Editor’s note: Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question or to additional relevant information from around the web.
Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student assistant Nicole (class of 2024) and features the musical Hadestown. Thanks, Nicole!
Hadestown
Music, lyrics and book by Anaïs Mitchell
Have you heard of the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice?
It is an ancient Greek legend about the story of two lovers that ends up with them being separated by the Underworld for eternity. Singer and songwriter Anaïs Mitchell released her fourth album inspired by this famous tale, with a twist, back in 2006. It has been advertised as a “folk opera” which eventually became a stage production in 2019.
Hadestown tells the story of two lovers, Orpheus and Eurydice, trying to get through times of economic hardship. Unlike the original tale which highlights the location of the Greek Underworld, the stage production depicts a hellish industrial version of it. Orpheus reassures Eurydice that by composing songs he will find a solution to all their problems (“Wedding Song”). Other characters in the story are Hades, the ruler of a town where citizens are exploited for their labor, and Persephone, the beautiful and kind wife of the tyrant that rules Hadestown.
When Eurydice, unsure about Orpheus’ ability to provide for them, gets convinced by Hades to seek a better life in Hadestown, Orpheus sets on a journey to find her, which becomes the premise of the musical.
This successful musical, written by Anaïs Mitchell and directed by Rachel Chavkin, was a winner of 8 Tony Awards including Best Musical, and a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album.
Hadestown was the first musical I ever saw live when it began being performed in 2019. Not only does the story provide an original twist on a great classical tale, but also, the composition of the songs make this a stellar performance. The cast featuring Eva Noblezada and André De Shields have provided high quality performances for the last couple of years which help make this musical even more worth giving it a listen.
You can check out the piano/vocal selections score of songs from Hadestown at the Music Library!