The Hadestown Story: The Myth of Orpheus and Eurydice

There are stories that are timeless. The story of Orpheus and Eurydice began as a Greek myth thousands of years ago and has been reinvented all along the way until it reached the Broadway stage. The classic myth follows Orpheus, son of a muse, who had an spectacular talent at singing and playing the lyre, so talented as to be recognized by the gods. One day, he falls madly in love with Eurydice, who reciprocates his feelings (Britannica, 2022). However, shortly after marrying Orpheus, Eurydice is bitten by a snake and dies. In despair at losing his beloved, Orpheus descends to the underworld and confronts Hades, god of the dead, singing a song so beautiful that Hades allows Eurydice to return to the world of the living. But there is one condition: Eurydice must follow behind Orpheus, who cannot turn back until he reaches the world of the living. There are different interpretations of what happens next - some believe that Orpheus did not trust Hades, others that he doubted Eurydice's love - but the result is the same: Orpheus turns back and loses his beloved back to death.

Hadestown ha reimaginado este mito en un nuevo contexto: ya no estamos en la antigua Grecia, sino en un mundo post apocalíptico e industrial —inspirado en Nueva Orleans— sumido en un invierno que parece eterno. En esta versión, el amor idealista de Orfeo y Eurídice es un paralelo a la relación destructiva de Hades y Perséfone, los reyes del inframundo. Orfeo, tan idealista como en su versión mítica, busca hacer una canción para que la primavera vuelva, lo que hace que Eurídice se enamore de él y se casen. Sin embargo, el invierno trae hambre y sufrimiento y, mientras Orfeo está en busca de inspiración para su canción, Hades engaña a Eurídice para que baje al inframundo, prometiéndole un lugar seguro y caliente. Orfeo, así, se embarcará en una aventura para salvarla.

This reimagined version of the myth did not arrive directly at Broadway Anaïs Mitchell first created a musical with few songs, ambiguous and visual, staging shows around Vermont, with a jazzy style that captivated audiences with the help of donations. After the initial success, Anais decided in 2010 to make an album of this show and toured with it. In 2012, Anais moved to New York and sought bigger opportunities for Hadestownending up with a new adaptation of the story that has toured English West End theaters and made it all the way to Broadway. Currently Hadestown is the winner of 8 Tonys, including Best Musical, and is touring around the United States.

More and more adaptations of Hadestown alrededor del mundo. La historia de amor de Orfeo y Eurídice ha sido reimaginada para un contexto y reflexión actual, mientras que trae consigo un idealismo, romanticismo y tragedia clásica (Catenaccio, 2019). En el año 2022, Hadestown llega al Perú en nuestro taller de Montaje Musical en Spotlight de septiembre-diciembre.

References:

Wers (2022). The Local History of HadesTown. https://wers.org/the-local-story-of-hadestown/

Catenaccio, C. (2019). “Why We Build the Wall”: Hadestown in Trump’s America. https://classicalstudies.org/annual-meeting/150/abstract/why-we-build-wall-hadestown-trumps-america#:~:text=Hadestown%20was%20initially%20developed%20by,Greg%20Brown%2C%20and%20Ani%20DiFranco.

Britannica. Orpheus. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Orpheus-Greek-mythology

Photo: https://www.love4musicals.com/2020/03/02/c1m-hadestown/index.html