Special event: Pygmalion makes its Australian debut with a residency at the Adelaide Festival (27 February–6 March).
Orfeo, a tragicomic opera composed by Luigi Rossi, was the first opera performed in France, in 1647 at the Théâtre du Palais Royal. It marked the French public’s discovery of Italian Baroque theatre, with its castrati, dazzling costumes and sets, which created a theatrical illusion unknown until then. But it was above all Rossi’s score, its richness and incredible dramaturgy, that had a considerable influence on the French operatic style, particularly that of Lully.
Rossi’s Orfeo was lost for centuries. Raphaël Pichon and Pygmalion offer a condensed version that sublimates the rich score, displaying a palette of instrumental and vocal colours carried by powerful recitative and the use of particularly lively choruses. Particular emphasis is placed on the secondary characters in the myth, notably the shepherd Aristaeus, Orpheus’ rival and the man responsible for Eurydice’s death.
In this Australian premiere, rediscover this forgotten masterpiece, brought up to date with tenderness and passion, in a concert setting.