Earth and Space News: Orfeo ed Euridice Was To Be April 4, 2020, Met Opera Saturday Broadcast

Summary: Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice was to be the April 4, 2020, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast, airing as 18th in the season’s 23 radio matinees.

American choreographer, dancer and director Mark Morris produced and choreographed the 2006-2007 Met Opera season’s new staging of Christoph von Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice: Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook Dec. 18, 2008

Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice was to be the April 4, 2020, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast, airing at 1 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) and numbering as the 18th of 23 scheduled Saturday radio matinees during the 2019-2020 Met Opera season.

German classical composer Christoph von Gluck (July 2, 1714-Nov. 15, 1787) set his musical score for Orfeo ed Euridice to an Italian libretto by Italian librettist and poet Ranieri de’ Calzabigi (Dec. 23, 1714-July 1795). The libretto considered the ancient Greek myth of the fateful love of Orpheus the Thracian musician for his wife, Eurydice the oak nymph.

Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice premiered Oct. 5, 1762, at eastern Austria’s Burgtheater in Vienna. The opera’s premiere took place in the theater’s first building, which adjoined the Hofburg, the Habsburg dynasty’s imperial palace, at Michaelerplatz. The theater’s founder, Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa (May 13, 1717-Nov. 29, 1780), attended the premiere.

Orfeo ed Euridice received its Metropolitan Opera premiere April 11, 1885. The premiere, which was sung in German, was the season’s only performance. MetOpera Database, the Metropolitan Opera’s online archives, lists the libretto’s translator as unknown. The premiere, which was staged during the opera company’s 1884-1885 tour, took place at Boston Theatre, 361 Washington Street, in Boston, northeastern Massachusetts.

In the 2019-2020 Met Opera season, Orfeo ed Euridice received seven performances. The season’s first performance took place Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019, at 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). The month’s two additional performances happened Thursday, Oct. 24, at 8 p.m. and Tuesday, Oct. 29, at 8 p.m.

The season’s last four performances were offered in November. The month’s performances were scheduled according to Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). November’s performances took place Friday, Nov. 1, at 8 p.m.; Monday, Nov. 4, at 8 p.m.; Thursday, Nov. 7, at 8 p.m.; and closing night, Sunday, Nov. 10, at 3 p.m.

Update: The Metropolitan Opera announced via Facebook Thursday, March 12, 2020, the cancellation of the rest of the 2019-2020 season due to the Covid-19 virus pandemic. The Metropolitan Opera Archives Database (MetOpera Database) entry of March 12, 2020, noted the cancellation of 58 performances. Operas affected by the cancellation were identified as La Bohème, La Cenerentola, Così Fan Tutte, Der Fliegende Holländer, Kát'a Kabanová, Madama Butterfly, Manon Lescaut, Maria Stuarda, Simon Boccanegra, Tosca, La Traviata, Turandot and Werther.

Update: The opera company's coronavirus-occasioned closure only affected the Saturday matinee broadcast of Orfeo ed Euridice scheduled for the 2019-2020 season. The opera's four autumn and four winter performances had already taken place.

Mark Wigglesworth conducts all performances of Orfeo ed Euridice. The English conductor made his Metropolitan Opera debut Nov. 2, 2005, in the opera house’s 419th performance of Le Nozze di Figaro by Classical Era composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791).

Hei-Kyung Hong appears in the title role of Euridice, brought back to life twice by Orfeo’s love. The South Korean-American lyric soprano made her Metropolitan Opera debut Nov. 17, 1984, as Servilia in the opera house’s eighth performance of Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito. In the 2019-2020 Met Opera season, Hei-Kyung Hong also performs as Mimì in La Bohème by Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924).

Hera Hyesang Park appears as Amore, the cupid who twice reunites Orfeo and Euridice. The South Korean lyric coloratura soprano made her Metropolitan Opera debut Feb. 2, 2017, as the First Wood Sprite in the opera house's 28th performance of Rusalka by Czech composer Antonín Dvořák (Sept. 8, 1841-May 1, 1904).

Jamie Barton appears in the title trouser role as Orfeo, whose fateful backward glance at Euridice is cancelled by cupid Amore. The American mezzo-soprano made her Metropolitan Opera debut Sept. 23, 2009, as the second of three ladies in the opera house’s 393rd performance of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. During the 2019-2020 Met Opera season, Jamie Barton also performs as Elisabetta in Maria Stuarda by 19th century Italian bel canto opera composer Gaetano Donizetti (Nov. 29, 1797-April 8, 1848).

The 2019-2020 Met Opera season’s presentation of Orfeo ed Euridice marks the third revival of staging by Mark Morris. The American choreographer, dancer and director’s staging debuted May 2, 2007, as a new Met Opera production in the opera house’s 83rd performance of Gluck’s operatic Underworld journey. The first and second revivals were staged during the 2008-2009 and 2010-2011 seasons, respectively.

Mark Morris’ production team comprises Allen Moyer, set designer; Isaac Mizrahi, costume designer; and James F. Ingalls, lighting designer. Mark Morris is the production’s choreographer.

The takeaway for Orfeo ed Euridice as the April 4, 2020, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast is that Christoph von Gluck’s opera about the triumph of love over death would have aired as the 18th of 23 Saturday matinees broadcast weekly through Saturday, May 9, 2020.

Mark Morris’ production of Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice features the director’s choreography, set designs by Allen Moyer, costume designs by Isaac Mizrahi and lighting designs by James F. Ingalls: Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook Dec. 18, 2008

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

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Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=352325

“Debuts: Bernard Labadie, Matthias Klink, Jamie Barton, Georg Zeppenfeld.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 353076 Die Zauberflöte {393} Metropolitan Opera House: 09/23/2009.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=353076

“Debuts: Hei-Kyung Hong, Nancy Ticotin.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 278610 La Clemenza di Tito {8} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 11/17/1984.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=278610

“Debuts: Hyesang Park, Anthony Clark Evans, Daniela Mack, Austin McCormick.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 356617 New production Rusalka {28} Metropolitan Opera House: 02/02/2017.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=356617

“Debuts: Mark Wigglesworth, Maurizio Muraro, Joyce DiDonato . . .” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 351338 Le Nozze di Figaro {419} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/02/2005.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=351338

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/11/2019-2020-met-opera-seasons-eighth-week.html

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Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. “A scene from "Orfeo ed Euridice. http://www.metoperafamily.org/metop…/season/production.aspx… Photo: Marty Sohl/ Met Opera.” Facebook. Dec. 18, 2008.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.63777700532/104674870532/

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "In light of the circumstances involving the coronavirus and in consultation with the Office of the Mayor of New York City, we regret to inform our audience that all Met performances have been canceled through March 31, including tonight’s planned performance of La Cenerentola. This Saturday’s Live in HD cinema presentation of Der Fliegende Holländer has also been canceled. Thank you for your understanding. Learn More: www.metopera.org/updates." Facebook. March 12, 2020.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/10163327604920533

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Earth and Space News

Monday, March 30, 2020

Orfeo ed Euridice Was To Be April 4, 2020, Met Opera Saturday Broadcast

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