13th April – 18th May.
This Spring the Nederlandse Reisopera will tour the country with Orphée et Eurydice . The American Jennifer Williams directs the beautiful, compelling opera by Christoph Willibald Gluck, in which love conquers death. The premiere is Saturday 13th April the Enschede Wilminktheater.
In Gluck’s version, the story of Orpheus, who wants to bring his beloved Eurydice back from the realm of the dead, is reduced to its essence. The compelling drama about themes such as art, love and death has only three characters: Orphée, Eurydice and l’Amour. Moreover, Gluck opts for a happy ending. While Orpheus loses his beloved forever in the mythical story because he looks back against the commandment of the gods, in Gluck’s case love triumphs and Orpheus and Eurydice return to earth together.
After the sudden death of his young wife, Orpheus descends to the underworld to retrieve her. During his journey, spirits try to stop the mythical singer, but his singing ultimately takes him to the Elysian Fields. There he finds Eurydice. Initially she does not want to follow him. She would rather remain in the pleasant oblivion of death than return to life with all its pain and disappointments. In the end she chooses Orpheus. However, when he looks back at her during the retreat against the command of the gods, he loses her for the second time. This time it seems for good. But then the god of love Amour intervenes and gives the grieving Orpheus his beloved back.
This production of the Dutch Reisopera is directed by Jennifer Williams . She is praised for her inventive, innovative and multimedia approach to opera. The first female American director at the prestigious Bayreuth Festival, Williams’ international career has taken her to renowned opera houses in Europe, Asia and North and South America.
ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE
Orphée : Yaroslav Abaimov, Eurydice : Kristina Bitenc, l’Amour : Lucia Martin Carton, dance : Alison Duarte, Kathrin Gramelsbergerh, Maarten Krielen, Tommy Pham, Roberto Tallarigo, choir : Consensus Vocalis, orchestra : Phion, orchestra of Gelderland & Overijssel. Musical direction : Sascha Goetzel, direction : Jennifer Williams, choreography : Pim Veulings, set design : Yoko Seyama, video design : Wolf Bittner, costume design : Sanne Oostervink, lighting design : Alex Brok. Sung in French with Dutch and English surtitles.
PLAYLIST
Sat 13 Apr : Wilminktheater, Enschede , Tue 16 Apr : Theater a/h Vrijthof, Maastricht, Tue 23 Apr : Stadsschouwburg Groningen, Thu 25 Apr : Atlas, Emmen, Fri 3 May : Amare, The Hague, Tue 7 May : Chassé, Breda, Fri May 10 : Stadsschouwburg Utrecht, Sun May 12 & Tue 14 : Carré, Amsterdam, Thu May 16 : Orpheus, Apeldoorn, Sat May 18 : De Spiegel, Zwolle.
