Nathan Berg as the Father and Erin Morley as Eurydice in Matthew Aucoin’s “Eurydice.” Photo: Marty Sohl / Met Opera Before the performance, I kept wondering: how do you even begin to retell the myth of Orpheus who travels to the underworld to reclaim his bride, Eurydice, when you are surrounded by such a massive number of adaptations in literature, music, film, ballet, and… even video games? How do you leave your own imprint on the story and not seem an imitator, and not make the tale either caricatural or overly melodramatic?

The English libretto is by Sarah Ruhl, based on her 2003 play by the same name. So, after finally seeing the second performance of Eurydice’s run at the Metropolitan Opera on Saturday, I declare myself unreservedly in the “loved it” camp. Others pointed out a lack of an original voice, claiming that they were hearing musical elements that were Philip Glass or John Adams or John Williams-like or… but then I just stopped listening to comments.

Some dismissed the work based on the mere youth of this composer (born in 1990), who had the “audacity” to take on the subject matter of the oldest surviving opera: Jacopo Peri’s Euridice (1600). Some of the comments showed me a clear divide between those who either loved Matthew Aucoin’s Eurydice and those who put it down. Inevitably, you can’t escape certain comments here and there.

Usually, I avoid reading reviews of a newly created opera when I plan on seeing it. You never know what to expect when seeing a new opera, and by “new,” I mean an opera that was recently composed and had its world premiere less than two years ago: in February 2020 at LA Opera.

Met opera eurydice