Orphée et Eurydice

Amour, the messenger of the gods, tells Orpheus that he may descend to the underworld and return with Eurydice. His singing has the power to appease the Furies and animate the blessed Shadows. Yet, his voice cannot reassure Eurydice who despairs of the feigned indifference of Orpheus, put to the test by Jupiter.

Orphée et Eurydice shook up Europe of Enlightenment. Berlioz, a worshipper of Gluck, achieved a synthesis of the Italian and original French versions for Pauline Viardot whose voice could revive the vanished art of castrati for the romantic public. The beauty of the work owes as much to the intensity of the exchanges as to the power of the orchestra and the spectacular implication of the choir.

Raphaël Pichon conducts the opera of operas and Aurélien Bory displays the giddiness of the mental and supernatural spaces traveled by Orpheus and beyond. Marianne Crebassa plays a new breeches role with Hélène Guilmette (Hélène in Le Timbre d’argent) and Lea Desandre (the title role in Alcione).