Orphée
Hector Berlioz
Gluck’s masterpiece interpreted by Berlioz.
Dates
Speranza Scappucci | direction
Ted Huffman | staging, set design, costumes
Bart Van Merode | set design
Sonoko Kamimura | costumes
Pim Veulings | movements
Bertrand Couderc | lighting
Marie-Nicole Lemieux | Orphée
Lauranne Oliva | Eurydice
Camille Chopin | Amour
Les Siècles
Concert Spirituel Choir | direction Hervé Niquet
PREVIEW FOR YOUNG PEOPLE UNDER 30 : 20€
Sunday 18 April 7.30pm
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Sung in French, surtitled in French/English
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Audiodescription performance : Sunday 25 April, 5pm
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Approx. running time : 1h40
About
The story of Orphée is the founding myth of the history of opera. Monteverdi was the first to bring it to life, and Gluck composed two versions, one in Italian (where Orfeo was sung by a castrato) and then one in French (featuring a tenor), before Berlioz gave it a new vocal and orchestral existence. Gluck’s versions caused a huge stir in Enlightenment Europe, but were ultimately compromised by numerous adaptations and corrections. In the late 1850s, Berlioz was tasked with revisiting the work and adapting it for Pauline Viardot, a singing star of the era who was renowned for her range and could move effortlessly from contralto to soprano. Berlioz retained the French score, but transposed the tenor part into a register that suited Pauline Viardot and standardised the keys to adapt them to the instruments of his day.
This 19th-century version will be presented by Italian conductor Speranza Scappucci and Les Siècles, an ensemble specialising in historically-informed performances, who are seasoned Berlioz repertoire musicians. American director Ted Huffman, the recently appointed Director of the Aix-en-Provence Festival, who is known for his stripped-back creations, will have to delve into the depths of this drama of intimacy to bring this allegory of music and poetry to the stage. And who better than an artist of the calibre of Marie-Nicole Lemieux to champion this operatic myth, ably accompanied by young singer Lauranne Oliva, who is already in considerable demand on major European stages.
Coproduction Théâtre des Champs-Élysées | Dutch National Opera | Musiktheater an der Wien
En partenariat avec france.tv et Le Figaro
Dates
-
Sung in French, surtitled in French/English
-
Audiodescription performance : Sunday 25 April, 5pm
-
Approx. running time : 1h40