Orphée et Euridice : Gluck's masterpiece in French for the first time at La Scala
A show already widely tested at Covent Garden in 2015 and not accepted, for the scenic part, with a unanimous agreement by the English press, has inaugurated the appearance of Orpheus, or rather of Orphée et Euridice , for the first time at La Scala . The first time in French, after a long series of productions that dates back to 1891 and which saw alternating on the podium and on the stage directors and singers remained in the myth, from Toscanini to Furtwaengler, from Stignani to Barbieri and, closer to our time, the precious contribution of De Simone for Riccardo Muti.
The two Orphees are very dissimilar to each other: there are too many changes made by the author in view of the Parisian version of 1774 to keep intact the expressive force of the original form on libretto by Ranieri de 'Calzabigi that had inflamed the Viennese audience twelve years before . And the addition of dances in profusion risks to undermine the expressive balance of all the work, inserting too many reasons for distraction that also gave faculty to Hofesh Shechter (director, with John Fulljames, but also choreographer) to field an excellent dance company that juggled between movements actually directed to comment on the stage action and other geometric-repetitive figurations that knew too much about things already seen in the past.
In many ways the rule of this Orphée can be considered (or reread) in a psychoanalytic way. In fact, the protagonist seems not only to contravene the rules described in the ancient myth (that is the prohibition to watch and talk to the bride brought back to life, a test of strength that will be repeated for example in the Mozart's Magic Flute) but above all revive some kind of profound guilt of the past, which make it truly impossible for both Orpheus and Eurydice to communicate with each other. The death of Eurydice was not a natural event, it was perhaps the death of love itself between the two spouses, unable to show their affections. And the musical outline of this French Orphée, its caressing rhythms (too caressing through Mariotti's baton), the trendy dances,
Never as in this setting of the work of Gluck has regretted the version of Vienna and the Italian text, a more dry, stringed version, which much better comments on the idea of this drama of love and death, the figure of a singer who he wanders about the stage, or stays in a corner, dazed, watching the events from the outside, almost does not believe that his Eurydice has disappeared, let alone recover it in Hades. And when Love intervenes for the second time, after the violation of the rules, Eurydice rises again but then disappears behind the souls of the blessed and we can no longer see her reappear. After the long series of dances of the second act, Orpheus is still there, but the choral jubilation is only on the facade: Eurydice does not reappear anymore and the fable has no longer followed or, as is very probable, has been lived in a dream.
The great protagonist, both from the vocal and the scenic point of view, was obviously Juan Diego Flórez, who sustained the whole show, with few pauses that allowed him to recover from the immense effort, with a total interpenetration of the character and the director's vision. True ovations were given to him, already anticipated at the time of his most famous aria.
Fascinating and passionate Euridice was Christiane Karg and Amore, very worried about her entrances, the good Fatma Said. The contribution of the chorus directed by Casoni was fundamental, also taking part in the highest degree of the role even beyond the purely vocal aspects.
The Scala orchestra, subjected to an ups and downs of considerable scenic effect but sometimes penalized the propagation of sound in the great hall, had to perform a very heavy task, that is to behave like a baroque ensemble without being subjected to a real its own concertation and direction of that kind, and it has also met the problem that has always been pointed out since the time of the first performances of the opera alla Scala. Like all Baroque works, but even more so because it is not designed for very large spaces, Orpheus ill lends itself to the volumes of our theater. A little less Orphée, this is true, because the large space given to the dances allows an extended use of the stage. But in this case it was still the strong intimacy of the subjects treated to invoke a more delimited space, in which the tragic affair could maintain its dimension of pain. Mariotti often seemed more attentive to serving the historical evolution of the Gluckian score, emphasizing the French side that takes away a lot of fascination from the famous "reform", which complements the director's visionary reading. From Mariotti, however, penalized by the fact of having to direct giving the back to the singers, we would have expected a more "strong" concert, which really marries the idea of a text of shocking impact that the theatrical conveniences of a court almost on the edge of a revolution. that to support the visionary reading of the director. From Mariotti, however, penalized by the fact of having to direct giving the back to the singers, we would have expected a more "strong" concert, which really marries the idea of a text of shocking impact that the theatrical conveniences of a court almost on the edge of a revolution. that to support the visionary reading of the director. From Mariotti, however, penalized by the fact of having to direct giving the back to the singers, we would have expected a more "strong" concert, which really marries the idea of a text of shocking impact that the theatrical conveniences of a court almost on the edge of a revolution.