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Singer

Tenor

Cyril Auvity

Orfeo

Soprano

Hannah Morrison

Euridice

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Miriam Allan

The nymph

Proserpina

Léa Desandre

The messenger

Hope

Carlo Vistoli

First shepherd

Sean Clayton

Echo

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Third spirit

Zachary Wilder

Second spirit

Cyril Constanzo

Caronte

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Paul Agnew

Apollo

Conductor

Stage director

Set designer

Christophe Naillet

Costume designer

Alain Blanchot

Lighting designer

First spirit

Teatros del Canal

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Les Arts Florissants

L'Orfeo -  (Orfeo)

Madrid

Spain

Sala B

Caen

France

In celebration of Monteverdi’s 450th birthday in 2017, Paul Agnew—an expert in the Italian composer’s œuvre—directs L’Orfeo. This founding masterpiece of lyric opera is brought to life in elegant simplicity through the performances of Cyril Auvity’s Orpheus and Les Arts Florissants, with costumes designed by Alain Blanchot.

Composed at the very beginning of the 17th century, L’Orfeo was at the musical and artistic avant-garde of its time. In the work, Monteverdi unites various musical traditions while pushing the boundaries of dramatization of texts through music. In retrospect the work has come to be seen as a cornerstone of a then-new musical genre: opera! The revolutionary mixture of drama, poetry, and music are neatly referenced in Monteverdi’s subtitle for the work: “una favola in musica”, meaning “a fable in music”. Alessandro Striggio based L’Orfeo’s libretto on the myth of Orpheus as retold in Ovid’s Metamorphoses and in certain passages of Virgil’s Georgics.

Paul Agnew's choice of a modest staging ensures that nothing distracts from the importance of the text and music: as he explains, “it’s with simplicity that one can best realize the principal at the heart of Monteverdi’s entire œuvre—that text must guide harmony.” On the stage of the Caen Theater is Cyril Auvity in the role of Orfeo, heading up an impressive group of young singers from the Jardin des Voix and the cycle of Monteverdi’s Madrigali.

Théâtre de Caen

L'Orfeo

Public

Approved

Orfeo by Monteverdi, From (2017/2017), Directed by Paul Agnew,, Conductor Paul Agnew, Teatros del Canal, Madrid, Spain

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