Orpheus and Eyridice is an old Greek myth about a poet who goes to save his wife back from the Underworld. The setting and costumes were a bit weird,especially costumes for Amor (Cupid)and the dancers who played the spirits. It was interesting having some dancers dressed as historical figures. Singing and acting was good,the standout being Stephanie Blythe as Orpheus. Her Orpheus was very good and poetic and I liked her rendition of Che Faro Senza Eyridice,it was very moving . Overall,very interesting,though non traditional and many would prefer a bit more classic Orpheus and Eyridice .6,5/10.
The Metropolitan Opera HD Live (TV Series)
Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice (2009)
User Reviews
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Worth watching by all means, but a little disappointing and not for traditionalists
TheLittleSongbird25 February 2012
Warning: Spoilers
I have always been a big opera enthusiast, and since liking Orfeo Ed Euridice very much and finding the Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD series generally solid, apart from some exceptions like 2009's Tosca, I wanted to see this production. I was a little disappointed, but I do think it is worth watching especially for the singing.
Orfeo Ed Euridice's story may be on the slight side, but it is a moving one as well, and the music is absolutely beautiful. Musically, I don't have much to fault, because the orchestra play stylishly and with a lot of poignancy, the chorus are well balanced and James Levine has a sense of the style with attention to precision and expression. If there is anything on the musical side that wasn't so good, as much as I admire the fact that the Met tried to have an orchestra that was close to Gluck's time in terms of size, but for such an enormous venue, I couldn't help feeling the orchestra were on occasions rather swamped.
The singing is absolutely wonderful, with the best asset of the production easily being Stephanie Blythe's Orfeo, a very committed actress whose voice is both powerful, particularly in the lower register and stirred a lot of emotion inside me. Che Faro Senza Euridice was just gorgeous, the best rendition of that aria perhaps in a long time. Danielle De Niese is a beautiful and divinely costumed Euridice, and Heidi Grant Murphy is very good as Amor.
On a visual level, it was a very mixed bag. The High Definition is fantastic as is the case always with this series, the sound and picture quality are clear and thankfully the camera work is more understated and less overkill than a production like La Damnation De Faust. The costumes were of variable quality, Orfeo and Euridice's were divine and there were an assortment of interesting caricatures of famous historical figures like Marie Antoinette, Henry VIII, Abraham Lincoln, Eizabeth I and Gandhi.
However, Amor's and those of the dancers were too drab and contemporary, almost as if they had come straight on stage from their everyday lives, and I don't think this fitted with the story. Also, when it comes to the sets Orfeo Ed Euridice was quite unappealing, although I try very hard not to be a traditionalist I would've much preferred a more traditional and mystical approach. Instead it is very vertical and grid-like, apart from the steel fire escape-type structure, it worked in Doctor Atomic and La Damnation De Faust, but because Orfeo Ed Euridice is not that sort of opera it didn't here.
Other than the sets, the choreography was the other disappointing aspect. The staging generally was not too bad, I liked that of Che Faro Senza Euridice. Only some of the incomprehensible gestures of the historical figures puzzled me, such as one looking as though they were holding an invisible beach ball or something. The dancing itself is skillful, the choreography itself was pretty much disastrous. The worst was the scene in the Elysian fields, which was little more than a confused mishmash of classical and dance clichés, and almost reminiscent of the Ministry of Silly Walks Monty Python sketch, except it was very awkward this time around.
Dance of the Blessed Spirits was a little better, beautifully performed it was, but it lost some of its emotional impact because it was abbreviated. In conclusion, worth watching but not for all tastes, the music, technical aspects, orchestra, conducting and singing were great, but the sets were unappealing and the choreography was a mess. 6.5/10 Bethany Cox
Orfeo Ed Euridice's story may be on the slight side, but it is a moving one as well, and the music is absolutely beautiful. Musically, I don't have much to fault, because the orchestra play stylishly and with a lot of poignancy, the chorus are well balanced and James Levine has a sense of the style with attention to precision and expression. If there is anything on the musical side that wasn't so good, as much as I admire the fact that the Met tried to have an orchestra that was close to Gluck's time in terms of size, but for such an enormous venue, I couldn't help feeling the orchestra were on occasions rather swamped.
The singing is absolutely wonderful, with the best asset of the production easily being Stephanie Blythe's Orfeo, a very committed actress whose voice is both powerful, particularly in the lower register and stirred a lot of emotion inside me. Che Faro Senza Euridice was just gorgeous, the best rendition of that aria perhaps in a long time. Danielle De Niese is a beautiful and divinely costumed Euridice, and Heidi Grant Murphy is very good as Amor.
On a visual level, it was a very mixed bag. The High Definition is fantastic as is the case always with this series, the sound and picture quality are clear and thankfully the camera work is more understated and less overkill than a production like La Damnation De Faust. The costumes were of variable quality, Orfeo and Euridice's were divine and there were an assortment of interesting caricatures of famous historical figures like Marie Antoinette, Henry VIII, Abraham Lincoln, Eizabeth I and Gandhi.
However, Amor's and those of the dancers were too drab and contemporary, almost as if they had come straight on stage from their everyday lives, and I don't think this fitted with the story. Also, when it comes to the sets Orfeo Ed Euridice was quite unappealing, although I try very hard not to be a traditionalist I would've much preferred a more traditional and mystical approach. Instead it is very vertical and grid-like, apart from the steel fire escape-type structure, it worked in Doctor Atomic and La Damnation De Faust, but because Orfeo Ed Euridice is not that sort of opera it didn't here.
Other than the sets, the choreography was the other disappointing aspect. The staging generally was not too bad, I liked that of Che Faro Senza Euridice. Only some of the incomprehensible gestures of the historical figures puzzled me, such as one looking as though they were holding an invisible beach ball or something. The dancing itself is skillful, the choreography itself was pretty much disastrous. The worst was the scene in the Elysian fields, which was little more than a confused mishmash of classical and dance clichés, and almost reminiscent of the Ministry of Silly Walks Monty Python sketch, except it was very awkward this time around.
Dance of the Blessed Spirits was a little better, beautifully performed it was, but it lost some of its emotional impact because it was abbreviated. In conclusion, worth watching but not for all tastes, the music, technical aspects, orchestra, conducting and singing were great, but the sets were unappealing and the choreography was a mess. 6.5/10 Bethany Cox
A Good Night in Vienna
Gyran20 October 2009
Gluck's opera exists in a shortish Italian version written for Vienna in 1762 and in a longer French version written for Paris in 1774. In the Vienna version, the role of Orfeo was written for a castrato whereas, in Paris, it was taken by a counter-tenor.There are also various hybrid versions which try to combine the best of the Vienna and Paris versions and the role of Orfeo is usually taken these days by a mezzo.
Before hearing this production from the Met, I only knew Orfeo through one or other of these hybrids. The argument for using them is that some of Gluck's best music is in the Paris version so it is a pity to omit it. However, this Met production makes a strong case for performing the opera as originally conceived. The story, of Orfeo losing and regaining Euridice is a slight one but, at just about 90 minutes, it is able to maintain its dramatic momentum. To the audience, it is almost an oratorio. The chorus, in Mark Morris's production is everyone who has ever died so we see, in tiers at the back of the stage, Gandhi, Henry VIII, Moses, Abraham Lincoln, Joan of Arc, Jackie Kennedy, Cleopatra, Marie Antoinette to name just a few.
In front of the chorus are dancers, representing Orfeo's friends, furies and blessed spirits. Mark Morris's choreography is perhaps the only slightly disappointing thing about this production. It is too West Side Storyish with the dancers in drab modern dress. One of the babies that is lost with the bathwater of the Paris version is the famous Dance of the Blessed Spirits which, in the Vienna version, is a very abbreviated affair.
There are only three soloists. Amor, is sung by Heidi Grant-Murphy as a cheeky chappie in a tee shirt and comfy trousers. It looks as though she did not bother to get changed before she came on stage and just grabbed a little pair of wings as she entered. Danielle de Niese, as Euridice, certainly did bother to get changed, into a fetching, off the shoulder satin and feather number. She sings divinely and it is a pity that Euridice only appears in the second half of the opera. I loved her pleading for Orfeo to turn round as they departed from Hades and her duets with Orfeo. On stage for the duration is mezzo Stephanie Blythe as Orfeo. This is a stunning performance with a quite unique sound, particularly in the resonant lower end of her register. I have never heard Che Faro more movingly sung. With those powerful lungs driving a female larynx, you really get a feel for how it might have been to hear a castrato singing the role in 1762.
Before hearing this production from the Met, I only knew Orfeo through one or other of these hybrids. The argument for using them is that some of Gluck's best music is in the Paris version so it is a pity to omit it. However, this Met production makes a strong case for performing the opera as originally conceived. The story, of Orfeo losing and regaining Euridice is a slight one but, at just about 90 minutes, it is able to maintain its dramatic momentum. To the audience, it is almost an oratorio. The chorus, in Mark Morris's production is everyone who has ever died so we see, in tiers at the back of the stage, Gandhi, Henry VIII, Moses, Abraham Lincoln, Joan of Arc, Jackie Kennedy, Cleopatra, Marie Antoinette to name just a few.
In front of the chorus are dancers, representing Orfeo's friends, furies and blessed spirits. Mark Morris's choreography is perhaps the only slightly disappointing thing about this production. It is too West Side Storyish with the dancers in drab modern dress. One of the babies that is lost with the bathwater of the Paris version is the famous Dance of the Blessed Spirits which, in the Vienna version, is a very abbreviated affair.
There are only three soloists. Amor, is sung by Heidi Grant-Murphy as a cheeky chappie in a tee shirt and comfy trousers. It looks as though she did not bother to get changed before she came on stage and just grabbed a little pair of wings as she entered. Danielle de Niese, as Euridice, certainly did bother to get changed, into a fetching, off the shoulder satin and feather number. She sings divinely and it is a pity that Euridice only appears in the second half of the opera. I loved her pleading for Orfeo to turn round as they departed from Hades and her duets with Orfeo. On stage for the duration is mezzo Stephanie Blythe as Orfeo. This is a stunning performance with a quite unique sound, particularly in the resonant lower end of her register. I have never heard Che Faro more movingly sung. With those powerful lungs driving a female larynx, you really get a feel for how it might have been to hear a castrato singing the role in 1762.
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