Orpheus takes a journey into the unknown

Acclaimed tenor Ronald Samm describes Orpheus, in which he plays the lead role, as “a loving and stately opera”.

This co-production from the Cork Operatic Society and the Everyman is made up of much of the same team that staged the award-winning Pagliacci at the venue last year. Directed, conducted and re-orchestrated by John O’Brien, this production reinterprets Gluck’s Orfeo ed Eurydice for a contemporary audience. London-based Samm, the first black actor in the UK to play Othello in Verdi’s opera, was the memorable leader of the clowns in Pagliacci. He says Orpheus is a challenging opera. First performed by an alto contralto, Samm is trying to create an impressive sound with his strong tenor voice. “As well as that challenge, I haven’t had to learn off so many recitation pieces since college. But it’s great. The opera has such lovely music and I’m delighted to be back in Cork.

“Orpheus is very much a classical opera with a few modern tints. It’s about a man who is grieving over his wife, Eurydice, who has just died. It’s about Orpheus’s journey which involves going into the underworld to get his wife back. There’s a real twist in this production.”