
Orfeo
Don’t Look Back!
Legendary lovers, Orfeo and Euridice, face death and separation. They undertake a perilous journey from the underworld back to the world of the living. One rule must be followed: Orfeo cannot look at Euridice. His conviction falters, he turns …
This visually breath-taking new production will be directed by MacArthur Prize Winner Yuval Sharon. Starring tenor Rolando Villazón and featuring a new orchestration by Nico Muhly.
Synopsis
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Prologue-Act V
Prologue
La Musica (Music) addresses the audience: she desires to sing of the demigod Orfeo, whose music-making tamed wild beasts and infernal spirits alike.Act I
Shepherds and nymphs rejoice at the wedding of Orfeo and Euridice. The bridal couple proclaim their perfect happiness and make their way to the temple to offer tribute.
Act II
Orfeo, happy to be in his home country of Thrace, comes to make merry with the shepherds, turning the very air to gold with his song. Silvia, the Messenger, bursts in with the news that Eurydice has been bitten by a serpent and is already dead. Orfeo is stunned. He refuses to believe they can ever be parted and vows to find her in the underworld, either to bring her back to the light of the day or to remain in Hades with her forever. Grief-stricken Silvia retires to mourn alone. The shepherds lament.Act III
At the gates of hell, Orfeo is visited by the goddess Speranza (Hope), who encourages him to seek Euridice in the underworld. She regretfully must leave him there, for the sign reads, “Abandon all hope, ye who enter.” Refused passage across the Styx by Caronte the boatman, Orfeo nevertheless sings his way into Hades, singing Caronte into a deep sleep. The Spirits champion the enterprising and undaunted human spirit.Act IV
Proserpina begs her husband Plutone, in the name of their love, to release Euridice. The Spirits second her plea. Plutone relents and allows Orfeo to reclaim her on the condition that he not look back at her while he is leading her home. Fearing deceit, he looks back. All is lost. She is forced to remain, and he is forced back to the land of the living. The Spirits remark that a man may conquer hell, but if he conquer not himself, he has not won the victory.Act V
Orfeo wanders the Thracian fields alone with his redoubled grief. His father Apollo, god of music, appears and invites him to join the gods, where he will be able to see Eurydice from the stars. They ascend to Heaven together.
Artists
Rolando Villazón
Paula Murrihy
Hometown: Limerick, Ireland
2023 Season:
Messaggera, Orfeo
SFO Debut:
Prince Orlovsky, Die Fledermaus, 2017 (July 14 & August 1)
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2006
Past Seasons:
Ruggiero, Alcina, 2017
Lucy Evans
Hometown: Bellingham, WA
2023 Season:
Ninfa & Messenger, Orfeo
The Flying Dutchman
Rusalka
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2022, 2023
SFO Debut:
Agent 1, M. Butterfly, 2022
Past Seasons:
Carmen, 2022
Falstaff, 2022
Lauren Snouffer
Hometown: Austin, TX
2023 Season:
La Musica/Speranza, Orfeo (SFO Debut)
Amber Norelai
Hometown: Caracas, Venezuela
2023 Season:
Euridice, Orfeo (SFO Debut)
Tosca
The Flying Dutchman
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2022, 2023
Past Seasons:
Falstaff, 2022
James Creswell
Hometown: Seattle, WA
2023 Season:
Vodník, Rusalka
Caronte, Orfeo
SFO Debut:
Antonio, The Marriage of Figaro, 2021
Past Seasons:
Prince Gremin, Eugene Onegin, 2021
Blake Denson
Caitlin Aloia
Hometown: Doylestown, PA
2023 Season:
Proserpina, Orfeo (SFO Debut)
Tosca
The Flying Dutchman
Rusalka
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2022, 2023
Past Seasons:
Carmen, 2022
Falstaff, 2022
M. Butterfly, 2022
Lucy Evans
Hometown: Bellingham, WA
2023 Season:
Ninfa & Messenger, Orfeo
The Flying Dutchman
Rusalka
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2022, 2023
SFO Debut:
Agent 1, M. Butterfly, 2022
Past Seasons:
Carmen, 2022
Falstaff, 2022
Meridian Prall
Hometown: Edwardsburg, MI
2023 Season:
Sprite 3, Rusalka (SFO Debut)
Ninfa, Orfeo
Tosca
The Flying Dutchman
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2023
Christian Simmons
Hometown: Washington, DC
2023 Season:
Apollo, Orfeo (SFO Debut)
The Flying Dutchman
Rusalka
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2023
Andrew Turner
Hometown: Tacoma, WA
2023 Season:
Pastore 1, Orfeo
Tosca
The Flying Dutchman
Pelléas et Mélisande
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2022, 2023
SFO Debut:
Agent 2, M. Butterfly, 2022
Past Seasons:
Carmen, 2022
Falstaff, 2022
Tristan und Isolde, 2022
Brandon Bell
Hometown: Suffolk, VA
2023 Season:
Shepherd, Pelléas et Mélisande (SFO Debut)
Pastore 2, Orfeo
Tosca
The Flying Dutchman
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2023
Luke Elmer
Hometown: Flowermound, TX
2023 Season:
Pastore 3, Orfeo (SFO Debut)
Tosca
Pelléas et Mélisande
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2023
Younggwang Park
Hometown: Seoul, South Korea
2023 Season:
Pastore 4/Spirit 1, Orfeo (SFO Debut)
Tosca
The Flying Dutchman
Rusalka
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2023
Le Bu
Hometown: Yancheng, China
2023 Season:
Pastore 5/Spirit2, Orfeo (SFO Debut)
The Flying Dutchman
Rusalka
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2023
Nico Muhly
Hometown: Randolph, VT
2023 Season:
Orfeo
Harry Bicket
Hometown: Liverpool, England
Endowed by the Wyncote Foundation, as recommended by Frederick R. Haas & Rafael Gomez
2023 Season:
Pelléas et Mélisande
Orfeo
SFO Debut:
Agrippina, 2004
Past Seasons:
Carmen, 2022
The Marriage of Figaro, 2021
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021
Così fan tutti, 2019
Candide, 2018
Alcina, 2017
Roméo et Juliette, 2016
La finta giardiniera, 2015
Fidelio, 2014
Radamisto, 2008
Platée, 2007
Yuval Sharon
Alex Schweder
Matthew Johnson
Hometown: New York, NY
2023 Season:
Orfeo (SFO Debut)
Carlos J Soto
Hana S. Kim
Yuki Nakase Link
Susanne Sheston
Hometown: Salt Lake City, UT
SFO Debut:
2008 Season
Past Seasons:
2022 Season
2021 Season
2019 Season
2018 Season
2017 Season
2016 Season
2015 Season
2014 Season
2013 Season
2012 Season
2011 Season
2010 Season
2009 Season
Julie Kim
Hometown: Rockville, MD
2023 Season:
Orfeo (SFO Debut)