# Orpheus and Eurydice



## ldiat (Jan 27, 2016)

Orpheus and Eurydice is coming to LA next year. any opinions on this opera?? thanks for the info:tiphat: also this one: Candide


----------



## mountmccabe (May 1, 2013)

I don't know it that well, but it is an important piece in operatic history and while performances are not unheard of, they're also not common. There are only two other major companies in the US that have it on their schedule for 2017/18 (one is Lyric Opera of Chicago, one of the companies with which this is a co-production). And I quite like Lisette Oropesa. The dates aren't great for me, but I'm still interested in coming down for a performance.


----------



## ldiat (Jan 27, 2016)

mountmccabe said:


> I don't know it that well, but it is an important piece in operatic history and while performances are not unheard of, they're also not common. There are only two other major companies in the US that have it on their schedule for 2017/18 (one is Lyric Opera of Chicago, one of the companies with which this is a co-production). And I quite like Lisette Oropesa. The dates aren't great for me, but I'm still interested in coming down for a performance.


thank you very much


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

ldiat said:


> Orpheus and Eurydice is coming to LA next year. any opinions on this opera?? thanks for the info:tiphat: also this one: Candide


It was in the Met not that long ago, Stephanie Blythe did a very decent job, with Danielle de Niese.


----------



## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

This is, clearly, *the* opera from the 18th century tackling the Myth of Orpheus, in his French version (_Orphée et Eurydice_) as well as the Italian: _Orfeo ed Euridice_. In LA they are going to perform one version in French, and with a tenor (there are also countertenors and mezzos singing the role) as Orphée.

We can trace back some of Gluck's operatic reforms of Opera Seria to this piece, that is still today the most popular and performed of all Gluck's operas. In this version of the Myth, Amore resurrects Euridice after the fatal look from Orfeo, and both lovers are finally reunited with a rosy future opening before them. The very beautiful aria "Che farò senza Euridice? / J'ai perdu mon Eurydice" is surely among Opera's Greatest Hits:






Not one to miss, if you haven't watched this opera performed before. I attended recently some performances at Madrid's Teatro Real, with Flórez as Orphée and Ainhoa Garmendia as Eurydice, that you could take a look before going to the theater yourself.

_Candide_, though based of course in Voltaire, is a much more recent piece. In fact, it started as a musical, and was rewritten as an opera some years later (this was according to Bernstein himself. There were changes in the libretto, in the orchestration, in several numbers,...). It's a nice piece, and most probably you will have a good time watching the performance. It also boasts a hit, "Glitter and by Gay":






I like this DVD:


----------



## Faustian (Feb 8, 2015)

I think Orfeo is a marvelous work of art, and possesses a continuous dramatic pressure that is electric. In my opinion it stands alongside Iphigenie en Tauride as Gluck's masterpieces.

If you're seeing the Italian version, the recording by Rene Jacobs is my favorite, but I would also recommend Riccardo Muti's for a non-period instrument performance.


----------



## ldiat (Jan 27, 2016)

thanks all for the info. Danielle de Niese.<----(love her)


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Please try also the Solti recording, it's Solti like, but Marilyn Horne / Pilar Lorengar are great,


----------



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

It has gorgeous music. An interesting note is that Dame Janet Baker included a very ornate coloratura aria that was stunning with excursions into the soprano territory that I have never heard any other Orfeo do. She was a great Orfeo in the video.


----------

