New York – by Chiara Spagnoli Gabardi

Orfeo is the object of a reinterpretation that weaves together two worlds of the mythological couples Orpheus and Eurydice, and Izanami and Izanagi. This project is a result of the exceptional vision of two maestros: Conductor Aaron Carpené (known as one of the world’s leading conductors and authorities in Baroque opera) and Stefano Vizioli (internationally recognised director, known for his profound, poetic and vibrant interpretations).

Japan Orfeo intends to present La favola d’Orfeo, composed by Claudio Monteverdi in 1607. This masterpiece is universally considered the mother of all operas, both for its dramatic structure and for its employment of the forms, so familiar to opera lovers such as arias, duets and choruses. The fable of Orfeo is structured in a prologue and five acts, each that can be considered self-contained microcosms and each integrating independent expressions of Italian and Japanese performing arts. The librettist Striggio originally wrote a tragic finale to the opera that was never set to music by Monteverdi. Therefore during this special occasion Japan Orfeo proposes a new musical finale composed by composer Ryusuke Numajiri who, using harsh and violent sonorities, reconstructs the tragic finale in homage to the ancient original conception of the myth of Orpheus. Hence, the beauty and drama of the Italian baroque fable in music crosses borders with Japanese performance expressions.

The power of music is manifest in a celebration of the old and the new, the East and the West, since this cultural event celebrates 150 years of friendship and commercial relations between Italy and Japan. It will be unique in its kind employing highly specialised musicians chosen amongst the best in the Italian baroque tradition, together with Japanese performing artists. Italian and Japanese artists will join forces for this project, produced by Friendship Bridge Classical Music and Arts Society — a non-profit that operates as a management company to organise classical music concerts, outreach programs, lectures and exhibitions, to create a platform for international dialogue in celebrating universal values.

Japan Orfeo is thus conceived as a unique event of its kind that will exalt the profundity of the communion between different Japanese and western performing arts expressions.

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