To commemorate the 300th anniversary of the birth of Christoph Willibald Gluck the Regina Symphony Orchestra is performing the ballet suite from one of Gluck’s best-known operas as part of its first Government House concert series of the 2014-15 season. Sharing the bill at the chamber concert is George Onslow’s Nonet Op. 77.
Born in Bavaria, Gluck spent time in Paris, Prague and Milan. As a composer, Gluck is considered part of the Early Classical period, and he is generally credited with helping revamp opera as an art form by synthesizing different opera traditions from countries where he lived and studied as a youth.
Orfeo Ed Eurydice debuted in 1762, and is inspired by the Greek myth of Orpheus who was venerated as a poet and musician. When his wife Eurydice died through misadventure at the hands of a satyr and a pit of vipers, he journeyed to the underworld to convince Hades and his consort Persephone to let her return to earth with him.
For more information on this concert, which goes Saturday Sept. 13 at 8 p.m. and Sunday Sept. 14 at 1:30 p.m., visit the RSO website or call 306-585-9555. To give you taste of what to expect, here’s an excerpt as performed by an unidentified European chamber group:
