Orfeo ed Euridice Tickets

Berliner Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany

Scene 1 from the opera "Orfeo ed Euridice"

Scene 2 from the opera "Orfeo ed Euridice"

Scene 3 from the opera "Orfeo ed Euridice"

Scene 4 from the opera "Orfeo ed Euridice"

Scene 5 from the opera "Orfeo ed Euridice"

Scene 6 from the opera "Orfeo ed Euridice"

Scene 7 from the opera "Orfeo ed Euridice"

All photos (7)

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At the moment, no Orfeo ed Euridice events are scheduled in Berliner Philharmonie. Click here to check out the current Berliner Philharmonie events.

Important Info

Type: Opera - Ballet

City: Berlin, Germany

Duration: 2h 45min

Acts: 3

Sung in: Italian

Titles in: English,German,Spanish

Ticket delivery: E-Tickets

E-tickets: Print at home or at the box office of the event if so specified. You will find more information in your booking confirmation email.

Can I choose my seats?

You can only select the category, and not the exact seats.
If you order 2 or 3 tickets: your seats will be next to each other.
If you order 4 or more tickets: your seats will be next to each other, or, if this is not possible, we will provide a combination of groups of seats (at least in pairs, for example 2+2 or 2+3).

Cast

Performers

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History

Premiere of this production: 05 October 1762, Burgtheater in Vienna

Orfeo ed Euridice is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck, based on the myth of Orpheus and set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the azione teatrale, meaning an opera on a mythological subject with choruses and dancing.

Synopsis

Act 1

Illustration from a 1764 edition of the score
A chorus of nymphs and shepherds join Orfeo around the tomb of his wife Euridice in a solemn chorus of mourning; Orfeo is only able to utter Euridice's name (Chorus and Orfeo: "Ah, se intorno"/"Ah! Dans ce bois"). Orfeo sends the others away and sings of his grief in the aria "Chiamo il mio ben"/"Objet de mon amour", the three verses of which are preceded by expressive recitatives. This technique was extremely radical at the time and indeed proved overly so for those who came after Gluck: Mozart chose to retain the unity of the aria. Amore (Cupid) appears, telling Orfeo that he may go to the Underworld and return with his wife on the condition that he not look at her until they are back on earth (1774 only: aria by Amour, "Si les doux accords"). As encouragement, Amore informs Orfeo that his present suffering shall be short-lived with the aria "Gli sguardi trattieni"/"Soumis au silence". Orfeo resolves to take on the quest. In the 1774 version only he delivers an ariette ("L'espoir renaît dans mon âme") in the older, showier, Italian style, originally composed for an occasional entertainment, Il Parnaso confuso (1765), and subsequently re-used in another one, Le feste d'Apollo (1769).

Act 2
In a rocky landscape, the Furies refuse to admit Orfeo to the Underworld, and sing of Cerberus, its canine guardian ("Chi mai dell’Erebo"/"Quel est l'audacieux"). When Orfeo, accompanied by his lyre (represented in the opera by a harp), begs for pity in the aria "Deh placatevi con me"/"Laissez-vous toucher", he is at first interrupted by cries of "No!"/"Non!" from the Furies, but they are eventually softened by the sweetness of his singing in the arias "Mille pene"/"Ah! La flamme" and "Men tiranne"/"La tendresse", and let him in ("Ah, quale incognito affetto"/"Quels chants doux"). In the 1774 version, the scene ends with the "Dance of the Furies" (No. 28).

The second scene opens in Elysium. The brief ballet of 1762 became the four-movement "Dance of the Blessed Spirits" (with a prominent part for solo flute) in 1774. This is followed (1774 only) by a solo which celebrates happiness in eternal bliss ("Cet asile"), sung by either an unnamed Spirit or Euridice, and repeated by the chorus. Orfeo arrives and marvels at the purity of the air in an arioso ("Che puro ciel"/"Quel nouveau ciel"). But he finds no solace in the beauty of the surroundings, for Euridice is not yet with him. He implores the spirits to bring her to him, which they do (Chorus: "Torna, o bella"/"Près du tendre objet").

Act 3

"Che farò senza Euridice" (in German)
MENU0:00
Ernestine Schumann-Heink (1907)
Problems playing this file? See media help.
On the way out of Hades, Euridice is delighted to be returning to earth, but Orfeo, remembering the condition related by Amore in act 1, lets go of her hand and refusing to look at her, does not explain anything to her. She does not understand his action and reproaches him, but he must suffer in silence (Duet: "Vieni, appaga il tuo consorte"/"Viens, suis un époux"). Euridice takes this to be a sign that he no longer loves her, and refuses to continue, concluding that death would be preferable. She sings of her grief at Orfeo's supposed infidelity in the aria "Che fiero momento"/"Fortune ennemie" (in 1774, there is a brief duet before the reprise). Unable to take any more, Orfeo turns and looks at Euridice; again, she dies. Orfeo sings of his grief in the famous aria "Che farò senza Euridice?"/"J’ai perdu mon Eurydice" ("What shall I do without Euridice?"/"I have lost my Euridice") Orfeo decides he will kill himself to join Euridice in Hades, but Amore returns to stop him (1774 only: Trio: "Tendre Amour"). In reward for Orfeo's continued love, Amore returns Euridice to life, and she and Orfeo are reunited. After a four-movement ballet, all sing in praise of Amore ("Trionfi Amore"). In the 1774 version, the chorus ("L’Amour triomphe") precedes the ballet, to which Gluck had added three extra movements.

The first lines of arias, choruses, etc., are given in Italian (1762 version) and French (1774 version).

Act 1

A chorus of nymphs and shepherds join Orfeo around the tomb of his wife Euridice in a solemn chorus of mourning; Orfeo is only able to utter Euridice's name (Chorus and Orfeo: "Ah, se intorno"/"Ah! Dans ce bois"). Orfeo sends the others away and sings of his grief in the aria "Chiamo il mio ben"/"Objet de mon amour", the three verses of which are preceded by expressive recitatives. This technique was extremely radical at the time and indeed proved overly so for those who came after Gluck: Mozart chose to retain the unity of the aria. Amore (Cupid) appears, telling Orfeo that he may go to the Underworld and return with his wife on the condition that he not look at her until they are back on earth (1774 only: aria by Amour, "Si les doux accords"). As encouragement, Amore informs Orfeo that his present suffering shall be short-lived with the aria "Gli sguardi trattieni"/"Soumis au silence". Orfeo resolves to take on the quest. In the 1774 version only he delivers an ariette ("L'espoir renaît dans mon âme") in the older, showier, Italian style, originally composed for an occasional entertainment, Il Parnaso confuso (1765), and subsequently re-used in another one, Le feste d'Apollo (1769).

Act 2

In a rocky landscape, the Furies refuse to admit Orfeo to the Underworld, and sing of Cerberus, its canine guardian ("Chi mai dell’Erebo"/"Quel est l'audacieux"). When Orfeo, accompanied by his lyre (represented in the opera by a harp), begs for pity in the aria "Deh placatevi con me"/"Laissez-vous toucher", he is at first interrupted by cries of "No!"/"Non!" from the Furies, but they are eventually softened by the sweetness of his singing in the arias "Mille pene"/"Ah! La flamme" and "Men tiranne"/"La tendresse", and let him in ("Ah, quale incognito affetto"/"Quels chants doux"). In the 1774 version, the scene ends with the "Dance of the Furies" (No. 28).

Act 3

On the way out of Hades, Euridice is delighted to be returning to earth, but Orfeo, remembering the condition related by Amore in act 1, lets go of her hand and refusing to look at her, does not explain anything to her. She does not understand his action and reproaches him, but he must suffer in silence (Duet: "Vieni, appaga il tuo consorte"/"Viens, suis un époux"). Euridice takes this to be a sign that he no longer loves her, and refuses to continue, concluding that death would be preferable. She sings of her grief at Orfeo's supposed infidelity in the aria "Che fiero momento"/"Fortune ennemie" (in 1774, there is a brief duet before the reprise). Unable to take any more, Orfeo turns and looks at Euridice; again, she dies. Orfeo sings of his grief in the famous aria "Che farò senza Euridice?"/"J’ai perdu mon Eurydice" ("What shall I do without Euridice?"/"I have lost my Euridice") Orfeo decides he will kill himself to join Euridice in Hades, but Amore returns to stop him (1774 only: Trio: "Tendre Amour"). In reward for Orfeo's continued love, Amore returns Euridice to life, and she and Orfeo are reunited. After a four-movement ballet, all sing in praise of Amore ("Trionfi Amore"). In the 1774 version, the chorus ("L’Amour triomphe") precedes the ballet, to which Gluck had added three extra movements.

Venue Info

Berliner Philharmonie - Berlin
Herbert-von-Karajan-Str. 1

The Berliner Philharmonie is a concert hall in Berlin, Germany and home to the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. The Philharmonie lies on the south edge of the city's Tiergarten and just west of the former Berlin Wall. The Philharmonie is on Herbert-von-Karajan-Straße, named for the orchestra's longest-serving principal conductor. The building forms part of the Kulturforum complex of cultural institutions close to Potsdamer Platz.

The Philharmonie consists of two venues, the Grand Hall (Großer Saal) with 2,440 seats and the Chamber Music Hall (Kammermusiksaal) with 1,180 seats. Though conceived together, the smaller hall was opened in the 1980s, some twenty years after the main building.

Hans Scharoun designed the building, which was constructed over the years 1960–1963. It opened on 15 October 1963 with Herbert von Karajan conducting Beethoven's 9th Symphony. It was built to replace the old Philharmonie, destroyed by British bombers on 30 January 1944, the eleventh anniversary of Hitler becoming Chancellor. The hall is a singular building, asymmetrical and tentlike, with the main concert hall in the shape of a pentagon. The height of the rows of seats increases irregularly with distance from the stage. The stage is at the centre of the hall, surrounded by seating on all sides. The so-called vineyard-style seating arrangement (with terraces rising around a central orchestral platform) was pioneered by this building, and became a model for other concert halls, including the Sydney Opera House (1973), Denver's Boettcher Concert Hall (1978), the Gewandhaus in Leipzig (1981), Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles (2003), and the Philharmonie de Paris (2014).

Jazz pianist Dave Brubeck and his quartet recorded three live performances at the hall; Dave Brubeck in Berlin (1964), Live at the Berlin Philharmonie (1970), and We're All Together Again for the First Time (1973). Miles Davis's 1969 live performance at the hall has also been released on DVD.

On 20 May 2008 a fire broke out at the hall. A quarter of the roof suffered considerable damage as firefighters cut openings to reach the flames beneath the roof. The hall interior sustained water damage but was otherwise "generally unharmed". Firefighters limited damage using foam. The cause of the fire was attributed to welding work, and no serious damage was caused either to the structure or interior of the building. Performances resumed, as scheduled, on 1 June 2008 with a concert by the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra.

The main organ was built by Karl Schuke, Berlin, in 1965, and renovated in 1992, 2012 and 2016. It has four manuals and 91 stops. The pipes of the choir organs and the Tuba 16' and Tuba 8' stops are not assigned to any group and can be played from all four manuals and the pedals.