EIF Orpheus and Eurydice Playhouse Theatre Edinburgh16th August 2025 Review
Orpheus and Eurydice at the Playhouse Theatre Edinburgh this afternoon brought to stage the European production premiere of this Opera Australia, presenting Opera Queensland’s production of Orpheus and Eurydice in association with Circa. This is a bold and visionary re-telling of one of the oldest and greatest love stories of all time.
Opera Queensland’s production of Orpheus and Eurydice first premiered at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre in Brisbane, Australia in 2019, and this 2025 staging was, for me, one of the highlights at this year’s Edinburgh International Festival.
At first the idea of combining opera with aerial performers and acrobats is, to say the least, unexpected, but from the moment that the curtain rises and Eurydice begins her slow decent from upon high into the underworld, it is obvious that somehow all of this was not only working well together, but bringing a new vision to this very old story.
Orpheus and Eurydice is a work of many contrasts. From one perspective, this is opera as composer Christoph Willibald Gluck and librettist Ranieri de’ Calzabigi wanted it to be in 1762 - a, to them, then overblown and overcomplicated art form stripped back to its purest form and focusing on the beauty of the human voice itself, free here of endless counterpoint and vocal acrobatics. From another perspective though, this is a hugely complicated and technical show to bring to any stage, and we are fortunate that here in Edinburgh we have a theatre like the Playhouse that has the height, length and depth of stage to accommodate a production like this. The technical requirements for the aerial artists, stage lighting and stage visuals are a tribute to the teams behind them here.
An at first very stark and minimalist looking performance space held more than a few surprises from director & set designer Yaron Lifschitz, Alexander Berlage (lighting design) and Boris Bagattini (video design). Costume designer Libby McDonnell also created costumes that were striking whilst also allowing when required movement for the aerial artists and acrobats to perform in.
As I have already said, this is opera stripped back to its basic form here and there are only two leading vocalists in this production (plus a chorus), Iestyn Davies (Orpheus) and Samantha Clarke (Eurydice/ Amor). Despite the simplicity of this opera, it is still a demanding role for both vocalists, particularly Iestyn Davies who has few moments in this production when he is not performing. In this production, that combination of a countertenor and soprano on vocals works perfectly.
This is also a very physical production for both singers as they are at times involved with the acrobats on stage (obviously not performing acrobatics). Acrobats may not be what most people were expecting in their opera today, but this work was originally conceived by Gluck/de’ Calzabigi to have a ballet in it too. Having the acrobats in this production allows movement in a three dimensional space which adds much to that experience of watching both this production’s descent into the underworld and Orpheus’s descent into madness at the loss of Eurydice, the love of his life, on his wedding night.
It was good to see this production have a Scottish connection too with the chorus coming from Scottish Opera and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra performing the music.
Review by Tom King © 2025
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
Opera Queensland’s production of Orpheus and Eurydice first premiered at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre in Brisbane, Australia in 2019, and this 2025 staging was, for me, one of the highlights at this year’s Edinburgh International Festival.
At first the idea of combining opera with aerial performers and acrobats is, to say the least, unexpected, but from the moment that the curtain rises and Eurydice begins her slow decent from upon high into the underworld, it is obvious that somehow all of this was not only working well together, but bringing a new vision to this very old story.
Orpheus and Eurydice is a work of many contrasts. From one perspective, this is opera as composer Christoph Willibald Gluck and librettist Ranieri de’ Calzabigi wanted it to be in 1762 - a, to them, then overblown and overcomplicated art form stripped back to its purest form and focusing on the beauty of the human voice itself, free here of endless counterpoint and vocal acrobatics. From another perspective though, this is a hugely complicated and technical show to bring to any stage, and we are fortunate that here in Edinburgh we have a theatre like the Playhouse that has the height, length and depth of stage to accommodate a production like this. The technical requirements for the aerial artists, stage lighting and stage visuals are a tribute to the teams behind them here.
An at first very stark and minimalist looking performance space held more than a few surprises from director & set designer Yaron Lifschitz, Alexander Berlage (lighting design) and Boris Bagattini (video design). Costume designer Libby McDonnell also created costumes that were striking whilst also allowing when required movement for the aerial artists and acrobats to perform in.
As I have already said, this is opera stripped back to its basic form here and there are only two leading vocalists in this production (plus a chorus), Iestyn Davies (Orpheus) and Samantha Clarke (Eurydice/ Amor). Despite the simplicity of this opera, it is still a demanding role for both vocalists, particularly Iestyn Davies who has few moments in this production when he is not performing. In this production, that combination of a countertenor and soprano on vocals works perfectly.
This is also a very physical production for both singers as they are at times involved with the acrobats on stage (obviously not performing acrobatics). Acrobats may not be what most people were expecting in their opera today, but this work was originally conceived by Gluck/de’ Calzabigi to have a ballet in it too. Having the acrobats in this production allows movement in a three dimensional space which adds much to that experience of watching both this production’s descent into the underworld and Orpheus’s descent into madness at the loss of Eurydice, the love of his life, on his wedding night.
It was good to see this production have a Scottish connection too with the chorus coming from Scottish Opera and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra performing the music.
Review by Tom King © 2025
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
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