Ancient Story, Cutting Edge Opera: Gluck's 'Orphée et Eurydice'

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When Gluck's original, Italian version of the Orpheus legend appeared in 1762, in Vienna, the concept of opera wasn't very old by historical standards. Yet, to some ears, it was already going stale. The straightforward, intensely expressive style pioneered by Monteverdi had given way to something called opera seria.


So some composers, including Gluck, decided to make a few changes. In his version of the Orpheus story, Gluck uses the orchestra throughout the drama, basically eliminating the breaks in the action caused by opera seria's dry recitatives. He also dispenses with the standard da capo aria -- in which long passages of music are repeated, with increasingly showy ornamentation.


Yet even Gluck wasn't immune to the demands of his audiences. Within a dozen years he had come up with a more elaborate, expanded edition of the score -- written in French, to be played in Paris. And there’s another, key difference between Gluck’s two versions of the opera. In the original Italian score, the role of Orpheus is written for an alto castrato. It's the French version that's featured here, in a performance starring one of today's most acclaimed tenors, Juan Diego Flórez, as Orpheus.

On WORLD OF OPERA, host Lisa Simeone presents Gluck's Orphée et Eurydice from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in London. John Eliot Gardiner is the conductor, with the English Baroque Soloists and the Monteverdi Choir.