Orpheus & Eurydice
Photo: Jade Ferguson
Each summer Opera Australia & the Sydney Opera House come together to bring an exhilarating program of shows to the harbour city. This year, Creative Director Lindy Hume has curated a series of shows with collaboration at the core, to highlight the virtuosity & scope of Australian talent both on & off the stage.
The Summer 2024 program officially kicks off on New Year's Eve & runs through until March 16. Throughout this period the Opera House will be home to 5 spectacular operas inspired by the European Enlightenment Era. Opening the program will be Verdi's La Traviata, followed by Orpheus & Eurydice by Christoph Gluck, Mozart's The Magic Flute, Idomeneo also by Mozart, & finally Handel's Theodora.
As Lindy explained, “This is a celebration of opera in Australia right now. Each of the directors has placed a uniquely Australian stamp on each of these operas & this Sydney Summer season captures how versatile and dynamic the art form can be."
One of the aforementioned directors who has injected their own flair into Orpheus & Eurydice is Circa’s Artistic Director Yaron Lifschitz.
Speaking to Pario ahead of the season-opening Yaron explained how he came to fall in love with the blending of circus with opera.
"I used to work in theatre & that was my bag as a director but eventually I felt like I wanted to do something with more intensity, more passion, more liveliness & a few less words. That new medium just so happened to be circus with Circa... We create a whole new way of community with Circa by using our bodies & with circus languages or skills."
With only 5 shows on the program, it was obviously important to carefully select each opera, particularly given the collaborative ethos behind this year’s program. In light of this though for Yaron, the decision to have Opera Australia & Circa fuse their talents in this production of Gluck's beloved opera was relatively simple.
"This is a very important piece in the history of opera. At the time it was written opera was coming out of a long period where the art form was very baroque & recitative, so you had a separation of speaking & arias. What Gluck did with this show though was to have the performers sing all the way through, so it's an incredibly importance historical bridge for opera. The operas of Mozart, for instance, are only possible after this piece."
In regards to what audiences can expect from this Opera Australia & Circa iteration of the opera Yaron passionately described the show as, "a sad, beautiful, uplifting story of love, hope, redemption & loss."
Understanding the overall structure & historical context of the opera made it the preeminent choice for a collaboration between Opera Australia & Circa according to Yaron.
"The story is pretty simple, so you've got a lot of room to create arresting stage pictures & have some fun playing with the movement... The physical action, the song action & the dramatic action are all very tightly woven. While these aren't circus acts in the traditional sense there are a lot of circus skills throughout the show."
It is this blending of performance realms that Yaron finds the most joy & excitement when creating these types of collaborative shows.
"Acrobats and opera singers are both incredibly virtuosic but in very different ways," explained Yaron with glee. "When you're bringing them together there's usually this unlocking of energy. You get this beautiful transfer of energy. It's a really beautiful & joyous experience."
Orpheus & Eurydice will be playing at the Sydney Opera House from Jan 12-31.
Tickets & Info: www.opera.org.au
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