Classical

Freiburg Baroque Orchestra: Orfeo

Freiburg Baroque Orchestra & Zurich Sing-Akademie

Wednesday, 21/02/2024 / 08:00 PM / Konzerthaus Freiburg (Concert hall)

Intermission catering Rain or shine Wheelchair-accessible

Claudio Monteverdi: L'Orfeo, Favola in Musica

Yannick Debus, Orfeo
Isabel Pfefferkorn, Euridice
Eva Zaicik, Proserpina & una Ninfa
Olivia Vermeulen Silvia, la Messaggera & una Ninfa
Nikolay Borchev, Apollo & un Pastore
Raffaele Pe, la Musica, la Speranza & un Pastore
Neil Davies, Plutone & un Pastore
Nicolas Brooymans, Caronte & un Pastore

Zürcher Sing-Akademie
Freiburger Barockorchester
René Jacobs conductor

Outstanding soloists, an experienced conductor and an orchestra that enjoys playing - what
more do you need for an exciting opera evening? And when one of the most important
operas in the history of music is performed, nothing stands in the way of a first-class concert experience
.
Claudio Monteverdi wrote music history with his Orfeo. Although the work is not the first
opera in music history (as is often assumed), the composer made one, if
not the most significant contribution to the development of the genre. Monteverdi himself titled
his opera, which premiered in Mantua in 1607, as a "Favola in Musica," that is, as a fable set to music
in which text and words stand side by side as equals.
It is not surprising that Monteverdi chose to set the legend of Orpheus, in which the power of music plays a central role, to music
. And it is also not surprising that Monteverdi chose to set the fable of Orpheus to music. And it is also not surprising that Monteverdi placed high demands on the
singer of the title role. He not only had to have a beautiful voice,
but also virtuosity and expressiveness. In addition to the finely developed
vocal parts, which always declaim close to the text, Monteverdi also devotes great attention to the
orchestral part. The orchestra
, which was lavishly cast for the time, no longer has only the function of conducting, but also takes on a role in the plot
. In short, this is an epoch-making work. In short: an epochal work that should not be missed!