World Premiere: In the Greek myth, she was a shadowy figure we barely knew. Let’s change that.
Matthew Aucoin partners with playwright Sarah Ruhl for a new opera that reimagines ancient mythology for a modern age. This time, the tale unfolds from the heroine’s point of view. (Finally, right?)
Tragically killed on her wedding day, a young bride descends into the underworld, where she reconnects with her adoring father. Presented with the opportunity to return to her husband in the world of the living, she must choose between the two men she loves.
Aucoin’s score is stirring, emotional, and eclectic enough to articulate the surreal landscape of the play. Aucoin clearly appreciates the source material, and he marshals his considerable talent in creating a tonal palette that is as adroit, witty, and spare as the libretto. While there are echoes of Adams and other composers in the complex orchestration, the result is singularly Aucoin.
Aucoin’s music is highly varied and delightful; often edgy and trippy, with tumbling piccolo runs and ominous brass (the author conducts, with Grant Gershon leading the splendid chorus). More peaceful passages come when Eurydice and her father are reunited. The Sri-Lankan-Dutch-parented soprano De Niese, holder of an Emmy earned when she was 16 (was there some kind of overachiever requirement for this opera?) handles the demanding role and heavy stage time gorgeously.
I’ve often groused about contemporary revivals of ancient Greek works that don’t include togas and how remakes often miss their mark. But this modern dress edition is right on target as – while it succeeds in retaining the theme and flavor of the myth that can be traced all the way back to sixth century B.C. Greece – composer Matthew Aucoin and librettist Sarah Ruhl’s work manages to re-imagine the age-old tale for 21st century audiences through the conventions of the operatic medium.
The music, the libretto, the singers, the characters, the scenery, the costumes — everything came together in a very clever and immensely fun new opera for the ages.
In the opera world, though, we do nothing but look back. “Eurydice,” as it now stands, has enough going for it to have legs. But with revision (that opening scene), it could have more intrigue. Even so, it is an accomplishment for a company whose previous premiere, Ellen Reid’s “prism,” won last year’s Pulitzer Prize for music, a breakthrough for another young composer.
Saturday’s performance emerged as a triumph — musically, visually and vocally. It features a sterling cast led by the lithe and endearing soprano, Danielle de Niese (as Eurydice); the robust baritone of Joshua Hopkins (as her music-obsessed boyfriend, Orpheus); counter-tenor, John Holiday (as Orpheus’s spirit double); Barry Banks, a cross between Lucifer and Harvey Weinstein (as Hades); with LA Opera veteran baritone Rod Gilfry as Eurydice’s father, a sort of rumpled mid-western advice-giving version of Polonius.
Aucoin’s score is stirring, emotional, and eclectic enough to articulate the surreal landscape of the play. Aucoin clearly appreciates the source material, and he marshals his considerable talent in creating a tonal palette that is as adroit, witty, and spare as the libretto. While there are echoes of Adams and other composers in the complex orchestration, the result is singularly Aucoin.
Aucoin’s music is highly varied and delightful; often edgy and trippy, with tumbling piccolo runs and ominous brass (the author conducts, with Grant Gershon leading the splendid chorus). More peaceful passages come when Eurydice and her father are reunited. The Sri-Lankan-Dutch-parented soprano De Niese, holder of an Emmy earned when she was 16 (was there some kind of overachiever requirement for this opera?) handles the demanding role and heavy stage time gorgeously.
I’ve often groused about contemporary revivals of ancient Greek works that don’t include togas and how remakes often miss their mark. But this modern dress edition is right on target as – while it succeeds in retaining the theme and flavor of the myth that can be traced all the way back to sixth century B.C. Greece – composer Matthew Aucoin and librettist Sarah Ruhl’s work manages to re-imagine the age-old tale for 21st century audiences through the conventions of the operatic medium.
The music, the libretto, the singers, the characters, the scenery, the costumes — everything came together in a very clever and immensely fun new opera for the ages.
In the opera world, though, we do nothing but look back. “Eurydice,” as it now stands, has enough going for it to have legs. But with revision (that opening scene), it could have more intrigue. Even so, it is an accomplishment for a company whose previous premiere, Ellen Reid’s “prism,” won last year’s Pulitzer Prize for music, a breakthrough for another young composer.
Saturday’s performance emerged as a triumph — musically, visually and vocally. It features a sterling cast led by the lithe and endearing soprano, Danielle de Niese (as Eurydice); the robust baritone of Joshua Hopkins (as her music-obsessed boyfriend, Orpheus); counter-tenor, John Holiday (as Orpheus’s spirit double); Barry Banks, a cross between Lucifer and Harvey Weinstein (as Hades); with LA Opera veteran baritone Rod Gilfry as Eurydice’s father, a sort of rumpled mid-western advice-giving version of Polonius.
