Orpheus and Eurydice – REVIEW

Gluck brought the tragic tale of the two lovers to life in his opera Orpheus and Eurydice, which premiered in Vienna in 1762, and was firmly rooted in the classical style of the period.

To get around the rather stiff and formal strictures of the piece, director, set designer and choreographer Yaron Lifschitz enlisted the support of Brisbane-based circus company Circa, whose strong, supple and graceful performers entertained the eye with extraordinary feats to accompany Gluck’s score.

Orpheus, sung by French counter tenor Christophe Dumaux, is grief-stricken at the death of his beloved wife Eurydice on their wedding night, and the morning after the tragedy finds himself in an asylum, surrounded by spectres.

Among them, Love materialises and makes a deal with Orpheus: he can go to the Underworld to rescue Eurydice on condition that he does not look at her on the return journey.

We know what happens. 

Poor Orpheus then faces a double loss which he expresses in the plaintiff  “Che farò senza Euridice?”, an aria that most classical music lovers would recognise.

Dumaux has a gorgeous voice, well able to adapt to this classical opera. He was also adaptable in other ways, too, with members of Circa helping him execute feats opera singers are not usually expected to perform.

Standing in at short notice for an ill Cathy-Di Zhang was Sandy Leung. She was in the Opera Australia Chorus and was offered her first debut role as both Eurydice and Amor in this production. She understood the music and drama of the work so well that it seemed she had been singing it all her life.

Circa members feasted the eye throughout the opera, performing amazing physical acts, mostly without props. They ensured that the boredom that might have crept in with Gluck’s classical score was kept at bay.

The orchestra under the baton of Dane Lam did a wonderful job of realising Gluck’s composition, while costume designer Libby McDonnell and choreographer Bridie Hooper worked their magic on the appearance of the characters and dancer/athletes on stage.

Just one little suggestion: the English surtitles were projected as if onto air in letters whiter than the white background, which then dissolved and melted away. Perhaps it would have contributed more to the atmosphere of the work if the words had been darker, say, a silver grey or even black to underscore the tragedy of Gluck’s work.

Until 31 January

Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House

opera.org.au