Orfeo y Eurídice: Un viaje para decir adiós

As part of its family-oriented programming, Auditorio de Tenerife has scheduled  Orfeo y Eurídice: Un viaje para decir adiós in its La Salita hall. The show is to be performed by theatrical troupe Gaviera in a joint production with the Auditorio. The work is a family-friendly puppet show for spectators from ages four and up.

Orfeo y Eurídice: Un viaje para decir adiós tells the story of a young musician who has lost his best friend: a blue macaw. Based on the myth of Orpheus, this puppet show portrays the close friendship shared by an adolescent and a parrot that, after escaping from a zoo, only wishes to return to its native Brazil. However, during the journey, an accident claims Eurydice’s life, and Orpheus must venture through several worlds to find his friend.

Although the show may at first seem to be a story about a rescue, it actually explores the process of accepting the death of a loved one and poses questions to which any children can relate: What happens when someone dies? What happens to those who have to deal with that loss? What exactly is death? Why do we have to die? In the Greek myth, Orpheus heedlessly looks back at Eurydice, thus losing her forever. In this adaptation, however, Eurydice explains to him that death is natural and must be accepted.

The work also features other subjects related to nature: conservation of species, the role of zoos, the wildlife trade, and the loss of biodiversity. All of these issues are embodied by the character of Eurydice, a bird taken from its habitat and made a captive creature on display.

The show’s style and aesthetics are influenced by the handcrafted masks of Mascherata, resulting in a blend of performing and plastic art. This is seen in the designs, such as the space in the chest of the puppet representing Orpheus, which is not only a visual detail but also a representation of the emptiness felt upon his friend’s death. The images convey and amplify what the characters are unable to express with words.

The show’s jazz-based score is another of its main features. Orpheus studies trombone at the conservatory, and an actual trombonist plays the character’s repertoire during the performance. Just as the visual arts are intertwined with the narration, the score underpins each of the lead’s emotions, as he best expresses himself through music.

Orfeo y Eurídice: Un viaje para decir adiós is primarily intended for children, though adults will also find it interesting. As a society, we have made death a taboo: something that must be obscured for our protection. But we can learn to live through it only by speaking openly about it, because it is an inseparable part of our existence.