Opera Scotland

Orfeo ed Euridice takes the stage

Posted 20 Feb 2015

Gluck's opera, based on the Greek myth of Orpheus and his journey to Hades to rescue his lover, Euridice, has opened.

First impressions include the striking designs and stage pictures, designed by Johan Engels and lit by Mark Jonathan. They have used vivid colour to create a series of dreamlike worlds on stage, reflecting Orfeo’s journey: from the fragile purity of his grief, to the threatening and sinister Underworld, and to the pastoral idyll of Elysium. Tragically, Engels died suddenly in November 2014, before audiences could see this work.

First performed in Vienna in 1762, Gluck’s music in the opera focuses on delivering dramatic effect over the vocal display that his contemporaries sought. A chorus of twenty and an ensemble of dancers help to bring his choreographic writing to life in these performances.

To read more, and to see some of Ken Dundas's striking images of the production, click here.