| Choreographer Mark Morris Goes To The Opera |
|
|
Orfeo ed Euridicecomposed by Christoph Willibald von Gluckdirected by Mark Morris conducted by James Levine starring David Daniels, Heidi Grant Murphy, & Maija Kovalevska The Metropolitan Opera West 64th Street and Broadway (212) 362-6000 May 2-12 www.metopera.org  Maija Kovalevska and David Daniels in the title roles of Gluck's "Orfeo ed Euridice."  Mark Morris is the first choreographer to direct an opera at the Met since George Balanchine staged Stravinsky’s “The Rake’s Progressâ€? in 1953.  Morris's "Orfeo ed Eurydice" boasts 22 dancers in the company. Morris’s stagings of baroque operas have already been seen at BAM (Gluck’s “Orfeo ed Euridice,” Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas”) and New York City Opera (Rameau’s “Platee”), and now he’s making his Metropolitan Opera debut as director/choreographer with the first new Met staging in 35 years of “Orfeo ed Euridice.” Morris is in exalted company: he’s the first choreographer to direct an opera at the Met since George Balanchine staged Stravinsky’s “The Rake’s Progress” in 1953. Morris has faced some adversity preparing this production: beloved mezzo Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, who was to sing the title role of Orfeo, passed away last July—the production is being dedicated to her memory—and soprano Lisa Milne, who was to originate the role of Euridice, is no longer in the cast. Replacing Lieberson is countertenor David Daniels (Gluck originally wrote the role of Orfeo for a castrato, and today either mezzos or countertenors can sing it) and in Milne’s stead is Latvian soprano Maija Kovalevska. During his busy rehearsal schedule, Morris found time to discuss “Orfeo” and working at the Met for the first time. Q: How would you describe the long process of creating a new production of this opera, along with dealing with difficulties along the way? MM: It’s been going great. I was originally asked by Jimmy [Levine] a couple of years ago to do “Orfeo,” and at first it was just me and Jimmy and Lorraine [Hunt Lieberson]. Then a lot of things changed, of course, especially losing Lorraine last summer. But for me, the notion of the character of Orfeo didn’t change at all when David [Daniels] came in—I’ve known him for a long time, he knows the part very well and is a great singer. The same goes for Maija Kovalevska (Euridice) and Heidi Grant Murphy (Amor): they’re all great with Gluck. Q: You’ve staged this opera before. How did you approach it this time? MM: Well, it’s my last production of a very busy and very tiring season. I have to make sure that I make it lively and interesting or it would be very difficult to work on and perform. It’s short—I think it’s one of the few operas that’s the right length. We’re doing it without intermissions so it’s about 90 minutes total, so it’s very concise. It’s actually very simply and beautifully staged: it has a chorus of 100 singers, and it’s a gorgeous story that has gorgeous music.  Countertenor David Daniels in the title role of Gluck's "Orfeo ed Euridice."  Fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi created 100 different costumes in different historical eras for the chorus.  Morris makes his Metropolitan Opera debut as director/choreographer with the first new Met staging in 35 years of “Orfeo ed Euridice.â€? MM: Yes—it’s Allen Moyer’s first time at the Met: he’s doing the gorgeous sets. And Isaac Mizrahi, who is doing the costumes, last did Purcell’s “King Arthur” with me. Isaac decided to have the chorus members—all 100 of them!—in different costumes. It’s a fabulous idea because, even though they’re all fabulous singers collectively, they’re individuals as well. Instead of having everybody in one costume, each is dressed in a different period from history. It’s harder to do, obviously, but it’s so beautiful and touching to see—and to hear. Q: The Met is a huge opera house (nearly 4000 seats). How will this intimate opera fare on the large Met stage? MM: We decided to have the set very far downstage and the chorus installed on what are not exactly risers, but they’re like amphitheater seats in reverse, so the chorus is stacked up and on units that move around. It’s very plain and has a very direct sound, and the set overlaps the orchestra pit so that it’s farther into the house than usual, which helps both visually and musically. Q: How have you treated the various dance episodes? MM: There is a great deal of dancing in this opera, and there are 22 dancers in the company, and they play pretty much everybody: they are both the friends of Orfeo and Euridice and the Furies who are guarding the gates of the underworld. The dancers are in the divertissements, and they are also dancing during the choruses—actually, they will also be doing the same movements as the chorus singers. Q: How have you dealt with working at the Met, which is the largest opera company in the world? MM: You can’t begin to imagine! I have staged piano rehearsals from 11 in the morning to 1 or 2 in the afternoon every day–thank God it’s a short opera! There’s a different show onstage every evening, so sets are constantly being moved around. I make sure that the dancers are in shoes instead of being barefoot so that no one steps on a screw or something. I’m used to organized chaos, but the Met takes it to another level of complication. This is an amazing sort of opera factory. There’s even a department of departments, I think. It’s hard to know what’s going on all the time. We rehearse in the third sub-basement, so there could be a nuclear event outside on Broadway, and you would never know about it. |
