Lysistrata or, The Nude Goddess; music and libretto by Mark Adamo, is very loosely based on the play by Aristophanes. It’s not a simple farce or anti-war propaganda piece. Rather it’s a complex interrogation of various dualities; male/female, peace/war, eros/thanatos, lust/love and, perhaps above all, everything that’s implied by the duo Ares/Aphrodite. So, although we are still in Athens during the Peloponnesian war and there’s still a sex strike it’s not Aristophanes. If there’s an overarching idea it’s that we all want love and we all want peace but on what/whose terms?

Adamo introduces a number of new male characters; notably Nikias, an Athenian general. In a pivotal scene he is being seduced by Lysia but just as things heat up he’s recalled to the army (shades of Carmen?) which causes Lysia to adopt the cause of the women, led by Kleonike, advocating for a ceasefire and to become, in effect, their leader. Months later this is tested when Nikias promises to leave the army if Lysia will call off the sex boycott. She agrees but the women embarrass her into reneging. The Spartans and Athenians are, temporarily reconciled but conflict soon breaks out again until Ares and Aphrodite appear and warn the Greeks that conflict is perpetual so they must enjoy the brief periods of respite. It’s not vey comforting!

Musically and structurally it’s also complex. Scenes are repeated with different characters and music that s subtly altered. So Lysias’ seduction of Nikias and subsequent hissy fit is mirrored by her friend Myrrhine’s feigned seduction of her lover Kinesias and his subsequent tantrum. There are lots of in jokes and plenty of fourth wall breaking. Sappho finds the sex strike gives her more time to write poetry! Adamo even gives the Spartans a distinctive accent.

Musically it’s very varied. It’s largely tonal but with many moods and it has genuinely interesting vocal writing; quite challenging in fact. It’s extremely colourful and varied in mood and texture. Sometimes it’s lyrical, at others quite abrasive. It’s extremely dense in some places and very sparse in others. The vocal writing uses the different registers of the singers effectively so there’s real contrast between sopranos Lysia and Myrrhine and the contralto roles of Lampito and Kleonike. The score is as clever and witty as the libretto.

While the opera premiered in Houston in 2005 it had to wait until 2025 for this recording to be made in Boston by Odyssey Opera and the Boston Modern Opera Project under the direction of Gil Rose. It’s a large cast. There are twenty four solo roles. Lysia is sung by Anya Matanović. She’s quite dramatic and a good vocal actor with a talent for humour. Myrrhine is sing by the lighter, brighter Katherine Beck. Veteran mezzo/contralto Lucy Schaufer does a very nice job with Kleonike. She’s also very good with comedy. Lampito is clearly supposed to be a strikingly statuesque woman and dramatic contralto Alexis Peart certainly has a suitably muscular sound. Dominic Armstrong, as Nikias, has a really pleasant lyric tenor which contrasts very well with the gravelly bass-baritone of Kevin Deas who makes his character sound convincingly Spartan (i.e not too bright!). All the smaller parts are more than adequately handled. The instrumental playing is all excellent.

This release is a hybrid SACD and it sounds excellent; clear and detailed. I listened to Act 1 using the multi-channel option and then switched to stereo and headphones for Act 2. Both are top notch. It’s also available digitally in lossless 96kHz/24 bit and standard CD quality as well as MP3. The booklet has the full text and a synopsis as well as a really useful essay on the project by Adamo.

All up this is one of the best contemporary opera recordings I’ve come across lately. There’s some two hours and twenty minutes of it. The libretto is both thought provoking and very funny and the music is varied and excellent. Couple that with a first rate performance and state of the art recording and it’s hard to complain.

Catalogue information: Pentatone PTC5187539. Release date August 7th 2026