Abraham Borg

The Greek myth of the poet Orpheus narrates that he was a Thracian singer who had participated in the expedition of the Argonauts. He devoted most of his time in the tranquil interests of poetry and music, acquiring an enviable skill that brought him such fame that many would gather to hear him play and sing. In one of these gatherings he met the beautiful Eurydice; they fell in love and got married. Eurydice's beauty and Orpheus's talents aroused the envy of Aristaeus the shepherd, who desired the beautiful girl and plotted to kill Orpheus. As the two lovers fled from their prowler, Eurydice stumbled, and, falling on the ground, was bitten by a snake and died. After the death of his wife, Orpheus was allowed to descend to the Underworld and charmed the rulers of Hades so much with his playing and singing that they permitted him to take her back with him: Eurydice would return among the living on condition that Orpheus would not turn to look at her before both of them had left the darkness of Hades and reached the light. As they trudged towards the exit, Orpheus could hear Eurydice's steps behind him; the instant he emerged into the light he turned to hug his wife who, regrettably, was still in Hades. The condition that would have allowed her to return among the living was broken and he could only witness her being enveloped back into the darkness.

Thus, the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice, a myth that has been employed in various genres, including the literary, visual, theatrical and musical ones. It has inspired a myriad of poets whose texts have been utilized by musicians starting from Jacopo Peri's opera Euridice (1600) and that of Giulio Caccini in 1602, both to the same libretto by Ottavio Rinuccini, to John Robertson's Orpheus of 2015. Of the many libretti written around the Orphean myth, that of Ranieri de' Calzabigi (1714-1795) takes pride of place because it was set to music in 1762 by Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787) as Orfeo ed Euridice and is recognised as the German composer's finest work. The opera presented at the Teatru Manoel is the (1774) French-language version by Pierre-Louis Moline (1740-1820), subsequently revised by Hector Berlioz in 1859, in which the role of  Orphée, previously sung by a tenor, is assigned to a contralto. The libretto follows the lieto fine mode for Cupid rewards Orpheus for his love and fidelity, allows Eurydice to leave Hades, and the lovers "lived happily ever after". As far as is known no opera by Gluck has ever been performed in Malta.

The performance under review here is that of Wednesday, 16 March, with mezzo-soprano Hadar Halevy in the leading role. Ms Halevy was a very good Orphée; she displayed a full mezzo which she projected extremely well, coupled with an excellent vocal technique, as evidenced in the bravura aria L'espoir renaît dans mon âme. She gave an affecting rendering of J'ai perdu mon Eurydice, with the right emotion in her voice. Gillian Zammit, as Eurydice, had much less to do, but what she had she did well. Her singing was effortless, exhibiting grace and elegance. Francesca Aquilina (Amour) was good with her clear, slender-toned and well-pitched voice. As with the other singers the diction was excellent. The choir was good and well-rehearsed.

Under the competent baton of Philip Walsh, the MPO acquitted itself very well starting from the beautiful Overture; it was particularly effective in the Dance of the Spirits of the Damned. Mavin Khoo's choreography was very good and the group of dancers acquitted themselves very well both as the Furies who try to prevent Orpheus's entry into Hades, as well as the Blessed Spirits embodying the pastoral serenity of the Elysian fields. The flute solo in this part was beautifully rendered.

Denise Mulholland opted to abandon the mythological setting, transposing it to the Victorian era. The space of the theatre stage was utilized well, the set was minimalist and costumes were well done. This was an enjoyable and appreciable première of Gluck's most popular work in Malta.