S,M,2Bar; 8 madrigal soloists(SSAATTBB);
3(III=picc,afl).2.corA.2.bcl.dbcl.2.dbn-4.3.3.1-timp.perc(3)-2harp-pft-strings
Abbreviations (PDF)
B&B
An opera about an old theme, but then again not, because it focuses on the moment when Orphée and Eurydice get to know each other, and getting to know each other becomes an often disturbed, painful and quite hesitant process.
Only at the moment when Eurydice dies does Orphée become aware of his love. A piece in which poetry with its ambiguity is more essential than dramatic explosion. A piece that lives from allusions, in which the quiet change of color remains the essential element.
The dismaying realization that death cannot be undone, that we can only live life because the idea of death is not possible for us, leads Eurydice and Orphée to a farewell in melancholy.
Life must be lived "now," in the moment. Past and future are empty projections.
Manfred Trojahn