Soprano Erin Morley sings the title role, opposite baritone Joshua Hopkins as Orpheus and countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński as his otherworldly alter-ego. Yannick Nézet-Séguin oversees the momentous Met premiere from the podium, leading Aucoin’s evocative music and an immersive new staging by Mary Zimmerman.
With a libretto by Sarah Ruhl, adapted from her acclaimed 2003 play, the opera reimagines the familiar tale from Eurydice’s point of view.
Holdovers include baritone Joshua Hopkins (Orpheus) and tenor Barry Banks (Hades).The ancient Greek myth of Orpheus, who attempts to harness the power of music to rescue his beloved Eurydice from the Underworld, has inspired composers since opera’s earliest days.īrilliant American composer Matthew Aucoin now carries that tradition into the 21st century with a captivating new take on the story. The composer conducted in LA but Met music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin will lead the New York performance with Morley taking over the title role from Danielle de Niese and baritone Nathan Berg replacing Rod Gilfrey as Eurydice’s father. Ruhl wrote the libretto, Aucoin composed from 2016-19 and the work premiered at the LA Opera on Feb. It sort of says that we’re not worthy of music, and so I think it captures something really essential, which is that music is both human and more than human.” “It kind of says that music can conquer death, but humans will always screw it up. “It’s catnip for composers, isn’t it?” Aucoin said. Operatic versions have included Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo” from 1607, Gluck’s “Orfeo ed Euridice” from 1762 and Offenbach’s “Orphée aux enfers" from 1858, with its famous “Can Can.” More recent renditions have included Philip Glass’ “Orphée” in 1993 and Anaïs Mitchell’s hit musical “Hadestown,” which opened on Broadway in 2019. Aucoin and Ruhl met for lunch in a Manhattan restaurant and decided to adapt Ruhl’s modern-day retelling of the legend focusing on Eurydice’s point of view, rather than Orpheus’ descent to Hades to rescue her.
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