Multiple women wearing red dresses in Opera Australia’s latest production struck a mental chord; the “woman in the red dress” is a memorable character in The Matrix – a virtual woman created by one of the film’s less appealing characters. Lo and behold, among the interesting information supplied by Opera Australia about Christoph Willibald Gluck’s Orpheus and Eurydice is a reference to the Matrix films, which include yet another retelling of this famous Greek myth. So, there seems to be a deliberate nod to the role of artificial intelligence in our lives, and we have been introduced to a realm of the imagination.
Among the innumerable productions of Orpheus and Eurydice since Gluck first introduced it to the world in 1762, Director, Set Designer and Choreographer Yaron Lifschitz has created one of the most astonishing. As Artistic Director of Circa, he has an intimate knowledge of the almost unbelievable capabilities of the eleven circus performers who had the audience spellbound at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre. It was almost impossible to look at anything else as they performed what seemed like death-defying feats of strength flexibility, control and co-ordination. Yet, these were generally so well integrated with the actions of the two principal singers and the chorus members that they became much more than a supplementary bag of breath-taking acrobatic tricks. Circus – yes, but with the intention of enhancing and heightening the emotional trajectory.
Another element of this production that focused attention on the protagonists was the way “surtitles” were projected onto the back wall of the three that framed the drama. Dissolving, with rising and falling trails, they provided a concise translation of the Italian libretto as well as having artistic beauty. The white walls and iron-frame bed were enough to signal the asylum setting of this production as well as providing an ideal backdrop for the red costumes and dark, blood-red writing towards the end of the opera before Orpheus is restrained and hoisted up.
Along with the red dresses, Libby McDonnell’s striking costume designs featured black suits, white shirts, flesh-coloured body suits and red skirts for the Circa performers, while the chorus wore black until the subdued, structured evening wear of the final, highly stylized “death” scene.
Following a projected grey-scale loop of hands clasping and letting go on the front curtain, the red dress first appeared during the Overture as a Eurydice figure, twisting and turning in movements reflecting the music, slowly descended down a rope into “Hell”. As the black-clad chorus of mourning friends sang near a small glasshouse-like “tomb”, haunting cries of “Eurydice!” came from a bare-footed man wearing a black suit and white shirt (a recurring costume choice in this production) lying on a white bed. With acrobatic figures leaping over and around him, Orpheo’s surreal, hallucinogenic nightmare had begun.
Originally written for three voices – Orpheo sung by alto castrato (Vienna premiere), soprano castrato (Parma premiere) or high tenor (French premiere), Amore by a soprano (en tarvesti) and Eurydice by a soprano – Lifschitz has opted for the same singer for both soprano roles. And it worked superbly well. Samantha Clarke is an outstanding singer with a voice enchanting enough in its warm beauty to tame the most malevolent Fury or Cerberus. She was a wonderfully sensuous Amore. Spotlit and with the stage bathed in red light, she leant against a theatre pillar, playfully coquettish as she set out the terms and conditions of Eurydice’s resurrection. Moving centre stage to sing, nightclub style, into a microphone she was an alluring siren. Her Eurydice was lighter in tone but dramatically touching as she pleaded with Orpheo to look at her. This Act 3 scene, featuring multiple red-dressed images of Eurydice, was less physically active but even more arresting for that. As Iestyn Davies sang Gluck’s most familiar aria, “Che faro senza Eurydice”, the focus was entirely on the singer.
Iestyn Davies is a most accomplished singer and actor, his appealing counter-tenor voice was always clearly audible and he made a most poignant Qrpheo as he mourned the death of his wife on their wedding day, charmed the chorus of Furies and lamented succumbing to the temptation of looking back. In another production Juan Diego Florez might have been able to take over the role if Davies had fallen ill (Florez is in Australia and has recently sung the role – albeit in French – at La Scala), but the feats of balance required as Davies climbed over bodies in his search for Eurydice would have presented a major obstacle for a start.
A less active setting would have been preferable for some of Orpheo’s arias. On the second performance, the first applause for the evening was given to the acrobatic feats during the Orpheo’s Act 1 lamentation rather than for Davies’ moving account. For all the stunning brilliance of the whirling Furies, it tended to overshadow Orpheo’s soothing aria with its beautifully fluid harp accompaniment. The aria of wonder with its ravishing oboe obbligato as Orpheo enters Elysium also deserved greater prominence. Feasts for the ears tended to overshadow feats for the eyes, distracting from a full appreciation of these musical jewels. Herr Gluck seemed to be taking a back seat on these occasions.
Under the baton of conductor Dane Lam, Orchestra Victoria played with life and buoyancy, horns secure thoughout and muted strings particularly suave in “Che faro”, and seemed more confident from the outset for the second performance. Disciplined in their movement, the chorus sang with strong, most pleasing tone and commitment, the sopranos once again excelling in the higher reaches.
This was an intricate production with many visual highlights. Gluck’s lengthy (even with cuts) ballet music was treated most imaginatively with the dance of the Blessed Spirits enhanced by a most graceful performance on a suspended rope with voluminous material. The five women also formed the most amazingly graceful combinations in the Elysian scene. Yet another striking piece of choreography came in Orpheo’s search for Eurydice as a swirl of chorus and Circa members moved to form a mobile Labyrinth. Alexander Berlage’s lighting design and Boris Bagattini’s projection design were effective, enhancing the drama by their judicious use.
Given the current focus on AI, it is perhaps inevitable that opera directors would view an opera based on myth through that lens. This particular myth of resurrection through the power of love and music undoubtedly lends itself to such a treatment, but what Lifschitz and his team of creatives and performers have conjured up is an interpretation informed by absolutely exceptional artistry and skill.
Photo credit: Jeff Busby
_______________________________________________________________________________
Heather Leviston reviewed Gluck’s “Orpheus and Eurydice”, presented by Opera Australia at the Regent Theatre on December 2 and 3, 2025
