L'Orfeo

The first operatic experiments in history were conceived on the ambitious premise that –in the same way as with the legendary Orfeo- it was possible to tame human passions with the voice and music: instil happiness, sadness, or even more so, bring them face to face in an abrupt manner, as when the fateful messenger interrupts the wedding celebrations in the second act of this opera. It is not surprising, therefore, that the myth of the famous Thracian singer was the protagonist of some of the first titles in this genre.

The efficacy of these artifices not only concurred with Neoplatonic philosophy of order and the consonance of the universe: thanks to the genius of Monteverdi , the audience of that time discovered in  L’Orfeo  the alliance between theatre and singing provided  a dynamic to the human experience of unexplored emotions and unsung intensity.  The German choreographer Sasha Waltz takes on a similar challenge in her understanding of this founding work in the history of opera: the integration of the arts in a flowing continuo of seamless sound and movement, able to dominate – by way of harmony and geometry - our own passions.

Legende in music, in a prologue and five acts

Music by Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)

Libretto by Alessandro Striggo, based on the Metamorphoses by Ovid and the Gergics by Virgil

Premiere at the Ducal Palace of Mantua, 24 February 1607

Premiere at the Teatro Real, 2 October 1999

A production of Sasha Waltz & Guests in collaboration with the Dutch National Opera Amsterdam, Grand Théatre du Luxembourg, Bergem Internacional Festival and Opera Lille

Artistic team

Musical conductor | Leonardo García Alarcón

Director and choreograher | Sasha Waltz

Stage designer | Alexander Schwarz 

Costume designer | Bernd Skodzig 

Lighting designer | Martin Hauk

Video designer | Tapio Snellman 

Cast

Music / Euridice | Julie Roset

Orfeo | Georg Nigl

Messenger / Hope | Charlotte Hellekant

Charon | Alex Rosen

Proserpine | Luciana Mancini

Pluto | Konstantin Wolff

Apollo / Echo / Fourth Shephard | Julián Millán

A Nymph / First Shephard | Cécile Kempenaers

Second Shephard 2 / Spirit | Leandro Marziotte

Fifth Shephard / Spirit | Hans Wijers

Third Shepard / Spirit | Florian Feth

Sasha Waltz & Guests

Vocalconsort Berlin

Freiburger Barockorchester

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