Less is more in uncluttered Orpheus Lyric production brings stark beauty, poetry to timeless taleBy John von Rhein
Tribune music critic
Published February 27, 2006
The dramatic images coming out of Samarra and Fallujah today. . . remind us that grieving is an inescapable fact of the human condition. . .
Our need to grieve helps to explain the timeless appeal of the Orpheus legend . . . The pristine simplicity of the music and the uncluttered purity of the narrative (especially in the composer's 1762 original version) profoundly altered the course of opera. . . "Orfeo" is about losing the thing one loves most dearly, what it means to mourn and the agonies some would endure to regain lost love. . .
Robert Carsen's new production, which opened Saturday night . . . captures the essence of Gluck's masterpiece better than any I have seen. The director and his team bring a stark beauty and exquisite visual poetry to the opera that honors the composer's intentions even as it turns "Orfeo" into bracing music theater for the 21st Century.
The show is built around the formidable presence of
David Daniels, today's hottest countertenor. His brilliant and affecting performance in the title role -- stylishly supported by conductor Harry Bicket, the orchestra and chorus -- makes Lyric's "Orfeo" a strong finish to a mostly distinguished season.
Although some audience members might regret the loss of the ballet music and other extras, everyone else will find that less truly is more.Tobias Hoheisel's set is a miracle of elemental clarity: flaming urns, a knife and a shovel are the only props on an open, rocky stage into which Euridice's grave is dug. The lighting casts stark shadows across the crumbly gravel floor. . . Orfeo and the chorus members wear black suits that they later cover with burial vestments when representing the souls of Hades. . . Daniels ravished the ear with a sweet, sensuous sound that took on real intensity (no sentía esto) as Orfeo went from despair to bitterness to firm resolve.
The bereaved hero's famous lament, "Che faro senza Euridice," was truly heart-rending, resting on a bedrock of impeccable musicality. (tempo moderato, ningún ornamentation, tenuto, etc.) . . . Soprano
Isabel Bayrakdarian . . . the radiant purity of her singing suited the limpid vocal lines, and she made convincing the heroine's confusion and heartbreak over Orfeo's apparent rejection.
The young
Spanish soprano Ofelia Sala (who also is singing a couple of performances as Sophie in Lyric's current "Rosenkavalier") sang lusciously as the opera's pert dea ex machina, Amor. (ella era buena pero era programa de Daniels) . . . Lyric is presenting the three brief acts . . . without intermissions . . .
El chorus ODIA esta producción.
Hablé con dos hombres del chorus y amaron y producción anterior de George Balanchine. Esto es un
. Pero debo divulgar a las audiencias no pensé este. Qué usted no sabe usted no puede lamentar.
El escritor tiene gusto de Orfeo. Me divierten de raíces pequeñas que Verdi creció.
Daniels cantó bien. Todos cantaron bien. ( ¡Todavía no tengo gusto de countertenors!)
Los hombres del chorus dijeron que el director de la producción era horrible. Daniels parecía la momia (The Mummy) - rodillas tiesas - Para demostrar su pena.
He sobrevivido. Era breve. No era Verdi, Puccini, y absolutamente NO Wagner (no una mala cosa en mi opinión)
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