Rossi: L'orfeo - Pygmalion (DVD)

Pygmalion - Raphaël Pichon

Raphaël Pichon - Conductor

Jetske Mijnssen - Artistic director

1647: with Rossi’sOrfeo, France discovered Italian opera! Although the disastrous financial consequences of this publicity stunt by Mazarin helped to precipitate the events of the Fronde rebellion, things went quite differently in the orchestra pit. When the Italian and French musicians joined forces, something magical happened; and it is precisely that magic which Raphaël Pichon and Pygmalion recreate here, thanks to a skilful reconstruction and a vibrant, multi-coloured orchestra that bring life and relief to each character. But the dramatic power of the myth of Orpheus is also conveyed in JetskeMijnssen’s production, which transposes the story into contemporary terms, the better to evoke the timeless experience of love and death that humanity both desires and fears in the depths of its being.