The Passion of Persephone
A Rock Opera
Title and Concept © 2006 by Rosanna E. Tufts

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INTRODUCTION

The Passion of Persephone is based upon the ancient Greek myth of Demeter, Persephone, and Hades, originally told as an allegory to explain why we have Summer and Winter.

Updated to the 20th century, it also becomes a Coming-Of-Age story of Finding Your Own Path in life, even if that Path doesn’t quite mesh with what your parents want for you.

It is a tale of being Tested to find out what you are really made of.

But most of all, it is a steamy story of Love and Sexual Awakening.

1) "Suffering" in the Christian sense of the word;
2) Sexual desire; and
3) The thing that you really love to do, that gives you a sense of purpose and destiny.

Persephone experiences all three on her journey. She begins as a sweet, innocent, unassuming girl – like a silent movie ingénue – who has no idea how delicious she is. Hades is a black-leather-clad Master who rules his Realm with an iron hand and a leather whip – and yet he’s a hopeless romantic. To her, he is both terrifying and irresistible, but when she finally surrenders to his Discipline, something extraordinary happens. So full of Love it is almost too much for one Goddess to contain, she discovers her true Power, the one thing that she can do that no other God can. Along the way, Demeter, Persephone’s mother, learns that she cannot make her daughter a replica of herself.

In the original legend, Hades raped Persephone, and later tricked her into eating the pomegranate seeds that bound her to his realm for part of every year. Also, the theme of the rebirth of the Earth at the end did not include human souls. To the ancient Greeks, death was the End, and Persephone only ever returned one person to life. But to a modern audience raised on the Christian model of Resurrection and/or the Oriental concept of Reincarnation, retaining such a bleak viewpoint as this would be totally unacceptable. Also squirm-inducing would be the original legend’s incestuous relationship: Hades was Zeus’s brother, which would in turn make him Persephone’s uncle.

Every generation has retold its legends to satisfy people’s emotional needs in any given time period. So I have taken the liberty of giving modern twists to the basic outline. Demeter’s actions and attitudes have an element of class conflict to them. To ramp up the mother-daughter tension, I take away Persephone’s horticultural ability, much to Demeter’s parental disappointment. I deliberately omit any suggestion that Hades is Persephone’s uncle. Instead, I go for the political angle: Since both he and Zeus are rulers of their respective thirds of the Universe, they are technically equal, therefore Zeus cannot arbitrarily break his bargain with Hades. Hades does not just jump up and carry Persephone off, because he really wants her to like him! When Persephone relinquishes her fear and willingly offers herself in place of the Underworld Spectres, her total submission to Hades parallels the sacrifice of Christ (although Jesus is never mentioned by name). I introduce the Gay Ghosts, two characters who were not in the original, who become critical to Persephone’s discovery of her true Power. And Persephone freely accepts Hades’ offer of the pomegranate seeds, which become a source of strength for her eventual "Coming Out" to her mother Demeter. The mixture of costumes from different decades in the 20th century is intended to convey the timelessness of the story, while rooting it firmly in a not-too-distant cultural reference point for contemporary audiences.

By turns scary and erotic, with just enough comedy to make the suspense even more intense, The Passion of Persephone is also very mystical. Like Mozart’s The Magic Flute which incorporated themes from Freemasonry, the story arc of The Passion of Persephone follows the seven-stage Alchemical model of self-transformation. But you don’t need to understand how this works in order to be gripped by the characters’ sexual tension, and be swept along by music that is both soaringly romantic and powerful.

The relationship between Hades and Persephone seems counter-feminist ...
But you can’t find the Inner Core of Steel without the Ordeal.
Come for the Controversy . . . Stay for the Sizzle.

Scene 1:
In an Edwardian setting, Hermes (tenor) informs Demeter (mezzo-soprano) that Persephone (soprano) is slumming with the humans again. Even worse, she’s in a real "den of iniquity" – Chinatown. (100 years ago, this was the equivalent of the modern urban "hood.") As Demeter pulls Persephone out of there – "Don’t you know those people practice white slavery?" – the humans mock Demeter’s high-class pretensions. She sings an aria about her agenda for Persephone, in full operatic style – a life of marriage to a high God and keeping only to her own kind. "I wouldn’t have too much truck with the humans if I were you," she sings; "Remember what became of Prometheus!" Persephone, dressed in white lace, appears meek and obedient, saying very little. Worse, Demeter makes vegetation sprout easily, but Persephone has a "black thumb" — everything she tries to grow turns out looking like a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree!

Scene 2:
From his abode in the Underworld, Hades (baritone) has seen the foregoing interaction. Dressed in black leather, and struck by the Love Arrow of Eros, he sings an intensely smoldering rock ballad. He sings of his loneliness as Lord of the Dead, wondering if Persephone is the bride for him. For she has a quality that other Olympians lack: innocence and a complete lack of arrogance. (This is in the Broadway tradition of the "I Want" Song.) He imagines what it would be like to make love to Persephone — singing in present tense, even though they haven’t met yet. But then he remembers that she’d probably be terrified of him, and of life in the Underworld. He can’t possibly gloss over that; he will have to make her face it directly. He will have to be both Lover and Initiator.

Scene 3:
It’s Persephone’s 16th birthday party and the time for her "coming out." Her father Zeus (bass) and Demeter present her to the other Gods. Ares (baritone), Apollo (tenor), Hephaestus (bass) and Hermes all vie for her hand, in a cotillion that is a ballroom adaptation of the "Rose Adagio" from The Sleeping Beauty. Persephone again says little. She doesn’t seem to have an identity of her own, save that which her mother and the other Gods project onto her. Aphrodite (soprano), sensing Persephone’s discomfort at the whole proceeding, conspires with Artemis (alto) and several nymphs to spirit Persephone away for some badly-needed birthday fun. They stage a mock kidnapping.

Scene 4:
Artemis, Aphrodite, Persephone and the nymphs arrive at a lush flower-covered meadow. They ask what game Persephone would like to play. "How about Blindman’s Buff?" she suggests. Wickedly, Artemis says that Persephone is too good at that one: They will have to even the odds by making the game harder. With playful banter, they tie Persephone’s elbows together behind her back, but leave her hands free, effectively shortening her arms. Persephone finds the sensation deliciously thrilling, breaking into a brilliantly delighted smile for the first time all day. This scene is played for laughs, and is spiced with girl-on-girl suggestiveness.

After blindfolding Persephone and spinning her around, the nymphs scatter and fall silent as Persephone tries to find them. Moving carefully, one of her hands touches a particularly tall flower in the meadow: a narcissus with 100 blooms. She picks this flower, intending to use its long stem as a clever arm extension. But as soon as she does, the nymphs freeze. Hades emerges from below ground, and as he approaches her, she touches him with the narcissus. "Caught you!" she says.

Hades removes her blindfold, but lets her elbows remain tied. The sexual sizzle between them is obvious from the moment they lock eyes. "What have we here," he teases, "a damsel in distress?" Embarrassed, Persephone blushes at the sight of him – she has never seen anybody so handsome, let alone someone in black leather. He behaves like a perfect gentleman, although they both have to struggle to not laugh at her compromised position! She is fascinated by his combination of almost-threatening looks and courtly manners. He assures her that he is King of his own realm and ruler of much fine gold, "but I suspect such claims do not mean much to you." Impressed by his humble modesty, she says she would like to see his realm. But when she realizes he’s taking her below ground, she panics. She drops the flower and her hat falls off.

Scene 5:
"Eeww! What IS this, a sulfur mine?" Persephone asks as Hades brings her through the entrance to the Underworld. He has removed her bonds from her elbows, but re-tied her hands in front of her. In vain she struggles to get away. (The Alchemical transformation begins here; this is the 1ST STAGE of CALCINATION.) In a powerful rock song, Hades introduces her to the denizens of Hell, and tells her why they are here, about all the terrible things the Spectres did when they were living humans. She is horrified when he picks up a whip and begins to strike the Spectres as he sings. She is metaphorically thrown into the deep end of the pool, and must sink or swim. She doesn’t know whether to run from Hades or to cling to him!

Scene 6:
Demeter has finally caught up with Aphrodite, Artemis, and the nymphs. She releases them from their frozen state. Finding the fallen flower and Persephone’s hat but no Persephone, Demeter demands to know what has happened. None of them saw Hades. Desperately, they all call for Persephone. But only Hermes answers, followed by Apollo the Sun, who sees everything from his abode in the sky. They tell Demeter of how Hades has kidnapped Persephone, and this time it’s no joke. Shocked, Demeter rebukes the nymphs for their foolish games, and determines to get Zeus’s help. But Aphrodite wonders if this is the beginning of True Love, and Hermes is secretly pleased that Persephone has begun an Alchemical process that he himself invented.

Scene 7:
Persephone’s hands are now tied behind her back, and her feet are tied in a hobble that allows her to walk, but not run. A part of her lace dress has been removed. She begs Hades to let her go: "Can’t you just mate with a human girl? My father does it all the time!" "An ordinary human wouldn’t survive the transition," Hades replies, "she would become just like all the other Spectres. Only a Goddess can hold her own here." He tells her that she has a special gift, but she would never have discovered it had she fulfilled her mother’s agenda for a life of privilege. Such a life would prove to be even more restrictive than the ropes that bind her now. She must earn her stripes and her freedom. Persephone asks how. (2ND STAGE: DISSOLUTION) Hades explains that Hell is a place of punishment, but he grows tired of ghosts who replay their torments over and over for eternity. "It is all pain, no gain. I am doing a job that nobody else wants. Something tells me that there has to be a better way, that the whole universe will be a better place if my Third of it were different. Maybe a Goddess’s touch will help."

Left alone, Persephone tries again to loosen her bonds, but the knots only become tighter. She wonders how badly her mother is taking her disappearance. In a folk-rock style that is midway between Demeter’s operatic melody and Hades’ rock rhythm, she sings a plaintive ballad of her confused feelings, for she still finds him very attractive, and although he is a martinet with the Spectres, he is never cruel to her. (See video: "Why Does He Have to Be So . . .") Up until this point, she has only sung in ensembles or duets. Only here, in her first solo, does her individuality begin to emerge, as she is being tested to see what she is really made of. (3RD STAGE: SEPARATION)

Standing up, she begins to awkwardly wander among the Spectres, who marvel at the presence of this "angel of light" in their realm of darkness. They do not call her by name, addressing her only as "Maiden." (This bit of business is taken directly from the Eleusinian Mysteries.) They begin to tell her their stories: One man killed his brother, another his father. One woman (alto) killed her children to keep them from falling into enemy hands during a war. Of all the Spectres, Persephone is most repulsed by her. She asks about the fate of children, dead before their time: The Spectres assure her that Hades never strikes children, because of their innocence — which is why he hasn’t struck her either.

She comes upon two particularly forlorn Spectres, who do not seem like monsters, unlike the other former thieves and murderers who surround her. She asks them how they came to be here. (This is the Grail Question: "What ails you?") They reply that he is Gay Ghosts (tenor and baritone). "You don’t look very gay," says Persephone. They explain that in life, they had a "love that dare not speak its name." Hell, for them, is to gaze longingly at each other from a distance, but never to touch, for ghosts can’t touch anything. They never did anything wrong, but this is their punishment because human society insists that’s what they deserve. "So your only crime was to Love?" says Persephone, "That hardly seems fair . . ."

Scene 8:
Zeus explains to a distraught Demeter of the agreement that he struck with Hades. Knowing that no Goddess would allow her daughters to marry the Lord of Death, Zeus arranged to grow the hundred-bloomed narcissus. The Goddess who found it and plucked it would be Hades’ bride. "There is nothing I can do," Zeus says, "He is Ruler of one third of the Universe, as am I. A bargain is a bargain." Demeter is horrified that Zeus would sacrifice his own daughter to "that monster." Again Zeus reminds her that if he were to go up against Hades, he would have to bring Poseidon into it (Poseidon is Lord of the Oceans and the third "superpower" among the Gods), and that would precipitate a civil war — he dares not go there.

Hermes attempts to reassure her, saying it might be for the best. At least Persephone is not dead although she is in the Land of the Dead. "Perhaps she is really in a Crucible," Hermes says, "where she will be refined into the purest gold."

"Don’t give me your Alchemical poppycock!" Demeter cries. Inconsolable, she takes revenge by plunging the world into perpetual winter. The First Act ends with Demeter’s rage aria, backed by a chorus of starving, bewildered, destitute humans in 1930s Depression-era rags.
End of Act I

Scene 1:
Persephone is still bound as in her previous scene, but more of her lace dress has been removed. Hades and Persephone can both see what is happening in the world above them. "You can hardly tell the Land of the Living from the Land of the Dead, now," Hades observes. "And we’re getting full to overflowing with people who’ve starved to death," Persephone replies. "One word from you could put a stop to all this – return me to my mother!" But Hades still refuses, on grounds that Demeter is acting selfishly and Persephone has not yet found her destiny.

He then turns to his usual task of punishing the Spectres – but when Persephone sees that today he has chosen the Gay Ghosts to receive his lash, she begs him to stop. Falling to her knees in submission, she impulsively stammers, "I will take the discipline for them." He commands her to look at him – for she cannot meet his eyes and lie – and asks why. Trembling, she replies, "Maybe if I . . . feel what a Spectre feels . . . my destiny will come clear." Hades is astonished, but he agrees. As he leads her away, the Spectres are amazed that she would do such a brave thing for them. They gaze after her in sympathy for what is about to happen to her.

Scene 2:
Now appearing as a haggard old woman, Demeter has left Olympus far behind her. She now resides in a temple on Earth at Eleusis, where the humans bring their offerings. But the offerings are meager, for the famine has left them with little to bring. One by one, all the Gods (except Zeus and Hermes) come down from Olympus, imploring Demeter to return and make the Earth fruitful again. She rebuffs each one in turn. Finally all the Gods approach her with one accord, for the humans are so hungry that they have stopped believing, and without the humans’ faith, the Gods themselves have begun to starve. But Demeter can only sing a despairing lament, insisting that she will not relent until Persephone is returned to her.

Scene 3:
Persephone is now almost completely naked, save for just barely enough to cover her and still make this a PG-13 show! Hades has subjected her to full bondage in a position that takes her off-balance and deprives her of any leverage at all; only her head is able to turn and her hands to flex. They are in the deepest level of Hell, where even sound stops. Persephone is unable to speak, and even Hades’ voice is on a recording, indicating that she can hear him telepathically. This, the steamiest and most emotionally intense scene, plays in the looks that pass between them.

Hades offers her one last chance to back out. Terrified and tempted, she almost accepts . . . But then, remembering that the fate of Worlds is riding upon her answer, she shakes her head "No" and braces herself for whatever is to come. "You’re a brave one, I’ll give you that," says Hades, "but then, I’d expect nothing less from the Daughter of Zeus."

As Hades uses his flogger to strike her with stinging blows, or caresses her with sensual touch (sometimes both simultaneously), she progresses from fear to acceptance, and finally feels her passion awaken as she watches him move. This is the last reaction Hades was expecting; he has no idea how she is turning pain into pleasure. But the more aroused she becomes, he becomes aroused too, until he can no longer resist her. Without untying her, he begins to cut off what little remains of her lingerie . . . Blackout. We do not see them consummate their desire! (4TH STAGE: CONJUNCTION)

Scene 4:
An entire year has gone by, and the situation grows ever more desperate. None of the attempts to bring Demeter around have worked. Even worse, the famine on Earth has begun to disrupt the life of the oceans, prompting Poseidon (baritone) to do something he never does: He leaves his watery realm to pay a call on Zeus, to find out what the Hell is going on! This is the last straw for Zeus. He is going to have to override his oath to Hades and pull rank on him. He commands Hermes to make the journey to the Underworld and bring Persephone back. "But the process isn’t finished!" Hermes objects. "And what if Persephone doesn’t want to leave?" "I am her Father," Zeus bellows, "She has to obey me!" (He’s not the God of Thunder for nothing!) Reluctantly, Hermes begins the trip below, wondering how he’s going to break the news. "I hope they don’t kill the messenger . . ."

Scene 5:
Persephone is now dressed in a black corset, and all her bonds have been removed. In a smoldering, soaring song, she sings of how she is amazed at the change that has taken place in her, at the places in her soul that Hades was able to reach. Though she was bound, she has never felt more free. She is overwhelmed with Love, and even wonders "when can I do that again?"

Hades has now given her permission to walk freely in the Underworld, for she has earned the right to do so. Wondering if she is any closer to figuring out what her destiny is, she takes up one of the tools of Hades’ trade, a crop. As she approaches the Spectres, they wonder if she is going to use the crop upon them. Hoping to avoid the blows, they shower her with compliments, for the Ordeal has made her even more beautiful. She realizes that she reached a level of transcendence that no Spectre has ever attained – could she somehow transfer it to them?

Taking a wild guess, she touches the Gay Ghosts with the crop, and commands them to Touch, and to Love. They are shocked at first, and almost refuse, because nobody has ever given them that permission before. But slowly the two men begin to dance a "pas de deux" that is poignant, sensitive, and sensual. Persephone is amazed that her magickal act actually worked!

She then tells the Gay Ghosts that they will be able to return to Earth, with new lives in new bodies, so they can find each other and love each other as they could not before. They’re going to get a "Second Chance to Get it Right." All the Spectres are flabbergasted that she could actually break precedent like that. "Well, am I Mistress here, or am I not?" she says. In a joyous, rousing ensemble, Persephone comes into her true power, decreeing that all the Spectres will get second chances when their times are ripe. They even begin to dance together, as Persephone restores their ability to touch. "We’ll show the world the dead can party!"

Hades appears, to congratulate her for accomplishing what he could not: "You have solved the riddle! And it did take a Goddess to figure it out!" The Spectres have never seen their Master so happy, smiling, and in love. But their enthusiasm is cut short by the arrival of Hermes: "I’m sorry, Hades, but you’re going to have to give Persephone up." Suddenly Persephone feels sick to her stomach: How is she going to explain to her mother about the nature of the love she has found? (5TH STAGE: FERMENTATION) "She’ll think I’ve become a monster!" But Hades chides her: "You have braved the worst of Hell, and now you’re afraid of your own mother?" "You don’t understand," she says, "my mother’s wrath is worse than anything down here!" "Got that right," Hermes mutters.

Hades offers something to help her muster up the courage to face Demeter: a blood-red pomegranate. Persephone is amazed that something so alive is here in the Land of the Dead, but as she takes four of the seeds, she feels her courage returning and growing within her. In an aside to himself, Hermes knows that this act will have far-reaching consequences: "Uh Oh, Mommy’s not going to like this . . ."

Scene 6:
Hermes returns to Eleusis, proclaiming the news: "Persephone is Coming Out!" In an aside to the audience, he says, "In more ways than one." Demeter emerges from the temple, appearing first as the haggard old woman, unable to believe her ears. But then she exults with joy, casts off her ragged cloak and reassumes her younger, motherly self. She is dressed in a gown and hairstyle from the 1950s, the Grande Dame once again. As she sings, the stage comes alive as the sun comes out, the grass begins to grow, and flowers sprout up all over. All the Gods come down from Mt. Olympus and the humans join in, to celebrate the rebirth of the Earth.

When Persephone arises from below ground with Hades at her side, she is dressed in a long black gown. She now has an air of calm command, yet still retains her wide-eyed innocent looks. Demeter stops cold at the sight of her, not quite knowing what to make of the change.

"You’re . . . all grown up!" "I was in a Crucible, Mother," says Persephone, "where I was tried, and tempered." Demeter, remembering Hermes’ words, turns to glare at him; he responds with a what-can-I-say? shrug. Suddenly fearing the worst, she demands to know if Persephone ate anything while she was in the Underworld. After a pregnant pause, Persephone admits, "Yes, I ate some pomegranate seeds." Pole-axed, Demeter asks, "How many?" "Four."

"Then it was too good to be true," Demeter despairs. "But not as bad as you feared," Zeus intervenes. He explains to the puzzled assembly that because Persephone has eaten four pomegranate seeds, she is obligated to return to Hades and the Underworld for four months out of the year, but Demeter gets to have her for the remaining eight. Persephone looks at Hades slyly: "You knew this was going to happen, didn’t you?" And to Hermes, "And you did, too." Hermes shrugs again.

Now Demeter sees the obvious affection between Persephone and Hades, and is horrified. "You don’t mean to tell me that you actually love this lowlife?" "If you hate lowlifes so much," Persephone counters, "then why have you created so many, depriving them of their bread?" indicating the starving humans around them. But then she embraces her mother: "It is true that I have found love in the darkest depths of Hell, instead of among the High and Mighty like you wanted. But I am still your daughter, and nothing will ever change that." Demeter breaks down in tears, for this is exactly what she needed to hear.

"But I shall still weep in loneliness for all the time that you are gone," says Demeter, "and the Earth will become barren again." "But when she returns, says Hades, "she will bring something with her." As he sings, some of the Spectres (including the Gay Ghosts) appear from the Underworld, now wearing bright tie-dyes. (Their freewheeling bohemian attire is intended to starkly contrast with Demeter’s stiffly restrictive fashion.) "The Grateful Dead, newly restored to life in new bodies, even as you restore the Earth." "As Hades takes in the newly dead, I show them how they may live again," says Persephone.

"What a perfect solution!" says Hermes. "Thus is the Balance of Life restored." "And all three Realms," decrees Zeus with obvious fatherly pride, "shall be better for this New World Order. Mere chance brought you together, yet you made the most of it, in a way that uniquely suits each of you." (6TH STAGE: DISTILLATION)

As the Spectres accompany on their drums, Hades and Persephone declare their love in a steamy tango. They sing longingly and eagerly of the strange and wonderful things they will do when Persephone returns to him, stoking the flames of Life in the Land of the Dead with their passion. (This duet, the penultimate number, is in the Broadway tradition of the "11 o’clock song.") During the last verse, Hades gives her a golden crown, so that even the Living may know that she is his Queen. (7TH STAGE: COAGULATION)

Demeter still isn’t crazy about the idea, "yet even I can’t deny True Love." As the colorful Spectres continue to drum, Demeter renews the Earth’s abundance, the humans cast off their 1930s rags to reveal more affluent modern dress underneath, the Gods exult in the humans’ renewed faith in them, and Hades returns underground as Persephone bids him farewell — until the next time.
End Act 2