Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice (Orpheus and Eurydice)

This page lists all recordings of Orfeo ed Euridice (Orpheus and Eurydice), by Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-87) on CD & DVD. Generally, more recent CDs and DVDs are listed first, but with priority given to items that are in stock.

Recommendations

First Choice
March 2003

All recordings

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Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice

Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice

Sung in French


Roberto Alagna (tenor), Serena Gamberoni (soprano) & Marc Barrard (baritone)

Teatro Comunale di Bologna Orchestra, Giampaolo Bisanti

Libretto Pierre-Louis Moline

Theatrical and musical adaptation in one prologue and three acts by David Alagna

Filmed in High Definition at the Bologna Opera, January 2008

THE PERFORMANCE: Roberto Alagna as Orpheus in his brother David's new version of Gluck’s masterpiece. A major event recorded in Bologna.

Opting for the French-language version of Orpheus, David Alagna was faced with the task of achieving an appropriately subtle adaptation. In a plot transposed to the present day, Eurydice dies in a car accident on the day of her wedding and Orpheus's quest for his beloved is a dream beginning and ending at the cemetery. No happy ending in this interpretation, but a new approach to characterisation:Amore, sung by a baritone, becomes a funeral parlour employee and Orpheus' guide. Orpheus, of course, loses his loved one forever by turning to look back. World famous tenor Roberto Alagna throws himself body and soul into this production. His incredible vitality, flawless timbre and diction make him a great Orpheus. His partner, young Italian soprano Serena Gamberoni, is simply stunning as Eurydice, while French baritone Marc Barrard is suitably terrifying as the guide to the Underworld. The orchestra is conducted by Giampaolo Bisanti, who masterfully brings out all Gluck's poetry, romantic melancholy and depth.

A co-production with the Montpellier Opera.

Colour 16/9 - PCM STEREO, DTS HD MASTER

AUDIO 5.1

Released or re-released in last 6 months

Blu-ray Disc

Region: all

Bel Air Classiques - BAC452

(Blu-ray)

$38.99

In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day.

Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice

Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice

Sung in French


Roberto Alagna (tenor), Serena Gamberoni (soprano) & Marc Barrard (baritone)

Teatro Comunale di Bologna Orchestra, Giampaolo Bisanti

Libretto Pierre-Louis Moline

Theatrical and musical adaptation in one prologue and three acts by David Alagna

Filmed in High Definition at the Bologna Opera, January 2008

THE PERFORMANCE: Roberto Alagna as Orpheus in his brother David's new version of Gluck’s masterpiece. A major event recorded in Bologna.

Opting for the French-language version of Orpheus, David Alagna was faced with the task of achieving an appropriately subtle adaptation. In a plot transposed to the present day, Eurydice dies in a car accident on the day of her wedding and Orpheus's quest for his beloved is a dream beginning and ending at the cemetery. No happy ending in this interpretation, but a new approach to characterisation:Amore, sung by a baritone, becomes a funeral parlour employee and Orpheus' guide. Orpheus, of course, loses his loved one forever by turning to look back. World famous tenor Roberto Alagna throws himself body and soul into this production. His incredible vitality, flawless timbre and diction make him a great Orpheus. His partner, young Italian soprano Serena Gamberoni, is simply stunning as Eurydice, while French baritone Marc Barrard is suitably terrifying as the guide to the Underworld. The orchestra is conducted by Giampaolo Bisanti, who masterfully brings out all Gluck's poetry, romantic melancholy and depth.

Colour, 16/9, NTSC - PCM STEREO, DOLBY

DIGITAL 5.1, DTS 5.1

Opera 104 minutes, Bonus : Backstage & interviews

Subtitles : FR, ENG, DE, SP, IT

Illustrated booklet: FR, ENG, IT

“The opening scene is set at Orpheus and Eurydice's wedding. The couple are involved in a car crash and soon the action changes to the cemetery as Eurydice's coffin is lowered into the grave. …as Orpheus descends into Hades, the set changes to a more abstract vision of a frozen Hell with bodies suspended in mid-air... The whole production veers between the sublime and the ridiculous in about equal quantities. Roberto Alagna as Orpheus gives a performance of great intensity...” Gramophone Magazine, March 2010

“The first of several fade-cuts… takes us to the scene of a car crash, where paramedics pull Eurydice's body from the wreckage. Thence to the graveyard, whence all that follows is Orphée's dream. If you can swallow the concept, the acting is detailed and humane, the Underworld a powdery fantasy of suspended animation. ...Robert Alagna's verismo Orphée is a perceptive study of sudden bereavement. Giampaolo Bisanti's conducting is fleet and finely accented...” BBC Music Magazine, March 2010 ***

Released or re-released in last 6 months

DVD Video

Region: 0

Format: NTSC

DVD Sale
35% off

Bel Air Classiques - BAC052

(DVD Video)

Normally: $28.99

Special: $18.84

In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day.

Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice

Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice

December 1953


Hilde Rössel-Majdan (Orpheus), Sena Jurinac (Eurydice), Emmy Loose (Amor) & Heinz Wöster (Speaker)

Chorus of Vienna State Opera & Vienna Radio, Michael Gielen

Sung in German

Walhall - WLCD0261

(CD - 2 discs)

$13.49

In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day.

Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice

Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice


Kathleen Ferrier (Orfeo), Greet Koeman (Euridice), Nel Duval (Amor)

Chorus & Orchestra of the former Netherlands Opera, Charles Bruck

Recorded 1951

EMI Historical - 5861942

(CD - 2 discs)

$11.49

In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day.

Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice

Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice


Bernarda Fink (mezzo-soprano) Veronica Cangemi (soprano), Maria Cristina Kiehr, (soprano)

Freiburger Baroque Orchestra & Rias Kammerchor, René Jacobs

1762 Viennese version in Italian, recorded 2001

“Jacobs conducts an urgent, pungently characterised performance” BBC Music Magazine, April 2009

Building a Library

First Choice - March 2003

Harmonia Mundi - HMC901742/43

(CD - 2 discs)

$24.99

In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day.

Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice

Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice

Recorded 1940


Kerstin Thorborg, Jarmila Novotna, Marita Farell

Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus, Erich Leinsdorf

Walhall - WLCD0008

(CD - 2 discs)

$13.49

In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day.

Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice

Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice


Janet Baker (Orfeo), Elisabeth Speiser (Euridice) & Elizabeth Gale (Amore)

Glyndebourne Chorus & London Philharmonic Orchestra, Raymond Leppard

Released or re-released in last 6 months

Warner Classics - 2564682893

(CD - 2 discs)

$17.49

Scheduled for release on 19 April 2010. Order it now and we will deliver it as soon as it is available.

Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice

Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice


Ewa Podles (Orfeo), Ana Rodrigo (Euridice) & Elena de la Merced (Amore)

Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid & Coro de la Comunidad de Madrid, Peter Maag

This double SACD is a re-issue of an acclaimed live recording from 1998 of one of the key operatic works of the 18th century, Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice. It is performed by the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid and the Coro de la Comunidad de Madrid under the esteemed conductor Peter Maag. The fine cast of soloists includes Ewa Podles, Ana Rodrigo, and Elena de la Merced.

Christoph Willibald Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice is an opera whose historical value is as great as its musical worth. It stands as a starting point for what is often referred to as the “Gluck reform” of Italian serious opera, and the first performance of Orfeo, which took place in Vienna on the 5th of October 1762, is considered to be one of the key moments in the history of music in the eighteenth century.

The recording was made in 1998, and features the legendary musical director Peter Maag, a conductor who is thought by many to be one of the greatest operatic conductors of his time, and is especially renowned for his performances of Mozart’s stage works.

Released or re-released in last 6 months

Super Audio CD

Format:

Hybrid Multi-channel

Arts - 477538

(SACD - 2 discs)

$35.49

Scheduled for release on 5 April 2010. Order it now and we will deliver it as soon as it is available.

Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice

Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice


Derek Lee Ragin, Adrienne Csengery, Anna Pánti

Concerto Armonico Chamber Orchestra, Central Europe Dance Company, György Vashegyi

English, French, German subitles

DVD Video

Region: 0

Format: NTSC

Hungaroton - DVDH32440

(DVD Video)

$45.99

Usually despatched in 4 - 5 working days.

Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice

Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice


Stevens, Güden & Hurley

Met Orchestra and Chorus, Pierre Monteux

Recorderd live at the Metropolitan Opera 9th April 1955

Andromeda - ANDRCD5106

(CD - 2 discs)

$10.99

Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days.

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