JOSIE IRELAND
Buxton International Festival
July 2025
A revival of Vache Baroque’s production of Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s ‘La Descente D’Orphee Aux Enfers’. Performed this time in the Pavilion Arts Centre for Buxton International Festival, this production was originally staged for Vache Baroque’s summer festival in 2023.
One of Charpentier’s shortest chamber operas, it is unclear whether he left this intentionally unfinished or if the third act was lost/never written. As such, the production finishes with Pluton granting Euridice back to Orphée, with conditions.
“[The team] create a staging with lots going on, and yet nothing distracts from the words, music and storytelling” - Opera Critic
Music Director: Jonathan Darbourne
Director: Jeanne Pansard-Besson
Choreographer: Simeon Qsyea
Designer: Laura Jane Stanfield
Lighting Designer: Andrew Ellis
Revival Lighting Designer: Josie Ireland
Assistant Director: Finn Lacey
Stage Manager: Rebekah Tunnel
Photography: Genevieve Girling