Kraków Opera presents Christoph Willibald Gluck’s most famous work, in which the hero will lead us to hell and back. “Simplicity, truth and naturalness are fundamental principles of beauty in all works of art,” Gluck declared in the preface to one of his operas (according to some sources, its author was the poet and librettist Ranieri de ’Calzabigi). The 18th-century composer did not stop at theorising. He put his proclaimed ideals into effect, starting a real revolution in the world of opera – he rejected the overloaded ornamentation and coloratura melodic lines, left behind the complex plot and schematically outlined characters, and the stellar performances were balanced by choirs and ballet participating in the action on stage. Thus he refreshed the assumptions of the genre, which through the years had travelled far from the original formula of dramma per musica.

The first opera in which Gluck implemented his new postulates was Orpheus and Eurydice, first performed in 1762 in Vienna. The composer successfully showed here that less is more: the music – instead of being content in itself – served as an illustration of the drama, and the layers of intrigue were replaced by a simple, moving story in which love is stronger than death ousted the artificial emotions. Doing this, Gluck modified this somewhat famous Greek myth: just like the original, Orpheus descends to Hell to bring back to life Eurydice and loses her when, at the gates of Hades, he breaks the ban, turning to look at her. But the gracious opera gods restore Eurydice to life. And so – consciously or not – Gluck spared an important principle of Baroque opera: the obligatory happy ending.

In Kraków Opera’s production, the story of the Thracian poet and musician will be told in both singing and dance – each character in the opera will be a character in the ballet. The musical side is lead by Marek Toporowski, harpsichord virtuoso and conductor, specialising in the performance of baroque oratorio. It is choreographed and directed by Giorgio Madia from Italy, working today on the most important stages in Europe; he produced Orpheus and Eurydice for the first time, especially for the Kraków stage. It’s also worth paying attention to the costumes and sets designed by Austrian Bruno Schwengl, who works with opera theatres in London, Berlin, Vienna, Munich, Lausanne, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The Kraków premiere, prepared by an international group of artists, took place on 27 April 2013. (Barbara Skowrońska, Karnet monthly)

Composer: Christoph Willibald Gluck
Choreography: Giorgio Madia
Musical direction: Marek Toporowski