This spare, beautiful production was designed entirely in-house, by Philip Lienau (sets), Heidi Zamora (costumes), and Connie Yun (lights) working with former Resident Assistant Director Jose Maria Condemi. In Condemi’s imaginative staging, the charming former Young Artist Julianne Gearhart, as Amour, cheekily made her entrance on a bicycle. Gary Thor Wedow gave a luminous reading of Gluck’s score, sung passionately by Davinia Rodriguez as Eurydice and William Burden as Orphée.

Davinia Rodríguez (Eurydice) and William Burden (Orphée) in Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice, 2012. © Elise Bakketun

William Burden (Orphée) in Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice, 2012. © Elise Bakketun

Davinia Rodríguez (Eurydice) in Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice, 2012. © Elise Bakketun

The Seattle Opera Chorus as Blessed Spirits in Elysium in Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice, 2012. © Elise Bakketun

Dancers Daniel Howerton and Roxanne Foster as Blessed Spirits in Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice, 2012. © Elise Bakketun

Julianne Gearhart (Amour) in Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice, 2012. © Elise Bakketun