Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice is one of those classic operas that’s gone through just about every conceivable production, and, if you keep an eye on international opera news, there’s always a new staging showing up with some sort of twist.

This is a variation I hadn’t encountered before though: a staging in collaboration with a circus company, the Brisbane-based Circa. I’ll admit, I was sceptical at first, but soon realised that really, when you get right down to it, is it so different to have a circus troupe instead of the traditional ballet troupe in an operatic performance?

Both celebrate remarkable feats of athleticism and strength, so this is one new direction I’m happy for Opera Queensland to explore further.

Orpheus & Eurydice

Natalie Christie Peluso in Opera Queensland’s Orpheus & Eurydice. Photo © Jade Ferguson

This production, as far as I can tell, follows the original 1769 Parma version of the score, performed by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Dane Lam. The big differences here are the use of the Italian libretto (the 1774 Paris Opera version is, naturally, in French), and Orfeo being sung by a countertenor. In...