Royal Opera / Hofesh Shechter: Orphée et Eurydice, September 2015

[Geoff]

Anyone else at ROH tonight for the General rehearsal of Gluck's Orphee, co-directed by Hofesh Schechter? What do people think of his work on this show?

[MAB]

Going on Monday, hope this won't be yet another in the long line of Royal Opera directorial disasters.

[zxDaveM]

Was at the dress rehearsal for Orphée et Eurydice, which opens the Royal Opera House season for 2015-2016. There was a major contribution from Hofesh Shechter's Company, dancing in the musical interludes between the operatic parts. Here are a few photos:


Hofesh Shechter Company dancers
© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr
 

Hofesh Shechter Company dancers, orchestra, choir members with Juan Diego Florez
© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr


Hofesh Shechter Company dancers
© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

See more...
Set from DanceTabs: Orphée et Eurydice
Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr
 
By kind permission of the Royal Opera House

[MAB]

This production was very well received last night and was the first of several RO first nights I've been to that hasn't been booed.  Personally I felt that with the orchestra on stage and the very plain costumes with no décor, only lighting effects, it came across more as a concert performance than a full on operatic production.

 

This French version of Orphee has a great deal of ballet music, so getting in a dance company to deal with the lengthy dance sequences made sense, what a pity they didn't call on Mark Morris though, as he has a proven affinity with this kind of music.  The dancing in the main was bland, inoffensive and unmemorable, though I didn't appreciate the stamping that was at odds with the music in the final part of the opera.  

 

I appreciate only a handful of posters here are opera goers, but this was musically an outstanding performance of one of my favourite operas and I came away with the warm glow that I had seen something special.  For those of you that do like opera I urge you to go as musically this is an outstanding evening.

[FLOSS]

I agree musically the performance was outstanding. This is  Gluck's French version of the opera which involved a lot of reworking and the inclusion of a significant dance element which are not merely dance interludes but an integral part of the opera. As there is so much dance music you have to provide dance or at least movement for these sections.Unfortunately Mr Shechter did not provide a dance text that had much to do with the action of the opera.

 

The movement in the first section where the community is mourning Eurydice was unnecessary as the chorus is on stage at that point and the music does not, in my opinion, call for dance. The movement struck me as out of place and only served to draw attention to the differences between the movement of the chorus and dancers . In addition it meant that there was no contrast between the world of the living and the underworld.I think that as originally conceived there is meant to be a real contrast between the world of mourning mortals and that of the dead which is provided by the dance sequences. Mr S failed to provide that contrast by using dancers in act one where they were not required.

 

In the second act the dancers portraying the Furies did dance grotesquely but Shechter showed little real enthusiasm or interest in the Blessed Spirits in the Elysian Fields. I found the staging odd as the chorus  confronting Orphee were in front of the orchestra while the dancers portraying the Furies were on a raised stage behind it.There was a Glyndebourne production years ago of the Italian version where the chorus was kept off stage and the Furies were crawling and hanging off the gates to the Underworld.Far more theatrically effective than the current staging.The choreography for the Blessed Spirits was insipid rather than beautiful in simplicity. I can't help feeling that it should have flowed with the music. 

 

After the gods intervene for the second time there is a dance sequence which is broken by a short intervention by the chorus followed by a second suite of dances.I did not feel that Mr S really understood their function and thought that his choice of dance movement particularly the dancer who flung himself on the floor repeatedly was completely at odds with the music that was being played. There was too much gallumpping about.  I too rather wished that they had asked Mark Morris to direct and choreograph.I somehow feel that what we would have seen would have been far more effective and in tune with the musical performance. For me it was choreography laid on top of the music rather than an integral part of the performance.

Edited September 15, 2015 by FLOSS

[Bruce Wall]

Agree with MAB that last night's Orphee et Eurydice was musically supreme with an outstanding chorus, three fine principal singers and - most especially - a dazzling instrumental ensemble.  

 

It was, I agree, both a thrill and a privilege.  I also liked the cleanliness of line of the overall production.  The choreography I found the least attractive element given the wonderful source material.  I found much of Schecter's insistent pawing rather repetitive I fear ... but that may just be me.  

 

In my relative youth I was first introduced to this music through dance - specifically Balanchine's Chaconne.  Indeed it was that which made me seek out the opera.  I first saw it - Chaconne that is - at the end of the NYCB - Martins/Farrell reign (I will include a clip below with them in the latter part of Balanchine's ballet) and had - up until last year - last seen it with Krya Nicholls (who had been in the corps of the original and who only just this week has been hired by A. Corella as a Ballet Mistress for Pennsylvania Ballet) and Christopher D'Amboise.  I was somewhat fearful of seeing it again last year with the divine combination of Sara Mearns and Tyler Angle as I feared foolishly that it might have dated.  I needn't have worried.  It looked stunningly fresh .. and certainly - at least to my eye - more modern within its own idiom (i.e., ballet) than any of the choreography on show last night at the ROH to the same music.  

 

 

 

Agree that Mark Morris would have been an wonderful choice for the choreography in last night's excellent musical representation.  His baroque work is truly inspired; a joy personified.  

 

I agree with MAB that people should go to see this production if they can.  I'm sure you won't be disappointed.   Certainly I came out humming

Edited September 15, 2015 by Bruce Wall

[MAB]

Of course Ashton was inspired by the Dance of the Blessed Spirits too, danced most recently and rather beautifully, by Ivan Putrov. 

 

I also found that most famous piece of music didn't receive the justice it deserved on this occasion.

[Beryl H]

I bought a ticket to see this on a complete whim about 2 weeks ago knowing nothing really about it, so am pleased to read good things, I have the Chaconne DVD that I will watch tonight, there's obviously quite a large amount of dance music in this production.

[MAB]

Totally off topic I know, but what's with the new carpet in the amphi?  Too thick foam underlay I suspect, but very strange to walk on if you're wearing heels.

[Amelia]

I also found that most famous piece of music didn't receive the justice it deserved on this occasion.

 

Absolutely. For me, the choreographic scenes were neither an illustration to the music no faithful interpretation of it but they clashed with the melodiousness and spirit of this great score. Especially so because the music was so beautifully played on period instruments by the English Baroque Soloists.

Called me old-fashioned but I would have preferred classical ballet there, not necessarily on points but with proper balletic movements. I like a concert piece with "Blessed Spirits" music choreographed by Asaf Messerer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa6GRxxqPHE

Danced here by Marina Kondratyeva and Maris Liepa.

 

Edited after making a mess with the text.

Edited September 15, 2015 by Amelia

[Amelia]

 

 

Sorry, posted twice.

Edited September 15, 2015 by Amelia

[Geoff]

Well, having asked the question, here is my take, for what it's worth. I thought the production was chaotic garbage, uncertain whether it was satisfied by being merely "decorative" or whether really to engage with the material. But then Fulljames (on the strength of his other work at the ROH) is an over-intellectual beginner with little handwerk, whereas Schechter (as others have commented) was miscast.

 

Musically, the production (not uniquely at ROH) tried hard to work against good acoustics. Placing the band on a moving platform halfway towards the back wall did nothing for the sound, in fact it over-exposed some playing and deadened the rest. Florez, as a critic or two has already published today, was not as exciting as perhaps one hoped. The chorus and Lucy Crowe sang their hearts out to great effect.

 

Definitely more for Gluck enthusiasts than dance types, unless you are a Schechter completist. As a rarity, it's good to have this much effort (money?) thrown at this work. Shame the result isn't more compelling, to me anyway.

[MAB]

Gluck operas a rarity?

[Geoff]

Gluck operas a rarity?

This French version? I think it can be fairly described as rare: it's not that often performed.

Edited September 16, 2015 by Geoff

[Geoff]

People may be aware of the various reviews this show has attracted. Given my comments above here, in the interests of balance, is a wholly positive review from a popular site:-

 

http://seenandheard-international.com/2015/09/imaginative-and-perfectly-executed-orphee-et-eurydice-at-covent-garden/

 

Also, friends sitting in other parts of the house tell me the sound is not awful everywhere. Maybe I shouldn't generalise from my own experience.

[FLOSS]

Mab Gluck is a rarity in London. He wrote in excess of thirty operas and yet the Royal Opera, post 1945. has,up until now, only managed to stage his Viennese Orfeo, Alceste and Iphigenie en Tauride.Now I recognise that.the number of productions that an opera has clocked up is no indication of its quality as a theatrical work.The Zefferelli Tosca endured for years because it was such an effective staging and repeated stagings may simply indicate that the company has employed the wrong production team. As for the ENO I don't think that it has ever tackled Gluck reformed or otherwise.

 

Here are the sad statistics. The Covent Garden company has staged three productions of the Viennese Orfeo,in 1953, 1969 and 1991 with concert performances in 2001. It has only staged Alceste once in 1981 for Janet Baker and as for Iphigenee in Tauride productions were staged in 1961 with a revival in 1973 and a new production in 2007. I would happily settle for concert performances of Iphigenie en Aulide ,Armide, Paride et Elena and Echo et Narcisse. It would be wonderful to have the opportunity  to compare Gluck's Ezio with Handel's and his La Clemenza di Tito with Mozart's. I know that it is not going to happen at Covent Garden any time soon it's not Sir Tony's territory. Unfortunately the new music director at ENO is unlikely to announce a life long devotion to Gluck either.So we have to be grateful for the scraps that we are served. 

[Sim]

People may be aware of the various reviews this show has attracted. Given my comments above here, in the interests of balance, is a wholly positive review from a popular site:-

 

http://seenandheard-international.com/2015/09/imaginative-and-perfectly-executed-orphee-et-eurydice-at-covent-garden/

 

Also, friends sitting in other parts of the house tell me the sound is not awful everywhere. Maybe I shouldn't generalise from my own experience.

Geoff, you can ONLY speak from your own experience when it comes to discussing a performance. If the sound was poor where you were sitting, then it is a very valid point to make, as are all your other points, whether positive or negative.

[MAB]

Mab Gluck is a rarity in London. He wrote in excess of thirty operas and yet the Royal Opera, post 1945. has,up until now, only managed to stage his Viennese Orfeo, Alceste and Iphigenie en Tauride.Now I recognise that.the number of productions that an opera has clocked up is no indication of its quality as a theatrical work.

 

With the exception of Mozart all pre 1800 operas are rarities at RO, though there has been a recent acknowledgement of the current popularity of early music with productions of Niobe, L'Ormindo and a few others.  I was referring to Gluck's music across the board, in fact I saw his Alceste in Paris in July and I'm told  performances are more common in continental houses, I'm also aware that just about all Gluck's operas are now available on CD.  Paer and Hasse are rarities but I honestly think Gluck is not. 

[FLOSS]

Well of course Gluck is part of the history music of both the the German speaking world and France but I don't see why I have to restrict my enjoyment of Gluck's operas to CDs or add Paris to my regular theatre circuit. It is difficult enough as it is to see and hear everything I want. As far as Hasse is concerned I may have got this wrong but I believe that one of his operas will feature in next year's Handel festival.

[Beryl H]

A wonderful performance last night, this music was written in 1774 and played on period instruments, but the modern setting worked completely for me, saw it from the rear of the amphi and everything sounded fine, good view too because I was always looking down, I imagine it was difficult to see sometimes from the stalls.

 

The surprise was Hofesh Schechter's choreography, after Untouchable I was prepared for the worst, but it really blended with the music and the production, the Elysian Fields section was the weakest, but great dancing in the Dance of the Furies and the final celebration where the dancers have the stage for at least 20 minutes, the choreography was truly joyous, noticed one dancer in particular, the young man with very long hair!

 

Huge applause and cheers at the end, I stayed, which is like 5 stars from me

[Sim]

I was also there, Beryl, and I also loved it. I'm not a Hofesh fan so I did lose a bit of interest at a couple of points, but on the whole I thought the dancing was excellent and, as you say, was a good fit for the music, which I thought was played to an exemplary standard. I loved the staging, I loved the set and I loved the lighting. Modern choreographers take note: it IS possible to create mood and atmosphere without plunging the stage into darkness and gloom.

 

And the best for last....what an amazing singer Juan Diego Flores is. His timbre, his tone, his vocal pyrotechnics when required; you just can't get better at the moment. He got huge ovations all night, and rightly so. I'm very happy to report that BBC 3 recorded last night's performance for broadcast this Saturday. This means I can listen to it a few more times on iPlayer over the next month. Can't wait!