Opera Atelier’s 2023/24 season opens with a spectacular performance of Gluck’s “Orpheus and Eurydice” from October 26 to November 1. This rendition of the timeless classic, created for none other than Marie Antoinette, brings a touch of 18th-century French elegance to the Toronto stage.
Gluck’s opera had already taken Europe by storm when he was invited to extensively rework Orpheus and Eurydice for the French public. A new French libretto by Pierre-Louis Moline was written to replace the original Italian libretto, and the role of Orpheus – originally created for a castrato, was rewritten for a stratospheric French tenor. The French premiere of Gluck’s Orpheus and Eurydice was an unprecedented success and changed the history of French lyric theatre.
Gluck, bowing to the unique aesthetic tastes of 1774 France, wrote additional dance music for Orpheus, including a thrilling balletic finale, which allows the full corps of the Artists of Atelier Ballet a brilliant opportunity to interpret Founding Co-Artistic Director Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg’s choreography.
Orpheus and Eurydice will star Canadian tenor Colin Ainsworth as Orpheus – a role he first sang for Opera Atelier in 2007. This groundbreaking production will also include one of Opera Atelier’s favourite sopranos, Mireille Asselin, as Eurydice, and soprano Anna-Julia David will make her company debut as Amour.
