Orpheus and Eurydice Tickets

English National Opera, London, Great Britain

Scene 1 from the opera "Orfeo ed Euridice"

Scene 2 from the opera "Orfeo ed Euridice"

Scene 3 from the opera "Orfeo ed Euridice"

Scene 4 from the opera "Orfeo ed Euridice"

Scene 5 from the opera "Orfeo ed Euridice"

Scene 6 from the opera "Orfeo ed Euridice"

Scene 7 from the opera "Orfeo ed Euridice"

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Important Info

Type: Opera

City: London, Great Britain

Duration: 2h

Sung in: English

Titles in: English

Ticket delivery: E-Tickets

E-tickets: Print at home or at the box office of the event if so specified. You will find more information in your booking confirmation email.

Can I choose my seats?

You can only select the category, and not the exact seats.
If you order 2 or 3 tickets: your seats will be next to each other.
If you order 4 or more tickets: your seats will be next to each other, or, if this is not possible, we will provide a combination of groups of seats (at least in pairs, for example 2+2 or 2+3).

Cast

Performers

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Overview

How far would you go to rescue the one you love?

Gluck’s elegant account of the Orpheus myth is a milestone of eighteenth-century opera.

Willing to go to any lengths to be reunited with his one true love, the gods agree to let the grief-stricken Orpheus rescue his wife Eurydice from the underworld. But there’s a catch. To be together again, Orpheus can’t look back at Eurydice, or she will be lost to him forever.

Gluck’s score is filled with sublime melody and richly colourful orchestral writing from Orpheus’s anguished outbursts at Eurydice’s death, through to the exquisite classical beauty of the ‘Dance of the Blessed Spirits’.

Multi-award winning choreographer Wayne McGregor whose work has stood as a testament to his ceaseless curiosity and innovation makes his ENO directorial debut with 14 dancers from Company Wayne McGregor.

Distinguished mezzo Alice Coote returns to ENO as Orpheus, with company favourite Sarah Tynan singing the role of Eurydice and ENO Harewood Artist Soraya Mafi as Love.

History

Premiere of this production: 05 October 1762, Burgtheater in Vienna

Orfeo ed Euridice is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck, based on the myth of Orpheus and set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the azione teatrale, meaning an opera on a mythological subject with choruses and dancing.

Synopsis

Gluck‘s elegant eighteenth-century account of the Orpheus myth is filled with sublime melodies and numerous dance episodes.

The gods agree to let Orpheus rescue his wife, Eurydice, from the underworld, but there is a catch. To be together again, he must lead her out without turning to look back at her or explain the reason why, or she will be lost from him forever.

Act I

Eurydice is dead. The mourners depart and the bereaved Orpheus is left to call to his wife, but only an echo answers him. He can take no more, and grief gives way to anger. He resolves to journey to the Underworld and reclaim Eurydice from the dead.

Love appears and tells Eurydice that he has permission to enter the forbidden kingdom of the dead. If he uses the power of music to placate the Underworld’s inhabitants, Eurydice and he will be united once more. However, a condition is imposed: Orpheus must not look at his wife until they have returned to the surface; otherwise, she will be lost to him forever. He foresees Eurydice’s anxiety and distress at such behaviour at their reunion. He prepares himself for his journey.

Act II

Orpheus stands on the forbidding threshold of the Underworld. His sublime singing beguiles those dispossessed beings he meets and eventually they allow him to continue on his way.

Act III

Eurydice and the other Blessed Spirits are seen in the tranquil haven of the Elysian Fields. Orpheus marvels at the radiant, other-worldly calm of the surroundings. Eurydice is restored to him, but he is careful not to look at her.

Act IV

As they make their return from the Underworld, Orpheus urges Eurydice to hurry up and follow him. She cannot comprehend his uncharacteristically impatient behaviour, and rebukes him for his apparent indifference to her. Feeling weak from the demands of the journey and convinced Orpheus no longer loves her, Eurydice is close to collapsing. Orpheus succumbs to temptation, turns to look at her and she dies immediately. He inveighs against such cruelty, acknowledges it is his fault, and laments once again the death of his beloved wife.

Inconsolable at his irrecoverable loss, Orpheus prepares to kill himself. He is interrupted by Love, who declares that Orpheus has shown more than enough proof of his fidelity and that Eurydice will be restored to him at once. Together with their friends, Orpheus and Eurydice celebrate their reunion and the power of love.

The first lines of arias, choruses, etc., are given in Italian (1762 version) and French (1774 version).

Act 1

A chorus of nymphs and shepherds join Orfeo around the tomb of his wife Euridice in a solemn chorus of mourning; Orfeo is only able to utter Euridice's name (Chorus and Orfeo: "Ah, se intorno"/"Ah! Dans ce bois"). Orfeo sends the others away and sings of his grief in the aria "Chiamo il mio ben"/"Objet de mon amour", the three verses of which are preceded by expressive recitatives. This technique was extremely radical at the time and indeed proved overly so for those who came after Gluck: Mozart chose to retain the unity of the aria. Amore (Cupid) appears, telling Orfeo that he may go to the Underworld and return with his wife on the condition that he not look at her until they are back on earth (1774 only: aria by Amour, "Si les doux accords"). As encouragement, Amore informs Orfeo that his present suffering shall be short-lived with the aria "Gli sguardi trattieni"/"Soumis au silence". Orfeo resolves to take on the quest. In the 1774 version only he delivers an ariette ("L'espoir renaît dans mon âme") in the older, showier, Italian style, originally composed for an occasional entertainment, Il Parnaso confuso (1765), and subsequently re-used in another one, Le feste d'Apollo (1769).

Act 2

In a rocky landscape, the Furies refuse to admit Orfeo to the Underworld, and sing of Cerberus, its canine guardian ("Chi mai dell’Erebo"/"Quel est l'audacieux"). When Orfeo, accompanied by his lyre (represented in the opera by a harp), begs for pity in the aria "Deh placatevi con me"/"Laissez-vous toucher", he is at first interrupted by cries of "No!"/"Non!" from the Furies, but they are eventually softened by the sweetness of his singing in the arias "Mille pene"/"Ah! La flamme" and "Men tiranne"/"La tendresse", and let him in ("Ah, quale incognito affetto"/"Quels chants doux"). In the 1774 version, the scene ends with the "Dance of the Furies" (No. 28).

The second scene opens in Elysium. The brief ballet of 1762 became the four-movement "Dance of the Blessed Spirits" (with a prominent part for solo flute) in 1774. This is followed (1774 only) by a solo which celebrates happiness in eternal bliss ("Cet asile"), sung by either an unnamed Spirit or Euridice, and repeated by the chorus. Orfeo arrives and marvels at the purity of the air in an arioso ("Che puro ciel"/"Quel nouveau ciel"). But he finds no solace in the beauty of the surroundings, for Euridice is not yet with him. He implores the spirits to bring her to him, which they do (Chorus: "Torna, o bella"/"Près du tendre objet").

Act 3

On the way out of Hades, Euridice is delighted to be returning to earth, but Orfeo, remembering the condition related by Amore in act 1, lets go of her hand and refusing to look at her, does not explain anything to her. She does not understand his action and reproaches him, but he must suffer in silence (Duet: "Vieni, appaga il tuo consorte"/"Viens, suis un époux"). Euridice takes this to be a sign that he no longer loves her, and refuses to continue, concluding that death would be preferable. She sings of her grief at Orfeo's supposed infidelity in the aria "Che fiero momento"/"Fortune ennemie" (in 1774, there is a brief duet before the reprise). Unable to take any more, Orfeo turns and looks at Euridice; again, she dies. Orfeo sings of his grief in the famous aria "Che farò senza Euridice?"/"J’ai perdu mon Eurydice" ("What shall I do without Euridice?"/"I have lost my Euridice") Orfeo decides he will kill himself to join Euridice in Hades, but Amore returns to stop him (1774 only: Trio: "Tendre Amour"). In reward for Orfeo's continued love, Amore returns Euridice to life, and she and Orfeo are reunited. After a four-movement ballet, all sing in praise of Amore ("Trionfi Amore"). In the 1774 version, the chorus ("L’Amour triomphe") precedes the ballet, to which Gluck had added three extra movements.

Venue Info

English National Opera - London
St Martin's Ln, Charing Cross

English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera, Covent Garden. ENO's productions are sung in English.

The company's origins were in the late 19th century, when the philanthropist Emma Cons, later assisted by her niece Lilian Baylis, presented theatrical and operatic performances at the Old Vic, for the benefit of local people. Baylis subsequently built up both the opera and the theatre companies, and later added a ballet company; these evolved into ENO, the Royal National Theatre and The Royal Ballet, respectively.

Baylis acquired and rebuilt the Sadler's Wells theatre in north London, a larger house, better suited to opera than the Old Vic. The opera company grew there into a permanent ensemble in the 1930s. During the Second World War, the theatre was closed and the company toured British towns and cities. After the war, the company returned to its home, but it continued to expand and improve. By the 1960s, a larger theatre was needed. In 1968, the company moved to the London Coliseum and adopted its present name in 1974.

Among the conductors associated with the company have been Colin Davis, Reginald Goodall, Charles Mackerras, Mark Elder and Edward Gardner. The current music director of ENO is Martyn Brabbins. Noted directors who have staged productions at ENO have included David Pountney, Jonathan Miller, Nicholas Hytner, Phyllida Lloyd and Calixto Bieito. ENO's current artistic director is Daniel Kramer. In addition to the core operatic repertoire, the company has presented a wide range of works, from early operas by Monteverdi to new commissions, operetta and Broadway shows.

The company has aimed to present the standard operatic repertoire, sung in English, and has staged all the major operas of Mozart, Wagner and Puccini, and a wide range of Verdi's operas. Under Mackerras and his successors the Czech repertoire has featured strongly, and a broad range of French and Russian operas has been presented. The company has for decades laid stress on opera as drama, and has avoided operas where vocal display takes precedence over musical and dramatic content. In addition to the operatic staples, ENO has a history of presenting new works, and latterly of commissioning them.

In 1966, under the company's head of design, Margaret Harris, Sadler's Wells Theatre Design Course was founded; it later became Motley Theatre Design Course. ENO Baylis, founded in 1985, is the education department of ENO; it aims to introduce new audiences to opera and "to deepen and enrich the experience of current audiences in an adventurous, creative and engaging manner."The programme offers training for students and young professionals, and also workshops, commissions, talks and debates.