| Gluck, Christoph Willibald (1714-1787) | L'Ivrogne Corrigé, ou Le Mariage du Diable | |
| Gluck, Christoph Willibald (1714-1787) | Orfeo ed Euridice |
| Royal Northern College of Music | |
| Roger Hamilton | Conductor |
| Stefan Janski | Director |
Our Spring opera promises a very different experience when we present a fully-staged Gluck double-bill in the intimate setting of the RNCM Studio Theatre.
Orfeo ed Euridice is probably the composer’s most exhilarating work, with eruptions of emotion that gain potency from the poise with which they are expressed. Orfeo is mourning the death of his wife Euridice. Zeus is so struck by his grief that he allows him to reclaim her from Hades. If, through the power of music, he can persuade Pluto to release her, he may guide her back to Earth, but he must not look upon her until they have crossed back into the land of the living. Orfeo succeeds in his task until Euridice, unable to understand his strange behaviour, claims she would rather be dead than be so spurned by him. He turns to look at her and she is lost – but then touched by his lament, Amore restores Euridice to life and the opera ends in celebration.
The theme of the underworld, gods, demons and furies is also prevalent in The Drunkard Cured, A Sobering Tale (L’ivrogne corrigé) which completes this Gluck double-bill. The drunkard Mathurin wants his niece Colette to marry his drinking partner Lucas. But Colette is in love with Cléon and together with Marthurin’s wife Mathurine, they devise a plot to scupper these plans. They disguise themselves as Pluto and two furies (wearing masks), so that when Mathurin and Lucas awaken from their drunken stupor, they believe they are in hell. Cléon, in the role of Pluto, offers Mathurin clemency if he gives up the drink and allows his niece to marry Cléon. When Mathurin has signed the marriage contract, they remove their masks. Lucas on the other hand, has made no promises and resumes his habitual ways. This comedy was written just two years before the advent of Orfeo and despite its light-hearted tone, the work includes strong intimations of the masterpiece that was to follow.
Orfeo ed Euridice will be sung in Italian with English surtitles. The Drunkard Cured is a brand new translation by Roger Hamilton.