The Glance

In this contemporary retelling of the Orpheus myth, lovers Orphea and Eurydice struggle to build intimacy and trust in a world shaped by surveillance and control.

Act I

Act I begins with Eurydice meticulously cleaning and tidying their shared home. Orphea, a pop star, is working on a new song dedicated to Eurydice, "Love Shook My Heart." The song becomes a hit, and Orphea is invited to perform this song at their good friend’s wedding. Orphea is overjoyed at this honor. Frustrated that Eurydice is not putting all of her attention on Orphea and this honor, she demands Eurydice's attention. Using her lyre like live-looping instrument, the tape machine, she begins to conjure elements of the song along with a darker side of their relationship, one of Orphea's control and ownership of Eurydice.

Time passes, and we see Orphea on tour, presenting a live stream of her latest hit, “Love Shook My Heart.” While performing, Orphea gradually channels her divine nature and, in a trance, foresees Eurydice's future. Orphea returns from being on tour. On a rare night out together, we see Orphea's jealousy and mistrust arise concerning Eurydice's friendship with a common friend, Serpio. Orphea storms out, and Eurydice is left to consider what she truly wants and needs from their relationship.

In the final scene of Act I, Eurydice and Orphea attend an outdoor wedding. Tired of the wedding reception, Eurydice wanders into the woods and meadows beyond the wedding venue. Her nymph spirit feels a long-awaited sense of peace in the natural landscape. As she wanders, longtime friend and wedding guest Serpio finds her. Serpio supports Eurydice's personal journey. From a distance, Orphea sees Eurydice and Serpio together and misunderstands their relationship. In a moment of rage, Orphea slaps Eurydice, breaking her neck in an instant.

Act II

Act II begins with Eurydice confused and lost in what seems to be a dark tunnel. As she explores the tunnel untethered, she revels in her newfound freedom. She gradually realizes that this is the tunnel to the underworld, and not only has she lost her life, but at the hands of her love. As she comes to the end of the tunnel, Hades welcomes her to the underworld, and Eurydice comes to understand her deathly state.

In the world of the living, Orphea is lost without Eurydice. Unable to fully voice what she has done, she calls for Eurydice. Hades, using his orb, allows glimpses of Eurydice's voice to pass to the living world as Eurydice remembers the nightingales and honey bees of the living world.

Hades recognizes the parallel between Orphea and Eurydice, and himself and Persephone. He struggles to come to terms with his own domination of Persephone and the limits of love it has imposed, lamenting his loneliness each spring when Persephone returns to the world of the living.

As time passes, we see Orphea increasingly unhinged in her search for a connection to Eurydice, calling for her, attempting to force her return, and unable to move beyond her feelings of ownership. Eurydice continues to long for the world of the living, missing the light, the gleaming stars, and even the simple pleasures of cucumbers, apples, and pears. Hades, hearing Eurydice's lament and Orphea's longing, decides to give Orphea the chance to change - to come to the underworld under the condition that she may return with Eurydice only if she allows Eurydice to freely choose and be truly independent.

Orphea descends through the tunnel to the underworld, where she is confronted by her own admission of her violence and abuse of Eurydice. Eurydice calls her from the tunnel, and they reunite. Hades presents the rules of their return, and they begin their ascent in the tunnel. As they walk, Eurydice longs for the light of the living world. Orphea attempts to manage her anxiety. We see her struggle with her fear of abandonment as she is unable to hear Eurydice walking behind her. She calls to Eurydice, and unable to hear her, she begins to turn.