Eurydice Opens at Heidelberg February 11
Work continues on the Heidelberg production of Eurydice, by Sarah Ruhl, directed by my good friend and colleague, David Cotter. The cast is hard at work, mastering their roles and staging. The two leads have been in a show with a McConnell theater score before; for the others this is a new experience. But I am excited to watch this production develop; my weekly trips to Tiffin enable me to work with the cast directly. Come show week, I will camp out with the troops and help them through those final snags and challenges.
Some basic information, in case you are able to attend a performance: Eurydice alternates with a production of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which I believe is set in 1970s, Las Vegas! For information about show dates and how to obtain tickets, I commend you to the Gundlach Theater website:
Joan and I will attend the opening night performance of Eurydice together on Friday, February 11th; a good time to stop by and say hello! I will probably attend the other performances myself. The music for this production is my baby, and like a helicopter parent, I tend to hover around when some of my music is performed onstage…..
On this website are other features related to this production including:
Putting it Together: this article is a more detailed overview of my music for Eurydice. You can find this article in the RUMINATIONS section of this website.
Recordings: On this section of the website, you can listen to three excerpts from the incidental music that is created for Eurydice:
· Eurydice’s Theme: from Movement 2 (Act) of the play. This is the one complete presentation of the main theme, as Eurydice’s father prepares a room in Hades for Eurydice to enjoy. For more information on this music, please see the Putting it Together article in Ruminations.
· Eurydice’s Death and Journey to Hades: this excerpt comes from Movement 1 of the play. In this version, Eurydice falls to her demise; as the cue begins, she has hit bottom and begins her journey to the underworld. There are hints of the Eurydice theme throughout this cue.
· Orpheus Sings: This is an important moment in the Orfeo operas of the past. Sarah Ruhl’s play concentrates on Eurydice, but it does allow for the famous scene where Orpheus must charm the inhabitants of Hades as he attempts to bring his lover back to the world of the living. Onstage, Orpheus does not actually sing; he merely opens his mouth as if he is performing. This gives the composer a chance to have all the fun. Listen carefully and you will hear fragments of the Eurydice theme/motive throughout the cue. Sarah Ruhl asks for musical references to the Eurydice song in this scene, and I have done my best to carry out her wishes.
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