The Orpheus myth has been revisited myriad times over the centuries, shaping musical, literary, and philosophical expression since its inception. Its themes of love, loss, death, and transcendence continue to resonate with artists and audiences today, inspiring creative returns that speak to new worlds. Composers and artists alike have used the Orpheus myth to explore music's expressive power, its role in shaping reality, and its capacity to transcend earthly experience.
This one-day interdisciplinary symposium will critically examine the Orpheus myth's enduring legacy in the operatic tradition, with focus on the relationship between theory and praxis.
The daytime portion features presentations of graduate student papers, chaired by Professors David Levin, Paula Harper, and Seth Brodsky. The evening portion features a concert of scenes from various Orpheus works, performed by UChicago graduate and undergraduate performers.
Graduate Symposium Schedule:
10:00-10:30am: Opening Remarks
10:30-12:00pm: Session 1 - Orphic Poetics and the Transformations of Loss
12:00-1:00pm Catered Lunch
1:00-2:30pm Session 2 - Contemporary Orphic Revisions: Identity, Art, and Resistance
2:30-3:00pm Short Snack Break
3:00-4:15pm Session 3 - Disembodied Orpheus: Sound, Signal, and the Fragmented Body
4:15-5:00pm closing roundtable
7:00pm: OPERA SCENES CONCERT (Fulton Recital Hall)
Click here to view the full schedule.
Image: Orpheus Leading Eurydice from the Underworld, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, 1861.