Dafne called oper an be the workwrote to first He opera. in the called Perioften is Jacopo composer Italian 17 21 the into be towritten continuing a and 1600 in form art the of examples earliest the backto traced be myths can Orphean on based Operas New to Old Myth: Orpheus the on Operas George Orfeas as a modern rock star. rock star. as a modern Orfeas George Graaf Generator, released released Generator, Graaf Van de band rock progressive of member founding and following is a brief list of operas based on on my the based operas brief of list a is following

th Century 20 versions 20 Century (around 1597), and also the first opera to have to the opera first also 1597), (around and music for the French "can-can." French the for music the as famous become has but the at premiere, audience the in infernal Galop the risqué in culminates opera Cocteau's film. Jean composer from bythe adapted libretto witha opera chamber Orphée 20 his his Depression-era America. Depression-era in set “folk opera,” as a advertised album called called album Judge Smith, English songwriter English Smith, Judge AnaïsMitchell Euridice and Orpheus twoacts, cyclein song hour-long an composed Gordon RickyIan 21 Euridice day, present the to survived and scathing satire on Gluck and and on satire Gluck scathing and parody irreverent It an is 1858. in premiered operetta, length Underworld, the Offenbach’s Jacques 19 opera. German subsequent influential on most the of one and Euridice ed Gluck’s Christoph Willibald 18 Orfeas th st th th Orfeo ed Euridice. ed Orfeo Century 13 versions 13 Century Century 3 versions versions 3 Century Century 7 versions versions 7 Century versions 27 Century , a "song story" with story" "song with , a by Philip Glass is a a is Glass byPhilip (1600). st was a popular work, popular wasa

Century. The Hadestown released a concept concept a released that shocked some shocked that first classical full- first Orpheus in in Orpheus . . Offenbach’s Offenbach’s ventor of ventor of a a today, that was that

by Jill Leahy Jill Leahy by th. th. re Orfeo Orfeo r

generous supporters: supporters: generous our thanks Education Opera Pittsburgh 412-281-0912ext242 [email protected] ofDirectorEducation MarilynEgan, Ph.D.Michalka pleaseprograms, contact: Pittsburgh educationOpera's informationmoreFor on Pennsylvania Department Communityof & Claude BenedumWorthington Foundation Pennsylvania Department Educationof The Frick The Fund the of Buhl Foundation First First Commonwealth Financial Corp. The The FinancialPNC Services Group Highmark Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Allegheny Regional Asset District Pennsylvania Council on the Arts National Endowment thefor Arts Richard Richard King Mellon Foundation United United States Steel Corporation Bobby AutomotiveRahal Group Clearview Federal Credit Union UPMC andUPMC UPMC Health Plan American American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. The JackThe Buncher Foundation Bridges Bridges General Contracting Pittsburgh, PA15222 Anne L. & George H. Clapp PPG IndustriesPPG Foundation Economic Development 2425 Liberty Avenue www.pittsburghopera.org The The Heinz Endowments Giant Giant Eagle Foundation The TechsThe - MetalTech The GrableThe Foundation Bayer USA Foundation Fort Pitt Capital Group Eden Hall Foundation Dominion Dominion Foundation Massaro Massaro Corporation Hefren-Tillotson, Inc. Triangle Tech Group Intermediate Unit #1 Pittsburgh Opera Eaton Eaton Corporation EQT EQT Foundation Charitable Trust Levin Levin Furniture Reed Reed Smith

Orphée Music by Philip Glass, Libretto by Jean Cocteau, Study Guide to the Opera adapted by Philip Glass and edited by Robert Brustein Myths, Movies, and Music Legends Music and Movies, Myths, and to express our innermost feelings. feelings. innermost our express to and emotionally us move to music of power the for a metaphor viewed as can be Orpheus past, the and not the looking future to and immortality, and mortality about thoughts deeper Among back. her bring to the underworld into Eurydice wife dead his followto wasable he parents, his him to from the powers passed his father. With was Apollo god the and mother, washis Muses) the nine (one of Calliope traditions, mythological manyto According rocks—to dance. and world—trees natural the persuade and beasts wild and gods both charm could songs whose and prophet musician, poet, wasa Orpheus Accordin world. the to they stories brought of body legendary introduced heroes many Greeks ancient The Composer entitled play a one-act and wrote Orpheus myth the wasd Cocteau Jean French playwright The 1600s. the since seventy least atoperas of subject the been has Orpheus more. and books, paintings, poetry, inspired has and traditions, cultural other many in various forms in found been has themes—it universalhuman reflects myth Orpheus The post-war France and a poet modeled hisex own after modeled apoet and post-warFrance c using a in 1949 a movie into play the transformed opera opera movie. A highly personal work, A highlypersonal movie. commissioned commissioned BrooklynAcademy the and Theater Repertory American arti the wife, his of sudden death the wasmourning

ProductionOrphée Photo by Tim Matheson at Vancouver Opera Orphée. Orphée. Score, publishedScore, byChesterNovello

Philip Glass used the Cocteau film as the basis basis the for as film Cocteau the used Glass Philip Orphée The composer’s libretto closely follows the script script the closely libretto follows composer’s The ; it premiered in Cambridge, MA on May 14, 1993. Mayon 14, MA Cambridge, in premiered it ;

Orphée Orphée was composed in 1991 while Glass whileGlass in 1991 wascomposed PhotographofPhilip Glass by Leibowitz Annie g to Greek Greek mythology, gto Byzantine and Christian Museum in Athens. Athens. in Museum Christian and Byzantine st Candy Jernigan. The The CandyJernigan. st ontemporary setting in in setting ontemporary Late Roman statuette of Orpheus with the with the Orpheus of statuette Roman Late lyre, surrounded by beasts (4th century), century), (4th beasts by surrounded lyre, Orphée Orphée perience. perience. from Aegina, now on display in the the in display on now Aegina, from eeply interested in in eeplyinterested through the great through of Music Music of in 1926. He He in 1926. his chamber chamber his

of the the of by Jill Leahy Jill Leahy by

,

o ugh h in by Leahy Jill Théâtre de and Leonardand

Blood Blood ofa Poet won top prizes at (1946),and adapted the adapted ers included Pablo fhis plays,

ten simultaneously. A ietrich, theCoco designer Orphée nd singer Piaf.Édith The Hours, Kundun, Notes me.After leaving Juilliard in , Cambridge: , Cambridge University Press, p. 253.) works. works. Festival du Film MauditFestival du Film and filmmaker.and Cocteau is best

(1889– 1963) awas French poet, (1929), andfilms the was bornwas in Baltimore, Maryland in Beautyand the Beast Glass Glass has written musicchamber as FourMusical Minimalists lar works larsuch works as ymphonies, two pianoymphonies, two concertos, and , Woody ,Allen, Stephen Colbert, ool-based composer-in-residence the in public ndorchestral music. lectualofmodern life times. His revolutionary y, oftenaskedy, being topreside over events, to Glass himselfhas never likedterm theand and he attended bullfighta in Arles, France with al. In 1951,filmmaker the madewas a chevalier solopiano organ.and has He collaborated with with repetitivewith structures.” (1948), sic artists,sic Philip Glass has had an extraordinary iaf's death,iaf's CocteauJean passedaway. to take a to take course training at a glass Murano factory quartet and orchestra.film His soundtracks range octeau Morris’s documentary to Errol aboutformer ealth and started tofail hebegan down. slowing On tionof pottery athis Weill.the GalerieLucie Tho gn posters. In1957, at age the of68, he learnedt Ravi Shankar.Ravi Through operas, symphonies, compositionsfor Philip Glass the andEnsemble, the pedagoguelegendary Nadia Boulangerand worked closely thewith sitar virtuoso and composer Meet the Composer and Librettist: Philip Glass Philip Glass 1937. A graduateof of the University Chicago and the Juilliard School, also he studied inwit France Desire and organized the (Potter,Keith (2000), Les Enfants Terribles ) from) lasted August to November. The Truman Show.The Truman and Cohen © Lelli e Masotti (1949). of His circle associates,friends, and lov LesParents Terribles , arrived in bookstores. During the summer, Cocteau A Streetcar Named —thefirst official recognition of Cocteau hisand Orphée (Orpheus Meet the Inspiration and Filmmaker Picasso,actors Marais,Jean Yul Brynner, Marlene D Chanel, composers Erik Satieand Igor Stravinsky, a (1930), Orpheus sample schedule: theIn May, paperback compendium o Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau novelist, dramatist, designer, playwright, artist, known for his novel Cocteau seemed always on to be working projects,of poche composer, workedNico forMuhly, for Mr. aGlass ti Dark Sisters Légion d'honneur Jean CocteauJean

1983portrait Andy by Warhol PhilipGlass -Book Longing. of Immagini di Leonard

1962, Glass moved toPittsburgh andas worked a sch school system,various composing choral, chamber, a Cohen. prefers to speak of himself aas composer of “music collaborations leadingwith rock, pop,and mu world andunprecedented upon impact musical the and intel musical style has been dubbed “minimalism,” though October 11,1963,hourone after learning ofÉdith P continuing his busy pace, in1960s,early thehis h From 1950 onward, consideredwas he acelebrit true write prefaces, to illustrateprograms, and todesi WhilePicasso. Venice visiting 1958, in he decided then returnedforto the Paris opening of an exhibi Glass has composedmore than operas,twenty eight s concertosfor violin, piano, andtimpani, saxophone from new scoresfor stylized the classics of Jean C defense Robertsecretary McNamara, and includepopu make pottery, he created new collectiona ofpoems, on Scandal,a The Blue Line, Thin well—string quartets and body growing a for ofwork Paul Simon, Linda Ronstadt, Ma,Yo-Yo Doris Lessing Tennessee WilliamsTennessee play Biarritz. Biarritz. Thefilming of the Venice Film Festival and the Cannes FestivFilm of the

bass bass tenor tenor tenor tenor spoken soprano baritone baritone soprano soprano (Nochorus) bass-baritone mezzo-soprano [uhr-tuh-BEEZ] [uhr-tuh-BEEZ] [uhr-ree-DEES] [say-ZHEST] [oar-FAY] Characters of the Opera [luhcomm-ees-AIR] Death [lah pra(n)-SESS] [ah-glah-oh-NEES] Eurydice’sfriend Policeman Poet Reporter Glazier Radio Announcer Orphée Eurydice La Princesse Heurtebise Cégeste Aglaonice Commissaire Le Judge His wife A famous A poet Herchauffeur A A youngpoet friend es ing ing Eurydice’s life without “orders.” At the este’s Heurtebisedeath. handsOrphéea arm around rings rings dice areeach interrogated, and it is revealed hée is is killed ise through ise mirror. the orts himortshome, s him that eturn Orphée,oncefor and all, life. tohis eemingly unaware ofall that has passed. In ner, reminding he radio. forhis Lalove Princesse toand swears off totheirfrightening, unspecified judgments. éeof to to her life Orphéewith onthe condition that he himto return. s pronounce their sentence: La Princesse is eclaimhis fromwife La Princesse, whom ntervene,and moment later panies them theyas return home, butfind they ydice resting Theycasually. abouttalkthe child . . . Desperately the spell is eurtebise is Whilein Eurydice.love with the asure, dismissesasure, ibemysterious its to move the radio. timeAs rcycles arercycles heard . Returningunderworld, to the Orphéereunited is gaze falls wife,onhis and she is immediately ing. Finally, Orphée histhat the distractedthe To avoid Eurydice, Orphée retreats intostudio his Meanwhile, Synopsis

Orphée Orphée,famousa poet, anotherwith chats old poet In theunderworld, La Princesse for is on trial tak

and watches enviously as a group of young people sw Cégeste, youngera up-and-coming poet. Orphéebecom transfixed Cégeste’swith patron,LaPrincesse, but broken the when drunken Cégeste andstartsa brawl outside motorcyclists.two by As the police attempt body, La Princesse and her chauffeur, Heurtebise, i everyone clearsout. La At Princesse's command, Orp accompanies her and the corpse, then La Princesseb Cégeste back to life leadsand him through mirrora Cégeste, La Princesse, Orphée, andHeurtebise, Eury thatLaPrincesse love with Orphée is in and that H judges to withdraw the study case, Orphée professes return to her regardless of whatThe happens. judge given provisional freedom, and mayEurydice return never looks directly ather again.accom Heurtebise it nearly impossiblecomply theto with condition. along thewith mysterious radio,his but eventually brought back underworld.into the commissioner’saoffice, group of poetsaccuse Orph plagiarizing the dead Cégeste’s Thework. commissio them thatgreat Orphée poet is a aand national tre them, theyand threaten tofindtheir own justice. Eurydice leaves to herfriend visit Aglaonice.Moto onceagain, and Heurtebiseout, rushes returning a carrying theWhen Eurydice. dying he tries to tell wife is near death,poet the ignores him,writ busy Orphée lookshis upandfrom work Heurtebise inform Eurydice is now dead.He tells Orphéethat he can r Heurtebise reveals Death.as Orphée follows Heurteb I ACT Heurtebise the gives stunned Orphée aand radio esc Cégeste’s deathand disappearance mystery. remaina II ACT Soon mob after, an angry confronts Orphéeabout Cég where Orphée’sEurydice, wife, hasbeen for waiting Eurydice tries to Orphée tell she is pregnant,but Orphée closeshimselfin his studio,along the with passes, Orphéebecomes obsessed listening tot with Neglecting Eurydice, he feverishly works to transcr messages, which he interpretsas poetic inspiration unhappy, Eurydice turns tofor Heurtebise comfort. pistol, duringand the confrontationshot Orphée is Lawith Princesse,she but commands Heurtebise to r Orphée is returnedthroughmirror the andfinds Eur they are expecting Orphéeand heads back s to work, theunderworld, La Princesseand Heurtebise are led