Orphée et Eurydice - Christoph Willibald Gluck

Exciting French-style musical drama The iconic aria J'ai perdu mon Eurydice from Glucks Orphée et Eurydice is etched into collective memory. After the singer Orpheus has brought his beloved Eurydice back from the underworld through the power of his music, he loses her for a second time. In his iron-strong musical drama, the composer proves himself a master of restrained emotion. Gluck bids farewell to the bravura arias and complicated plot twists of Baroque opera. Singing, text and orchestration are entirely in service of a deeply felt tragedy that is remarkably direct, featuring only three protagonists (Orphée, Eurydice, Amour) and a dramatically active role for the chorus. Gluck originally wrote the opera in Italian in 1762 and realized a French version for the Paris Opéra in 1774. OBV presents the reworking by Hector Berlioz from 1859 and that is far from a mere arrangement of the original, but a full-fledged French opera with additional music. Maestro Francesco Corti, who signed on for a fiery Don Giovanni last season, once again guarantees exciting musical drama on a knife's edge.