the
devils of the Inquisition,
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rejecting his Jewish lover
and the Jewish son they bore
so he could continue pain-
ting without the pain of
persecution in 16th century
Spain.
The painter born
Domenikos Theotokopoulos
in Crete lived a life of
operatic proportions, which
has not been lost on the IN-
TAR Hispanic American
Theater in New York.
The INTAR is staging El
Greco at Playhouse 91 in
New York.
The piece paints its own
picture, that of a prominent
artist whose battle with the
Church over art and aesthet-
ics left his private life
sprawled on the canvas.
Librettist Bernardo Solano
and composer William
Harper visited Toledo,
Spain, El Greco's home, as
part of their research. "El
Greco lived in the Jewish
Quarter of Toledo, which
was on the fringe of the cen-
tral part of society," says
Mr. Harper.
The concept of a stranger
in a strange land struck a
chord with the composer and
librettist. "That notion of be-
ing a foreigner living on the
Michael Elkin is the enter-
tainment editor of the Jewish
Exponent in Philadelphia.
outskirts of his country
played into the dramatic in-
tent of our piece. In many
ways, being Jewish, which
El Greco's companion
Jeronima was, is a symbol
for being an outsider."
In a way, Mr. Solano and
Mr. Harper, both award-
winning artists, are out-
siders too in this project
when it comes to the Jewish
aspect of the opera.
"Neither Bernardo nor I
are Jewish, but we both
discovered a number of
things during our research"
in the Toledo Jewish com-
munity, notes Mr. Harper,
including how the "Catholic
Church had taken over a
number of the synagogues
there.
"In terms of historical
data, there is very little
known about El Greco."
"From the few facts we
could find, we were able to
make some educated
guesses, notably that
Jeronima was Jewish and
had become a convert to pro-
tect herself from the Inquisi-
tion, and that El Greco
didn't formally recognize his
son until the artist was on
his death bed."
The struggle over
Jeronima's religion and the
son they bore hit home often
for the artist. In at least one
case, research revealed,
"There was a battle over
whether to have the child
circumcized."
There was peace and har-
mony, however, between the
composer and librettist, both
of whom have been critically
acclaimed for their theater
work in the past. El
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It
TAYIERN
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he private life of
painter El Greco was
far less artful than his
beautiful and pristine
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A scene from the comtemporary opera about the life of El Greco.