World premieres on the main stage at LA Opera don’t happen too frequently. When they do they are cause for celebration. This weekend composer Matthew Aucoin and playwright Sarah Ruhl had the world premiere of their new opera, Eurydice. The opera will continue at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion through February 23rd.
Eurydice takes its name from Ruhl’s play of the same name which imagined the myth of Orpheus from Eurydice’s point-of-view. We’re accustomed to his losing his beloved Eurydice and having to go into the underworld to find her and hopefully bring her back. But we don’t know what she was doing while he was searching for her. That is the premise of Ruhl’s play and also this opera.
Aucoin may be best known to local audiences for his work Crossing, which was performed at The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in 2018. He also conducted the LA Opera productions of Rigoletto and Akhnaten in 2018 and 2016 respectively. He is also conducting all performances of Eurydice.
Cast in the title role of Euridyce is soprano Danielle de Niese. Orpheus is sung by baritone Joshua Hopkins. Countertenor John Holiday sings the role of Orpheus’s Double. Rod Gilfry, who appeared in Aucoin’s Crossing, sings the role of Eurydice’s father.
Directing the production is Mary Zimmerman, who won a Tony Award for her landmark production of Metamorphoses. She knows her way around mythology.
The myth of Orpheus and Euridyce has inspired countless artists (including Anaïs Mitchell whose musical Hadestown swept the Tony Awards this year.) Aucoin has added to a lengthy opera portfolio of works focused on this duo.
Eurydice is a co-production with the New York Metropolitan Opera who will stage the opera next year.
Go here for our interview with Sarah Ruhl about her collaboration with Matthew Aucoin on Eurydice.
Eurydice runs approximately 2 hours and 35 with one intermission.
For tickets go here.
Photo: Danielle de Niese as “Eurydice” (Photo by Cory Weaver/Courtesy of LA Opera)
