Orpheus and Eurydice by Gluck, Fra (2017/2017), Instrueret af Michael Seibel,, Apollo Theatre, Oxford, United Kingdom

With the opera Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell, the International Opera-Studio Patras (IOSP) successfully presented last year the first sample of its artistic works on the stage of the Municipal Theater of Apollo. The positive reception from the spectators encouraged us to present a new operatic production this year in the hope of winning over the audience again. We chose the opera by Christoph Willibald Gluck, Orpheus and Eurydice, in its French version. In this opera, the music and the speech are in perfect harmony with each other, thus influencing the mental state of the spectators. Gluck's goal is to bring the "truly human" to the fore. And with this opera, as already with Dido and Aeneas, we emphasize the connection with the ancient Greco-Roman civilization and especially with the ancient tragedy, whose revival at the end of the 16th century led to the creation of a new musical genre, opera. . Thus, we move Orpheus, the popular mythical singer, archetype of the toothless man, to today, where the music is overshadowed by the image, narcissism and excessive egoism of the star singers. This is the young Orpheus and Eurydice, unhappy, his acquisition. Her sudden death shortly before her marriage to the popular singer frees her from this relationship. Her death, however, leads Orpheus to a deep identity crisis. The shock of the sudden loss of the woman he loved according to his own view of love and affection and his grief over her death lead him to contemplation. Physically tired and mentally exhausted he falls into a deep sleep, on the one hand a nightmare, on the other a redemptive counselor. In this world he learns to use his music to break down obstacles in front of him but also to heal the pain of loss. He wakes up purified as a young Orpheus. As a reward for all his efforts, he is given the opportunity of a reconnection with Eurydice, who is now presented as an emancipated and equal companion for Orpheus.