Orphée et Eurydice

The iconic aria J’ai perdu mon Eurydice from Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice is etched into the collective memory. After the singer Orpheus has brought his beloved Eurydice back from the underworld through the power of his music, he loses her a second time. In his powerful musical drama, the composer proves himself a master of restrained emotion. Gluck bids farewell to the bravura arias and intricate plot twists of Baroque opera. The singing, libretto and orchestration are entirely at the service of a deeply felt tragedy, presented with striking immediacy through just three protagonists (Orphée, Eurydice, Amour) and a dramatically active role for the chorus.

Gluck originally wrote the opera in Italian in 1762 and produced a French version for the Paris Opéra in 1774. OBV presents Hector Berlioz’s 1859 reworking, which is far from a mere copy of the original, but rather a full-blooded French opera with additional music. Maestro Francesco Corti, who last season delivered a fiery Don Giovanni, once again guarantees a thrilling musical drama at the cutting edge.