By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
Be ready to feel every pulsating rhythm and dramatic expression of Gluck arias on stage.
The 12th Small Theater Opera Festival invites fans to enjoy the Seoul Opera Ensemble’s small but imaginative rendition of ``Orfeo & Euridice’’ at the National Theater of Korea, Thursday through Sunday.
The opera festival has been credited for bringing rarely performed pieces to the small theaters, allowing room for experimentation while bridging the gap between the performers and audience ― both in terms of access with lower ticket prices and physical distance to the stage.
The Korea National Opera will also be staging ``Orfeo & Euridice’’ at Tongyeong International Music Festival, March 19 and 20, and in Seoul in December, and opera lovers can look forward to comparing different interpretations of the piece.
The opera, along with the late Mozart operas, is considered one of the most important 18th-century pieces. It reflects the transition from the Baroque to Classical style and focuses more on dramatic action rather than ornamentation and virtuosic vocals.
The story is inspired by the ancient Greek myth of the shepherd Orfeo, whose love for his wife, Euridice, resurrects her from death.
The opera begins with Orfeo mourning by the tomb of Euridice. The God of Love, Amore, consoles him, saying that love can overcome all obstacles, and that Eurdice can be brought back from Hades, though on the condition that he does not speak or look at her until they have fully ascended from hell.
The upcoming version by the Seoul Opera Ensemble has transferred the mythological setting to a subway station in modern-day Seoul.
``Some 6 million Seoulites crowd the subway every day but even here all is still and deserted at three in the morning. This is when Orfeo will appear to sing an aria, and a triumphant love story will unfold,’’ said Jang Su-dong, director of the opera company in a statement.
When the opera premiered in Vienna in 1762, the original Orfeo was a castrato singer (a male vocalist singing in the range of a soprano or alto), and the role has since been sung by countertenors and high tenors as well as mezzo-sopranos and contraltos. In the local production, mezzo-sopranos Kim Lan-hee, Chung Soo-yun and Seo Eun-jin will share the leading role.
Tickets cost from 30,000 to 50,000 won. Call (02) 2280-4114.