Opera Scotland

Orfeo ed Euridice 1894Carl Rosa Opera Company

Read more about the opera Orpheus and Euridice

Gluck's Orfeo had been rescued from near-oblivion some thirty years before, when Berlioz adapted it for performances in Paris by Pauline Viardot. There had later been a few stagings in Britain. then Covent Garden put it on in 1890 with the Ravogli sisters in the title roles. They continued to sing it in Britain for several seasons. In 1892 the Royal College of Music put on a production at the Lyceum in London, featuring the operatic debut of Clara Butt, a student who was tall (6' 2") and slender, with a majestic contralto voice. While interest was therefore reviving, the opera was short and austere, with significant dance elements.

The Carl Rosa company clearly thought it needed a companion, but whether Rustic Chivalry was the ideal partner was doubtful. The first performance, in Glasgow, was only put on at the last minute when Zélie de Lussan fell ill and was unable to go on as Marie in The Daughter of the Regiment. The audience certainly got a surprise.