The cinemas relayed the production of the opera on Saturday Eurydice by Matthew Aucoin on a libretto by Sarah Ruhl. Created in Los Angeles in February 2020 this co-commission is, after Fire Shut Up in My Bones, by Terence Blanchard, the second contemporary opera presented at the Metropolitan Opera this fall, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin and screened in cinemas. A revolution after the conflict apocalypse of the pandemic period. And what a revolution!
But where did they go to find this dazzling 31-year-old composer, Matthew Aucoin? What a find! Let us recall once again the observation of chef Stéphane Denève expressed in To have to in 2006 : “Normally, the public should be more excited to discover a new work than to hear a Beethoven symphony for the twentieth time. The French chef worked there in Brussels. What if Yannick Nézet-Séguin had given himself this mission at the Met? What if that was the unalterable legacy he wanted to leave?
A secret in the pit
We are not going to repeat here the history of creation which has cut itself off from the public, nor to describe once again the “neo-bidule” soup sellers who take the Internet for a cash drawer, these two plagues that make The assertion of Stéphane Denève is, unfortunately, not a truism. Saturday, a creation on the oldest opera myth – theEuridice de Peri, alas lost, is the oldest opera on record – thrilled, made people think, even made people laugh, without condescension or ease.
At this level, and without any hesitation, yes, it is much more exciting to discover a new work than to go and hear The Traviata Where The flute Nice to meet you for the twentieth time. Sign of the times, we would much prefer to see again The exterminating angel, by Thomas Adès, or Marnie, by Nico Muhly, rather than Turandot Where Lucia di Lammermoor at the end of the season …
What attracts attention in theEurydice by Matthew Aucoin, it is the general style that emancipates itself from the mold in which American opera is comfortably wedged and that we recognize in the works of Jake Heggie (Dead man walking) and Kevin Puts (Silent Night). Aucoin does not deny this at all. But he delights, in addition, and with virtuosity, in scenes in which he can develop clashes of musical genres (dances of the marriage of Orpheus and Eurydice, apartment of Hades), a talent which he risks to take advantage of in the future, because it contributes to a musical humor.
But, above all, there is that use of a teeming and ubiquitous percussion in the orchestra as a dramatic engine that is, in our opinion, its mark both creative and genius. Eurydice must be exhausting to assimilate and manage, which no doubt escapes those who have the audacity to rise up to see Yannick Nézet-Séguin take a somewhat prolonged break after the holidays.
Against sad passions
In a magnificent and effective performance by Mary Zimmerman, who subtly handles the concepts of confinement (the gray wall), sclerosis (the stones), light and darkness, theEurydice d’Aucoin and de Ruhl (efficient libretto, not entangled in a surplus of words and useless digressions) refocuses the myth on the heroine, who has the chance to see her father again in hell before being able to “go back to the life ”with Orpheus.
Strange character, this Eurydice ceaselessly “pulled back”. Her misfortunes arise because she takes an interest in her late father on her wedding day and by calling Orpheus, fearing too much that it might not be him, she causes him to turn around.
Opera Eurydice is a plea against the “sad passions” that pull us back. Does Eurydice understand the music of Orpheus? She sings an air on the difficulty of loving a musician, because Aucoin has composed two arias for her heroine. Is she capable of joy, of projecting herself into happiness? The past guides her, undermines her, kills her and, in so doing, annihilates those around her.
Beyond the particular destinies, Eurydice today has other resonances, more geopolitical, when we see the panic reaction of Hades jealously preserving his hells from the intrusion of music at the approach of Orpheus. Art is a danger in the eyes of certain totalitarianisms.
What is lacking in Aucoin’s opera is a music or a sound associated with Orpheus that would make the stones “cry”. Orpheus is too bland, and his originality is limited to the fact that Joshua Hopkins sings in tandem with countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński with golden wings. This gimmick does not replace real good inspiration.
On the other hand, a great idea, Aucoin breaks the codes by making Hades not a big bass, but a tenor food. Barry Banks is exceptional impact and earthiness in the role of flabby demon decked out in irresistible costumes and make-up. As for Erin Morley, she carries the opera with missionary fervor, the main musical dipole being that which she forms with her father, the excellent Nathan Berg.
Hats off to Ronnita Miller, Stacey Tappan and Chad Shelton, these perfect “singing stones”, important in the management of the underworld and that no document from the Met or the broadcasters mentions in the distributions.
Bruce who laughs, Marie-Josée who cries