Rossi’s Orpheus is one of several operatic versions of this enduring classic myth. At the centre is Orpheus, who uses his musical gifts to try to win his beloved Eurydice back from Hades. Torment, jealousy and the intervention of the gods are also part of this engrossing drama in which the spurned lover Aristaeus turns to madness, while the devoted lover Orpheus earns a place among the stars.
This new production follows the ground-breaking collaboration between Shakespeare’s Globe and The Royal Opera House with L’Ormindo in 2014, critically acclaimed both then and when revived this year.
Once again, the period and candlelit setting of the Sam Wanamaker Theatre are ideally suited to this Baroque opera, first staged in Paris in 1647. When the opera was given its premiere at the Palais Royal, it drew much admiration, not least for its wealth of duets and ensembles alongside inventive and delightful arias. Rossi composed an ever-shifting musical mosaic to match the interweaving comic and tragic strands of the story.
Director Keith Warner creates this new production with a particularly strong cast of young singers known for their interpretations of this repertory. Continuing from L’Ormindo, the music is again under the direction of Christian Curnyn, one of the most sought after Baroque specialists of today, with the Orchestra of Early Opera Company.
The opera will be performed in English, adding further to the immediacy and intimacy of a striking work in a distinctive setting: the perspective from the past also brings us a unique experience for today.
‘A first-rate production in a well-nigh perfect venue… A more exquisite evening would be hard to imagine.’
The Guardian on L’Ormindo
