As Europeans, we are not accustomed to early, sudden deaths, such as Euridice’s in the myth. Europe is increasingly aging, with more than 90 million elderly people and many of them receiving inadequate assistance. The Euridice we release into the realm of Pluto could be anybody’s older parent. We are Orfeo as this myth urgently calls to reflect on our present relationship with death.
In our narrative, the hero is an old man forced to face a double conflict: on the one hand, to overcome the death of the person he loved all his life, and on the other, alone, locked up in a retirement home, forced to deal with his impending death, with the inability to be independent. He is a man split in two: his body is aging, but his voice still sings for love. Isolated and surrounded by strangers in uniform, Orfeo seeks refuge in the past. In the retirement home, he forgets Euridice’s death and makes a plan to escape and find his lost love. The retirement home turns into a baroque theatre where Orfeo stages his final journey. Like in a fairy tale, the hero flees. Outside, he encounters the city: a modern, fast, consumerist world. Orfeo accepts the journey into contemporary hell and finds Euridice. With the fiercest form of love, she helps Orfeo to turn around. By looking back and accepting life Orfeo will organize his memories and surrender to the end of things.
Director: Giorgio Pesenti
Set and costume design: Giulia Bruschi
Set design: Riccardo Mainetti
Dramaturgy: Elena Patacchini
Video design: Matteo Castiglioni
As a team, we want to explore the social and political power of musical theatre to question our times.
Giorgio Pesenti, director and pianist, is Daniele Abbado’s assistant, with whom he worked in theatres such as La Scala and La Fenice. He cofounded Opera Popolare, that combines social and theatrical issues.
Giulia Bruschi, set and costume designer, trained in Architecture at Politecnico of Milan and in Set and Costume Design at Brera Academy.
Riccardo Mainetti, set designer, trained in Theatre Design at Brera Academy in Milan. Together, they designed Aida in Teatro Sociale Como with a social choir and a collaborative workshop process.
Elena Patacchini, playwright and dramaturg, finalist at the 2023 Biennale Teatro. She worked in theatre such as Teatro Stabile del Veneto and Teatro Nazionale di Genova. She is cofounder of Opera Popolare.
Matteo Castiglioni, composer and multimedia artist, worked at Opera di Roma and at Biennale di Venezia, focusing on live-visuals and site-specific projects.
Photos (c) Susanne Hassler-Smith
