FOLLOWING THE enormous success of The Second Violinist last year, Galway International Arts Festival has announced it will hold the world premiere of Irish National Opera’s new production of Orfeo ed Euridice as part of the 2018 festival.
Christoph Willibald Von Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice is based on the Greek myth of Orpheus, who is granted permission to travel to the underworld to rescue his wife Euridice on the condition that he not look at her until they are back on earth. It is the composers most popular work, and influential, having inspired Mozart's The Magic Flute, Beethoven's Fidelio, and Wagner's Das Rheingold.
This new, large-scale, production, features a new mix of words, singing, and dancing, and will be sung in Italian with English surtitles. It features the acclaimed Irish mezzo soprano Sharon Carty [pictured below] in the lead role of Orfeo; along with the sopranos Sarah Power (Euridice ) and Emma Nash (Amore ); along with the Irish Baroque Orchestra, and the Irish National Opera Chorus, with conductor Peter Whelan. The show is directed by choreographer and director Emma Martin.
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Irish National Opera was formed after the merging of Opera Theatre Company and Wide Open Opera. "The foundation of the new Irish National Opera offers brilliant possibilities for Irish singers, composers, and artists, many of whom are widely celebrated internationally to showcase their work on an Irish stage," said GIAF artistic director Paul Fahy. "This is a very exciting time for Irish opera and we look forward to collaborating with and presenting the work of this wonderful new company to festival audiences."
Fergus Sheil, artistic director of Irish National Opera, said: "GIAF offers us a high-quality platform to present new work alongside leading major artists from Ireland and abroad. Orfeo ed Euridice is the first of a number of new productions that we intend to unveil in Galway in the coming years."
Orfeo ed Euridice is a co-production with United Fall, in partnership with Irish Baroque Orchestra, it is the first of a number of new productions that Irish National Opera plans to unveil at Galway International Arts Festival in the coming years.
Orfeo ed Euridice runs at the Town Hall Theatre on July 23, 25, 26, 28, and 29 at 8pm. Tickets are €40/30 and are on sale from January 29. See www.giaf.ie and www.tht.ie
