Name: L'Orfeo
Start: 2017-02-28T00:00:00.000Z
End: 2017-02-28T00:00:00.000Z
Location: Théâtre de Caen

Admin

Organization

Ténor

Cyril Auvity

Orphée

Soprano

Hannah Morrison

Eurydice

La Musique

Miriam Allan

Proserpina

Léa Desandre

La Messagère

Basse

Antonio Abete

Pluton

Troisième esprit

Cyril Costanzo

Charon

Chanteur

Carlo Vistoli

Quatrième berger

Quatrième esprit

Sean Clayton

Cinquième berger

Zachary Wilder

Direction d'orchestre

Paul Agnew

Mise en scène

Décors

Christophe Naillet

Costumes

Alain Blanchot

Lumières

Baryton

Troisième berger

Théâtre de Caen

italien

L'Orfeo

Caen

France

In celebration of Monteverdi’s 450th birthday in 2017, Paul Agnew—an expert in the Italian composer’s œuvre—directs L’Orfeo. This founding masterpiece of lyric opera is brought to life in elegant simplicity through the performances of Cyril Auvity’s Orpheus and Les Arts Florissants, with costumes designed by Alain Blanchot.

Composed at the very beginning of the 17th century, L’Orfeo was at the musical and artistic avant-garde of its time. In the work, Monteverdi unites various musical traditions while pushing the boundaries of dramatization of texts through music. In retrospect the work has come to be seen as a cornerstone of a then-new musical genre: opera! The revolutionary mixture of drama, poetry, and music are neatly referenced in Monteverdi’s subtitle for the work: “una favola in musica”, meaning “a fable in music”. Alessandro Striggio based L’Orfeo’s libretto on the myth of Orpheus as retold in Ovid’s Metamorphoses and in certain passages of Virgil’s Georgics.

Paul Agnew's choice of a modest staging ensures that nothing distracts from the importance of the text and music: as he explains, “it’s with simplicity that one can best realize the principal at the heart of Monteverdi’s entire œuvre—that text must guide harmony.” On the stage of the Caen Theater is Cyril Auvity in the role of Orfeo, heading up an impressive group of young singers from the Jardin des Voix and the cycle of Monteverdi’s Madrigali.

Paul Agnew conducts Les Arts Florissants performing L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi, with Cyril Auvity, Léa Desandre, Hannah Morrison, Myriam Allan... Performance given on 28 February 2017 at the Théâtre de Caen.

L'Orfeo Monteverdi

français

Valide

Brochure de la production

Lectures complémentaires