5 Things to Know about ORFEO ED EURIDICE

In Gluck’s 1762 opera Orfeo ed Euridice, the divinely gifted Orpheus is permitted by the gods to rescue his deceased wife from the Underworld—on the condition that he not look back at her before the journey's end. A work that transformed perceptions of what opera could be, it returns this season to the COC in a globally acclaimed production from Canadian director Robert Carsen.

Read on to learn more about the opera’s inspirations and legacy, and be sure to join us next season—subscriptions are now on sale, and our Public Ticket Onsale begins on Monday, July 21.

All you need is love (and music)

The Greek myth that inspired Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice was also behind the composition of what many historians consider to be the very first opera: Claudio Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, first performed in Mantua in February, 1607. A tale that famously draws on the power of love and music, the Orpheus myth in Gluck’s hands would be reimagined to deliver a dramatic impact that was startlingly new to 18th-century audiences—and ultimately redefined an art form.

We haven’t lost the plot

Gluck and Monteverdi weren’t the only composers to base works on the Orpheus myth. Variations on the same plot—featuring a clandestine rescue mission in which the hero must carefully guard his emotions—emerge in several later classics, including Mozart’s The Magic Flute (1791), Beethoven’s Fidelio (1805), and Wagner’s Das Rheingold (1854), with Gluck’s Orfeo casting a strong influence on German operatic composers well into the 19th century.

A reforming instinct

The first of Gluck's reform operas, in which the composer strove to attain “noble simplicity” in both the music and dramatic narrative, Orfeo ed Euridice premiered at the Burgtheater, Vienna, on 5 October 1762. Characterized by a novel style of direct storytelling in which events unfold in real time, the opera also features some of Gluck’s most well-known ballet music, including dances for the blessed spirits and the furies. The premiere performance was attended by the Empress Maria Theresa and enjoyed subsequent successful stagings in Vienna, London, and Paris.

The many voices of Orfeo

The original production starred the famous alto castrato Gaetano Guadagni—for whom Handel had written arias in both Messiah and Samson—as Orfeo. In 1859, Berlioz prepared a version that turned the role over to a mezzo-soprano, Pauline Viardot—establishing a tradition for female singers (often contraltos) in the role that endured through much of the 20th century. In our production, audiences can look forward to hearing British countertenor Iestyn Davies as Orfeo, opposite soprano Anna-Sophie Neher as Euridice.

“A fascinating, unmissable show”

Robert Carsen’s globally renowned production of Orfeo ed Euridice premiered at the COC in 2011. A co-production with Paris’s Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, and Opera Royal de Versailles, this interpretation features a stripped-back set design and locates the action in modern times. Described by The Globe and Mail as “a fascinating, unmissable show”, it endures as testament to the transformative power of music—an accomplishment that we believe would have made Orpheus himself justly proud.