L'Orfeo

Over the past three days I watched L'Incoronazione Di Poppea, L'Orfeo and Il Ritorno D'Ulisse, directed by Jean Pierre Ponnelle, composed by Claudio Monteverdi and conducted by Nikolaus Harnencourt. And I have to say I enjoyed them all.

But if I did have to say which one I enjoyed the most, it was L'Orfeo. Then again, I could be biased, seeing that of the three L'Orfeo is my personal favourite.

I think Ponnelle deserves a lot of credit. Staging an antique opera such as this is a challenge, mainly due to how times have changed, but Ponnelle stages things in a way to make it very authentic. For example he uses the chorus as a 17th century audience as well, which means not only are they taking part but they are reacting to it, a risky move but one that paid off.

I also loved some of the subtle humour, especially with the singing skeleton.

The production looks incredible too. The costuming is sumptuous and the settings are lovely too with a dreamy mythical quality to them. The sound, picture quality and camera work also impress, and I almost forgot how symbolic this production is particularly with the very effective decision to make Euridice very young and beautiful, making the tragedy of her death even more believable than it already is.

Musically, there is plenty of style and attention to musicality. Harnencourt's conducting gives the performance its emotional substance also. The principal singing is excellent. Phillippe Huttenlocher's Orfeo is a very human portrayal. Dietlinde Turban is gorgeous as Euridice, and Trudelise Schmidt once again is very charismatic. Of the singing, the resonance of the basso notes of Hans Franzen as Charonte really won me over.

All in all, simply wonderful. 10/10 Bethany Cox

One of the most important cornerstones in the history of music, this ideal international production leaves nothing more to be wished for. Jean-Pierre Ponnelle as the director and Nikolaus Harnoncourt the conductor have together created the ultimate masterpiece of a convincing rendering of the first opera in timeless settings - the theatre and costumes all give the impression of being caught directly in 1607, Philippe Huttenlocher is the perfect Orfeo, and all the other singers combine too in making it a staggering opera - it is actually like one of those great ballet and opera films of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger around 1950, giving free reins to imagination and innovation, and the theatre is not unlike Shakespeare's Globe, the singers in the galleries participating vividly in the performance. Monteverdi's music has a sound of its own which never has been equalled, he had his own tricks and strange ideas of composition (denounced by Verdi), but nevertheless the sound is constantly enchanting still today. This is an opera performance you can't digest and assimilate enough, there are so many exquisite details and fantastic singing performances that you can't have enough of them, and you will never forget this performance.

I am an unconditional fan of opera and I like productions that are faithful to libretto and the taste of the era in which they were made. Therefore, a friend of mine indicated me this video, already with a few years (was recorded in 1978) but still fresh. I didn't know Jean-Pierre Ponnelle yet but, looking very quickly at his profile and what he has done, he seems to be making a commendable and meritorious effort to make good operas available on video. And I, who have always defended the democratization, dissemination and repopularization of opera, approve and praise this kind of efforts. "L'Orfeo" is a landmark of music in that it is known as the first opera, founder of this musical genre. Similar efforts had been made in Florence few years earlier but surely Monteverdi would be aware of that. However, its difficult to assess the influence that such initiatives had in the creation of this musical piece. Be that as it may, its a pre-Baroque opera with a currently unappealing theme (a fable drawn from Greco-Roman mythology), and its understandable that its less commonly presented to the public. And when this happens, its often staged in more imaginative or minimalist ways, which doesn't always work very well, creating a mismatch between the music and what we're seeing on stage. For my sake and not only, this doesn't happen in this video and the opera is staged as it was thought, in a version that we could classify as canonical, given the historical accuracy in the scenario, costumes and even orchestration.

This opera tells the tragic fable of Orpheus, a demigod, son of Apollo (god of Music) and Calliope, muse of Poetry and one of the nine muses, daughters of Jupiter and Mnemosyne, goddess of Memory. In the fable, Orpheus possessed a talent for music and was able to enchant all beings, including stones, when he played his lyre or sang. Falling in love with the nymph Eurydice, he marries her but she dies suddenly, a snake bite. Tormented by pain, the young demigod decides to seek the soul of his beloved in the Other World. There, and after some incidents with the boatman Charon, he manages to convince Proserpina and its husband, Pluto, god of the dead, so that the soul of Eurydice is returned to him. However, Orpheus will not be able to look at her until their exit of the Underworld, or he will lose her forever... a condition he will be unable to fulfill. Back in our world, Orpheus curses the feminine gender, devastated by sorrow, and so is brutally murdered by the nymphs. Apollo then descends from Olympus in order to collect the soul of his son, ending the opera with their ascent to Heaven.

As I said above, its a presentation historically close to what was showed at its premiere in 1607, with a very elegant stage, where the choir, placed on a balcony, takes part of the action and interacts with the singers. The choir, traditionally, integrates Greek tragedies as well as the ill-news messenger, which is represented here by a companion of Eurydice, who brings the news of her death. Costumes are luxurious and elaborate, according to the fashion of sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. I liked the use of several symbolic elements such as the flower the two lovers touched (symbolizing their love and marriage), the rope that unites them or even the red cloth that is shredded at the end of the opera, symbolizing the death of Orpheus. Philippe Huttenlocher and Dietlinde Turban were excellent at the main characters and they were beautiful on stage, especially her, although her voice was borrowed by the talented Rachel Yakar, as Turban isn't a lyric singer. Huttenlocher sang and acted perfectly, gave life and strength to his character, but Hans Franzen, who played Charon, was also excellent. Finally, I cannot finish without highlighting the excellent performance of the Monteverdi Ensemble, expertly run by veteran Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

This is the Orfeo that sets the standard for all the more recent versions. It is the best filmed by far. Excellent camera work and superior sound- What you'd expect from DGG. Singing and original instrument performances are amazing, especially considering this was 1978. The viewer is brought into the action, as are the duke and duchess of Mantua, the townspeople, and Monteverdi himself. The opera itself is spellbinding, and has endured a full 400 years- and for very good reason! There are no tricks or cute "modern" sets, costumes, etc. This is a true revival with unique perspectives. The scenery and costumes are authentic and very beautiful. This is a very, very special DVD, and can be purchased as a box set with the other two extant Monteverdi operas.