THE people of Clare are in for a treat as the Irish National Opera brings its 2019 tour to our county town this week. The company’s production of Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice, which had a sold-out run at Galway International Arts Festival in July, will visit 11 venues between Thursday 7 February and Saturday 2 March for a total of 13 performances and opens at Glór, Ennis, on Thursday 21 February.
Orfeo ed Euridice is a tale about the ultimate love 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.
The all-Irish cast is headed by INO artistic partner, mezzo-soprano Sharon Carty, whose debut in the role in Galway won widespread critical plaudits. Sharon has been praised as “quite simply sensational” by the German magazine Der Opernfreund. And she made her Wexford Festival Opera debut as Lucy Talbot in William Bolcom’s Dinner at Eight in October, when Operawire described her “subtle shading and carefully accented vocal line” as bringing “depth and ambiguity to her character”.
Ms Carty commented: “We had such a wonderful reaction from the audiences at GIAF last summer, I can’t wait to slip into Orfeo’s shoes again and bring this beautiful show on tour to the rest of the country!”
Her performance as Orfeo is “compelling, both vocally and dramatically” (Goldenplec). She is “well matched by Sarah Power’s mysterious Euridice” (Sunday Independent). Emma Nash is a “powerfully soaring Amore” (Sunday Independent), and the production also features an ensemble of four singers and four United Fall dancers who “gave the opera an added dimension” (Journal of Music). Peter Whelan, another INO artistic partner, conducts the Irish Baroque Orchestra, and his handling of Orfeo was praised for being “conistently attentive to the balance of voices and instruments” (The Irish Times).
Gluck’s version of the Orpheus myth features the composer’s most famous aria, the profoundly moving Che farò senza Euridice. With a “sublime” set by Sabine Dargent, “meticulous” lighting by Stephen Dodd (Exeunt Magazine) and “simply stunning” costumes by Catherine Fay (Irish Independent), Emma Martin’s provocative and unmissable production is a stirring, multi-disciplinary, multi-sensory experience.
Contact glór box office for tickets.
