The Last Premiere

This Saturday marked the fourth and final opera premiere of the Glimmerglass 2007 season, Monteverdi's L'Orfeo. The opera is a co-production between Glimmerglass and Opera North (Leeds, England). In 2008, Opera Norway will also produce the opera.

L'Orfeo is one of the most historically significant operas ever written. Although composers had experimented with combinations of music and drama before, the opera is generally considered the "first" opera and is certainly the earliest performed with any real regularity.

During a production seminar last Wednesday, conductor Antony Walker explained the evolution of opera before Monteverdi. "Fifty years before this was written, there were many documented, large-scale celebratory pieces that sometimes had a narrative going through them. A little analogy might be the musical theatre of today, which had a lot of spoken dialogue and then some songs as well. Then we had people asking, 'What did the Greeks used to do? What did they do with their dramas and how can we possibly hearken back to the Hellenic times and recreate what they might have done?' So, they came up with this sung recitation, which was accompanied by continuo-- it wasn't so much a song, but a narration."

As historically notable as the music is, director Christopher Alden strives to bring modernity to the production. "This version of the opera is very much about Orpheus as an artist. We're talking about art and what it means to be an artist. To me what's fascinating about this piece is Eurydice is like Orfeo's art, his muse, his creativity. It was so long before she gave in to him. That's when he created all this amazing music, out of his longing for her. And then, as soon as he gets it, she dies--it's taken away from him. When you want it, when you are really hungry for it, that's when you are creative, but as soon as you get that thing and are paid for it and are successful on some level, it's gone."

The opera is the centerpiece of the season, the one that General and Artistic Director Michael MacLeod built the season around to celebrate the 400th anniversary of its premiere. "I think it's extraordinarily lucky that in 2007, the 400th anniversary of Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, that we have the chance to present it at Glimmerglass for the first time. In fact, that was the germ of the idea of having an entire season based on the Orpheus myth," MacLeod said.

Insider Rehearsal Report: The Style of Staging

Shepherds (Brian Thorsett and Christian Reinert) embrace Orpheus (Michael Slattery).

Making a modern version of an older opera, like Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, is all about accentuating those contrasts while making them fit into a cohesive artistic vision. Director Christopher Alden is casual and approachable, but obviously knowledgable about the opera and its history.

La Musica (Juliet Petrus) waits for her cue.

In this early stage of rehearsing, the creative team divides its time between music and blocking. With any form of theater, the way an actor delivers his or her lines is essential to building dramatic tension. Conductor Antony Walker coaches the singers not just on tuning or rhythm, but on expression. "In the end I want to conduct it as little as possible and have you drive it."

Directing is very much about taking a page with some music or words on it and creating a world out of it. No two directors will create this world in the same way. Alden's dynamic staging is a far cry from what could be staged as a rather stiff court drama. Instead, there is movement going on nearly every moment. Each line of music has a clear intention behind it and Alden ensures that the singers express it in the staging.

Director Christoher Alden shows Christian Reinert blocking.

Alden shows the actors exactly what he wants by walking their parts, saying what could be their inner monologue. "'Let's get out of here.' 'Yeah, you're right; let's go now.' They're getting more and more freaked out," he said, describing the emotions that the shepherds feel when encountering Pluto, Lord of the Underworld.

Something old, something new

Opera has an ill-conceived reputation for being intellectually challenging, elitist, and overall intimidating here in America. And while anyone who has seen a production of Orpheus in the Underworld, Die Fledermaus, or any number of fine productions can tell you that's simply not true, the myth lingers on. A good director knows how to balance artistic creativity with accessibility. So, how can a director help an audience engage with a piece that's nearly 400 years old, composed before opera as we know it really existed?
Director Christopher Alden has a plan. Having already directed the show with Opera North in Leeds, England, Alden is ready to tailor the production for Glimmerglass. This production of Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, marking the 400th anniversary year of its premiere in Mantua, Italy, uses a mixture of elements from 1607 and today.

"It is very edgy," he said. "It's a piece about artists and art—at the core it's about what it means to be an artist. It's amazing how not a lot of things have changed between then and now- to survive as a composer, as a stage director, as a tenor or a baritone." Bringing an older opera up-to-date promises that there will be something in the production for everyone in the audience.

Something Old
One of the challenges of producing such an old show is making the music sound like it did when it premiered. While this has a lot to do with the conductor's choices and knowledge of historical performance practice (ornamentation, tempi, accents, etc.), the most noticeable change is the type of instruments used. The other shows in the season have music rehearsals with a piano, but the Monteverdi will rehearse with a continuo ensemble of baroque keyboard instruments (such as a harpsichord) and stringed instruments. This is not because the piano wasn't invented until the 1800's, but rather because the interaction between instruments and voices in the early Baroque period more closely resembles that of today's jazz ensemble than a traditional orchestra. Although instruments like the recorder and trumpet have specifically written parts, the continuo instruments' score is like a blueprint or chord chart, leaving them free to improvise. This means that while the instruments are over 400 years old, each performance will be new and unique.

Something New
Set Designer Paul Steinberg and Costume Designer Doey Lüthi planned the props and costumes as fusion of faux 17th century fashion and contemporary styles. The assortment of furniture lends an eclectic atmosphere to the stage environment. The costumes run the gamut from classic Greek to frilled collars to patched jeans. "Eurydice is in this sort of Greeky-ish costume, but she also sort of looks like Courtney Love," Alden said.

Something "Borrowed"
Glimmerglass often co-produces shows with other companies. Co-producing a show means that the sets, props and costumes were designed with Opera North, Glimmerglass, and Norwegian Opera in mind, and the designers are at Glimmerglass working with the creative team. All of the sets and most of costumes are the same ones used in Opera North's production, with some alterations for new singers.

The cast will rehearse for four weeks before opening on July 28th. Until then, they'll be hard at work bringing Monteverdi's masterpiece 400 years into the future.