SUMMER SONATA-A FESTIVAL OF OPERA, BALLET AND CONCERT FILMS

Curated & Introduced by Sunit Tandon

OPERA
Christoph Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice
(124 min; 1982; dvd; English subtitles)

From The Glyndebourne Festival Opera, with Janet Baker (Orfeo); Elisabeth Speiser (Euridice); Elizabeth Gale (Amore);

The Glyndebourne Festival Chorus
The London Philharmonic
Conductor: Raymond Leppard
Producer: Peter Hall

British mezzo-soprano Dame Janet Baker chose to retire from the operatic stage singing the title role in Sir Peter Hall’s acclaimed production of Orfeo ed Euridice. This 1982 recording from Glyndebourne where she began her professional career, proved a suitable crowning glory to her career, with a moving portrayal of Orfeo, the grieving musician from Greek mythology, who follows his beloved wife Euridice to the depths of Hades in an attempt to bring her back from the dead.