{"id":53423,"date":"2018-04-23T17:07:12","date_gmt":"2018-04-23T21:07:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=53423"},"modified":"2018-04-23T18:01:40","modified_gmt":"2018-04-23T22:01:40","slug":"primer-why-against-the-grains-orphee-might-be-the-most-authentic-opera-youll-see-all-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2018\/04\/23\/primer-why-against-the-grains-orphee-might-be-the-most-authentic-opera-youll-see-all-year\/","title":{"rendered":"PRIMER | Why Against the Grain’s Orph\u00e9e+\u00a0Might Be The Most \u201cAuthentic\u201d Opera You’ll See All Year"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A Scene from Against the Grain Theatre’s Orph\u00e9e+ (Photo: Blake Manns)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Against the Grain Theatre\u2019s recent attempt at contemporizing opera, Orph\u00e9e+<\/em> is described as \u201can electronic, baroque burlesque descent into hell.\u201d The comparison of this adaptation with hell suggests that there is something unsanctioned or taboo about it. However, while sitting with Against the Grain Theatre’s (AtG) stage director Joel Ivany this Sunday, or rather squatting on a bench to avoid the last of the melting snow, we discussed how AtG\u2019s mission to modernize opera might be a more authentic approach than performing operas as they were originally conceived.<\/p>\n

Orph\u00e9e+<\/em> is based on the 18th-century baroque opera Orph\u00e9e et Eurydice<\/em> by German composer Christoph Willibald Gluck. The \u2018+\u2019 in the title stands for AtG\u2019s signature modernizing stamp. Ivany explains that opera is \u201ca battle between the old and the new. This was the case long before Orph\u00e9e+<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here is a list of reasons why AtG\u2019s approach to Orph\u00e9e et Eurydice<\/em> continues a lineage of adaptation seen over the past 200 years:<\/p>\n

1: Gluck and his 18th-century contemporaries constantly adapted their works for new audiences, and more importantly whoever would pay them to do so.<\/h3>\n

Gluck originally composed the Greek myth of Orfeo retrieving his wife from the underworld for the Viennese in 1762. This version was written in Italian and titled Orfeo ed Euridice,<\/em>\u00a0because in Vienna Italian opera was still considered the greatest form of opera (Mozart\u2019s Die Entf\u00fchrung aus dem Serail <\/em>had yet to popularize German opera). As was the case in most Italian opera at the time, Orfeo was originally performed by a castrato\u2013\u2013basically a boy who had been castrated so that his voice would not change at puberty.<\/p>\n

In more sensible France, the castrati tradition was not as kindly regarded as it was in Italy. As a result, when Gluck adapted Orfeo ed Euridice<\/em> for the Paris Op\u00e9ra, Orfeo was sung by a tenor. Gluck also had the opera translated into French and added a ballet, because the French couldn\u2019t get enough of the ballet.<\/p>\n

2: Famous composers after Gluck also altered Orfeo<\/em><\/h3>\n

In 1859, French composer Hector Berlioz adjusted the score again, without the dead composer\u2019s permission. He combined the French and Italian versions and wrote Orfeo for a mezzo-soprano, the famous Pauline Viardot.<\/p>\n

Even in the mid-20th<\/sup> century, with our high ideals of \u201cauthenticity\u201d and preserving the composer\u2019s intent, Orfeo was transposed down to be sung by a baritone like Dietrich Fischer Dieskau.<\/p>\n

Based on these reasons, it might be argued that performing an opera \u201cauthentically\u201d means creating an adaption that resonates with contemporary audiences. As Joel so aptly summarizes, composers over the years have \u201ccatered to the time and place to make opera work. Gluck, for example, would take a look at his musical toolbox for each new premiere.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, what exactly does AtG pull out of its toolbox for Orph\u00e9e+<\/em>?<\/h2>\n

1: Modern Instruments<\/h3>\n

AtG replaces the harp with an electric guitar and adds two synthesizers to Gluck\u2019s orchestration. Like Gluck used popular orchestral instruments to fill his orchestra, AtG adds electronic instruments often heard in pop music. One can hear the difference between Gluck and AtG\u2019s orchestrations by listening to these two clips, when in the opera the furies obstruct Orfeo\u2019s decent to Hell:<\/p>\n