It was good to see the other sides of Dionysus as well. I liked both Phaedra’s and Ariadne’s point of views. This felt almost non-fiction. But I think that's just another cool thing about greek mythology. It feels so real because so many people believe it's truth. Another sad, expected end to another beautiful retelling. I can't wait to find my next one.

A third lead is the young Composer of the opera seria, designated a soprano role by Strauss, but here (as usual) allotted to a mezzo, Hanna Hipp, whose emotional investment in the character’s vulnerable idealism is touchingly captured in lithe, soaring tone. The fourth principal is Zerbinetta, soubrette queen of the comedy troupe, whose showpiece aria is stuffed with high notes, trills and other coloratura challenges. Soprano Jennifer France dispatches it with scarcely credible virtuosity, not to mention bags of charm. This is one of the many challenges. I’ve tried to serve the piece and the ultimate purpose of each scene. The prologue offers ample opportunities for comedy, as well as very moving moments. I try not to be too caricatural in the depiction of the characters, whilst playing with some of the in-jokes. Then when we get to the opera, I want to know why the buffi are going to Ariadne in the first quintet, how does Zerbinetta responds to her interaction with Ariadne, knowing what we know from her in the prologue? I often find when watching productions of Ariadne that the two worlds are miles apart in the opera and in conflict, but that leaves me unfulfilled. The very first appearance of the buffi in the opera shows them deeply moved by Ariadne. How do I carry this forward? I want to try and combine the two worlds with the ultimate purpose of showing how one can have an influence on the other. This is a story many people will be familiar with, thus Saint seems to take pleasure in playing with the reader’s expectations. There are many little details that appear to be foreshadowing, yet when the time comes Saint neatly sidesteps the anticipated event. For this reason, this review will avoid going into too much plot-specific detail, although it will assume that the broad strokes are so commonly written about that they can no longer be spoiled. An ancient story of love and sisterhood reimagined, Jennifer Saint's Ariadne is a truly masterful debut - compulsive, absorbing and lyrical. Saint breathes new life into the forgotten women of Greek mythology with a novel that's both incredibly absorbing, and full of heart.' - Kate Lowe, author of The FuriesFirst a romp, then a romance, Ariadne is really about marrying integrity with teamwork. It’s not just about putting on a show; it’s about living ethically. These stories are falling into the hands of a very diverse array of authors at the moment, and that’s giving them a new life, ” agreed Jeffs, pointing to books from Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad to more recent works by Madeline Miller, Monique Roffey and Natalie Haynes. “And maybe in difficult times, that freshness and that inspiration, and just a really good story, is something we yearn for.” What am I supposed to take from this? That it's impossible for Ariadne to break out of the suffering that men (and gods) cause in creating their legends? She certainly doesn't try - the woman is so passive that she knows nothing about the world or about her own husband. It would be better to write this as a tragedy and show an active heroine who tries to break out of the fate set for her, and who chooses Dionysus because he is interesting and powerful. As a lover of Greek Mythology, I thought Ariadne was such a compelling story that lives up to all the expectations of Greek tragedy but also delivers a story of hope, optimism and determination as it follows the story and intriguing lives, loves and losses of Ariadne the daughter of King Minos, her sister Phaedra, Theseus a prince of Athens and Dionysus, the god of wine.

this book is the perfect addition to my greek mythology shelf and fits right in with ‘circe,’ ‘the silence of girls,’ and ‘a thousand ships.’ As if we hadn't learned from our shattered mother and her monstrous spawn that all a woman can do in this world is take what she wants from it and crush those who would stand in her way before they squash her down to nothing." The plot unfolds with Ariadne choosing the man of her dreams over her family and becomes a condemned exile in Naxos. However, despite her sacrifice Ariadne finds her life dramatically reversed when she awakens to the knowledge that she has been abandoned by Theseus who then marries Phaedra years later. Alone in Nexus, Ariadne learns to live of the land as nature becomes her only friend.

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The possibilities are endless, when a bunch of clowns join a bunch of opera singers (no jokes, please) but Ravella barely has the two groups overlap beyond their collisions in the score. In the mini-opera, loved-up Ariadne and Bacchus head for the stars, and the vaudevillians vanish. It's not the sort of retelling that requires knowledge of the original myth beforehand - in fact, everything you might possibly need to know is handed to you. If anything, I would say that readers who are already familiar with the myths surrounding Ariadne may find a lot of the story to be one they've heard before. One thing I did note was how often the dialogue would slip into storytimes from myth - so many myths were woven in, but to a point where I kind of hoped for more, just slightly. We started off really well, with Ariadne's perspective providing more insight to situations and adding her vice very distinctly to the story...but we did lose that a touch in the middle because of the continuous recounting from other characters. That being said, I didn't dislike it. It was just something I was actively looking for when reading these myths specifically from someone else's perspective, one we haven't heard before. Silent cameos feature either the crew working on the movie – a director and his assistant, an electrician, a make-up artist and so on – or merely onlookers such as sponsors, all of them enlivening Gaitanou’s busy remake of the original.

As Princesses of Crete and daughters of the fearsome King Minos, Ariadne and her sister Phaedra grow up hearing the hoofbeats and bellows of the Minotaur echo from the Labyrinth beneath the palace. The Minotaur - Minos's greatest shame and Ariadne's brother - demands blood every year.

I really enjoyed the exploration of Pasiphae especially with the birth of Asterion, the Minotaur. It was great to explore this motherhood and how both of the sisters saw different sides of their mother when growing up.