Gluck's Mythological Masterpiece
A rich marriage of text, music, dance and spectacle, Gluck's Orfeo and Euridice was a revolutionary reform opera that favored simplicity over the ornate and complex plots of the stagnant opera seria that preceded it. First performed in 1762, the landmark work celebrates the power of love and art, namely music, over death and quickly became one of Gluck's most popular pieces. Featuring rose petals, a chorus and a ballet, Portland Opera invokes its timeless romance and passion as part of its 2018/19 season.
Just after their doomed wedding ceremony, tragedy strikes when Euridice is bitten by a snake and dies in her husband Orfeo's arms. Devastated, the courageous Orfeo and his trusty lyre travel to the Underworld to bring his love back from the dead. Charming the furies and Cerberus, the three-headed guard dog with his lilting melodies, Orfeo finally is granted an audience with Hades, God of the Underworld. Hades then makes a deal with Orfeo - he may only bring back Euridice if he is able to walk back to the surface without turning to look back at his amore, a task that may prove too difficult to accomplish...