Gluck: Orphée et Eurydice
Juan Diego Flórez (Orphée), Ainhoa Garmendia (Eurydice), Alessandra Marianelli (Amour)
Coro y Orquesta del Teatro Real, Madrid, Jesús López-Cobos
Flórez's rapid vibrato and sweetness give the impression of gliding brightly above the music. His is an elegant, aloof Orpheus...Alessandra Marianelli's Amour is sparkling
Gluck: Orphée et Eurydice
Juan Diego Flórez (Orphée), Ainhoa Garmendia (Eurydice), Alessandra Marianelli (Amour)
Coro y Orquesta del Teatro Real, Madrid, Jesús López-Cobos
Purchase product
Flórez's rapid vibrato and sweetness give the impression of gliding brightly above the music. His is an elegant, aloof Orpheus...Alessandra Marianelli's Amour is sparkling
About
Juan Diego Flórez stars as the musician and poet Orpheus in Gluck's mythical opera of love and loss.
Following acclaimed performances at the Teatro Real in Madrid, Juan Diego Flórez records his first major opera role outside the bel canto repertoire, as he stars as Orphée in Gluck's most enduringly popular opera, sung in the original French of his 1774 Paris version.
Includes the much-loved aria 'J'ai perdu mon Eurydice' ('Che faro senza Euridice') sung by Juan Diego Flórez, and the popular 'Dance Of The Blessed Spirits'.
Eurydice is sung by rising Spanish soprano Ainhoa Garmendia, with soprano Alessandra Marianelli as L'Amour.
The opera tells of the poet and musician Orphée who travels to the underworld in search of his wife Eurydice, on the understanding that he doesn't look at her until they are back on earth. When she misinterprets his distance, he is compelled to turn and face her, only to see her die a second time. Moved by the intensity of Orphee's devotion, L'Amour returns Eurydice to life once more as all ends happily.
Twelve years after the Vienna premiere of his original Italian version, Gluck adapted his opera for Parisian audiences. Apart from the change of language, the most significant difference is that the central role, sung in the Italian version by a castrato, was rewritten for the particular kind of high tenor voice that French audiences adored.
Contents and tracklist
- Juan Diego Flórez (tenor), Alessandra Marianelli (mezzo-soprano), Ainhoa Garmendia (soprano)
- Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid, Coro Sinfonico de Madrid
- Jesús López Cobos
- Recorded: 2008-05-27
- Recording Venue: Teatro Real, Madrid
Spotlight on this release
-
Christoph Willibald Gluck
4th Jul 2014
In celebration of the 300th anniversary of Gluck's birth on Tuesday, Katherine rounds up some favourite recordings of his operas on CD and DVD.
Awards and reviews
June 2010
Flórez's rapid vibrato and sweetness give the impression of gliding brightly above the music. His is an elegant, aloof Orpheus...Alessandra Marianelli's Amour is sparkling
June 2010
Needless to say, the quality of Florez's singing never falters for a second...From the opening scene he sings the most aristocratic of legato lines, which are a constant source of pleasure...The rest of the cast do not let him down. Ainhoa Garmendia makes a warmly sympathetic Eurydice, Alessandra Marianelli is a gleaming L'Amour.
2011 edition
Florez demonstrates that the music sounds thrillingly effective in this stirring upward transposition. He sings with power, lyrical elan and a wide range of dynamic...Lopez-Cobos conducts throughout with sensitivity and spirit
July 2014
one of the very best things [Flórez has] done - his trademark agility is as breathtaking as ever in the florid 'L'espoir renaît dans mon âme', but the role also gives him opportunity to demonstrate a pathos and eloquence that's not often called for in his usual repertoire.
13th May 2010
It's one of [Flórez's] finest performances, sung with noble beauty...Dramatically, it takes him into new territory, revealing a genuinely tragic sensibility on the part of an artist we associate primarily with virtuosity and charm.
9th April 2010
Jesús López-Cobos conducts with great spirit, and the Teatro Real orchestra, woodwinds especially, feast on Gluck’s graceful ballet music, an enlarged feature of this Paris version. When he turns down the dazzle, Flórez himself in selected phrases becomes a tender pleasure.
