When Gluck returned to the theme of the story of Orfeo more than a century and a half after Monteverdi, he was also renewing the conventions of opera of the day. He placed the emphasis on the plot, its power, cohesion and richness, which he believed should be in perfect harmony with the music. This approach produced an innovative work which radiates luminous beauty with the richness of its ballet and choruses in particular, while “reforming” the conventions of the past. Canadian director Robert Carsen has staged the work without referring to any specific timeframe and places music and singing centre stage. Although the theme is taken from one of the most beautiful myths, the focus of the plot is on the couple Orfeo and Euridice through their arias, which require unerring sensitivity and virtuosity. After several rapturously received recitals here, countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński is making his debut on the Paris opera stage opposite the youthful Regula Mühlemann with her diamond-sharp delivery. This young, musically bold duo will sparkle under the expert baton of Thomas Hengelbrock at the head of the Balthasar-Neumann Ensemble and Chor. The two lovers will experience an impressive and painful descent into the Underworld, from which even love, embodied by Elena Galitskaya, the mischievous Pauline in the recent Vie parisienne, will not be able to save them. A fully array of songs on the theme of love condensed into one of Gluck’s most emotionally powerful works.
Coproduction Théâtre des Champs-Elysées | Canadian Opera Company | Fondazione Teatro dell’Opera di Roma | Château de Versailles Spectacles | Lyric Opera of Chicago
Avec le soutien de Madame Aline Foriel-Destezet, mécène principale des opéras mis en scène au Théâtre des Champs-Elysées