Following the success of their recent production MOURN with Alkanna Graeca, FIGURE, in collaboration with Refound, return to present a preview of their new production, Orpheus and Euridice.

In the ancient Greek legend, Orpheus travels to the underworld to rescue his lost love, Euridice. He is granted the chance to bring her out of the afterlife and back to the world, but on the condition that he does not look back at her while he leads her. At the final moment, Orpheus can no longer resist the temptation, and turns to look at Euridice, tragically losing her again, forever. The story has been told and retold through history, and has been a particular source of inspiration to composers - Orpheus is a musician, and he is able to persuade the gods to let him find his dead lover because his sorrowful songs are so beautiful. Christoph Willibald Gluck’s working of the tale, his 1762 Orfeo ed Euridice, marks a significant moment in the history of opera: a departure from a form in which a narrative serves as a vehicle to showcase music and vocal athleticism, to one which puts the music in service of the drama.

In the spirit of Gluck’s reform, FIGURE is reworking his opera into a new chamber version for mixed ensemble. By contemporising the music with a modern sound palette, the opera is no longer an artefact of the 18th century but the modern drama which Gluck prioritised. 

This event is a preview starring Hugh Cutting, winner of the 2025 International Opera Rising Star Award and the first countertenor to win the Kathleen Ferrier Award, and is created by Laura Hounsell, winner of the 2025 Nicky Creed Award at Garsington Opera. The full production will be performed in November.

Violins

Leo Appel

James Toll

Cello

Sam Ng

Double Bass

Jan Zahourek

Percussion

James Larter

Harp

Oliver Wass

Music Director / Chamber Organ

Frederick Waxman

Photography credit: Matthew Johnson

In collaboration with virtuoso percussionist James Larter, Frederick Waxman, and FIGURE breathe new life into Vivaldi’s iconic Baroque concerto cycle. By reimagining the original composition, this performance transforms Vivaldi’s vivid depictions of the seasons, blending the texture of strings with an array of pitched and unpitched percussion instruments.

Following its “high-risk, high-reward” (The Times) premiere at the Stone Nest last year, Waxman and Larter reworked Rhythm of the Seasons for a larger ensemble, just recorded with Delphian Records to be released in March 2027. This is the first public performance of the new arrangement.

“Every one of Vivaldi’s familiar imitations, from barking dog to birdsong to drunken dance, sounded different, newly exposed, each vertebra tapped and rattled yet lovingly authentic.”
The Observer

“There were some striking innovations. Added suspensions turned Summer’s second movement into the best piece Benjamin Britten never wrote. Jazzy runs on vibraphone and harpsichord in Autumn exuded French New Wave cool, while a mellowed final movement with rippling marimba conjured up cinema’s fictional country of Wakanda. And the solo in Winter’s slow movement is better on the cello.”
The Times

“The dazzling soloist, James Larter, credited with making the arrangement with [conductor]Frederick Waxman, has stripped the score back to its bones, variously building it again with tuned percussion – vibraphone, marimba – and an array of drums, bongos, gongs, triangles, woodblocks, castanets, chopsticks and, as a ratchety addition, a güiro.”
Observer