Following on from the massive success of The Second Violinist at last year’s festival, Galway International Arts Festival is delighted to present Irish National Opera’s major new production, which will premiere at GIAF 2018.
'Let love triumph, and all the world serve the empire of beauty'
Christoph Willibald Von Gluck’s influential opera Orfeo ed Euridice is based on the myth of Orpheus, who is granted permission to travel to the underworld to rescue his wife Euridice on the condition that he not look at her until they are back on earth.
A story so weighted in tragedy, the power of the Orpheus myth lies in its balance between mortality and hope, transcendence and love. GIAF presents this major new production of Gluck’s revolutionary work, based on one of the most famous stories in history and featuring a powerful mix of music, song, dance and imagery.
Orfeo ed Euridice is the most popular of Gluck’s works and one of the most influential, with variations of the plot found in Mozart's The Magic Flute, Beethoven's Fidelio and Wagner's Das Rheingold.
Emma Martin, one of Ireland’s most exciting dance theatre makers, directs with Sharon Carty and Sarah Power performing the title roles joined by an ensemble of four singers and four United Fall dancers. Peter Whelan conducts the Irish Baroque Orchestra.
Irish National Opera was formed after the merging of two existing companies - Opera Theatre Company and Wide Open Opera - who have created some of the most exciting opera productions on the Irish stage in recent years, including The Second Violinist (co-produced with Landmark Productions), which premiered to critical acclaim at Galway International Arts Festival last year.
Please Note: Sung in Italian with English surtitles.