Orpheus

It feels a bit like coming home: René Jacobs conducting B’Rock, in a grand Baroque vocal repertoire piece no less. The soloists, a group of the best baroque opera singers of the moment, have already worked together extensively with René. The ease with which conductor, orchestra and singers find each other can be seen in the pleasure of their playing: natural and with flair. This time they encounter one another in the poignant myth of Orpheus, who is unable to save his beloved Eurydice from the underworld.

In Telemann’s hands, the tragedy could just as well bear the title “Orpheus, Eurydice and Orasia”. After all, in his reading, the jealous Orasia suddenly appears on stage. The Queen of Thrace cannot stomach the fact that Orpheus chooses Eurydice, and goes into a ruthless rage. What follows is a dramatic game full of cunning, intrigue and murder, with Orasia claiming a prominent role. Telemann introduces two more characters in the form of Orpheus’ friend Eurimedes and the nymph Cephisa. A masterstroke that allows him to make the story not only more dynamic but also more human. All the fundamental emotions pass in review; you hear Telemann at his most sensitive.

And what’s more: Orpheus is in German, but you would not be mistaken for suddenly thinking that you also hear French or Italian. Indeed, Telemann borrowed a number of passages from operas by Lully and Handel. Or how, in another world, not Beethoven’s Ninth, but perhaps Telemann’s Orpheus would musically express the European idea of unity…

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