Friday 2 and Sunday 4 September
at The Vache, Chalfont St. Giles, HP8 4SD

La descente d’Orphée aux enfers (1686) by Marc-Antoine Charpentier

An opera in two acts prefaced with sound installations and pre-show pop-up performances, including Jephte (1648) by Giacomo Carissimi [20 mins]

Samuel Boden Orphée
Henry Waddington Pluton

Lauren Lodge-Campbell Euridice
Naho Koizumi Daphné
Katie-Louise Dobson Enone
Lila Chrisp Arethuze/Proserpine
Alexander Chance Ixion
Lars Fischer Tantale
Jamie Woollard Apollon/Tityé

Fi Silverthorn Dancer
Kenji Matsunaga Dancer

Jonathan Darbourne Music Director
Jeanne Pansard-Besson Director
Simeon Qsyea Choreographer
Laura Jane Stanfield Designer

Should promises always be kept? Should we enter into pacts? Do we have the free will to make decisions, right or wrong? Contemplate these questions for the ages in two fast-paced works by masters of musical drama, with sound installations exploring how our modern choices are fatefully linked to those made by people in ancient times. Join us in the exquisite grounds of The Vache for beautiful music played, sung and danced to by the very best artists.

Grounds open at 3pm for picnicking and exploring, as well as enjoying sound installations and pre-show pop-up performances. The main performance is scheduled to begin at 6.30pm, but may start up to half an hour before the scheduled start time due to changing weather conditions. We therefore recommend that all guests arrive no later than 6pm. Orphée running time is c. 60 mins, two acts with a short interval. Jephte running time is c. 20 mins.