Robert Spano And Lauri Stallings Collaborate Again With ‘Orfeo’

For their fourth creative collaboration, they will stage Christoph Willibald Gluck’s opera “Orfeo,” which includes several dance scenes. The collaboration also includes opera superstar David Daniels, director James Alexander and artist Daniel Arsham, who will be doing the scenography for the production and whose work is currently on view at the High Museum.

Spano and Stalling’s collaboration began in 2011 with the Finnish composer Kajia Saariaho’s ballet “Maa’.” Since then, they developed two original productions called “cloth” and “cloth{field},” where Spano wrote the score and Stallings did the choreography.

“We are always open and available in allowing people to have that wonderment and unexpectedness in our work,” Stallings said in an interview with Lois Reitzes.

One element of unexpectedness in their collaborations was bringing pallets of fresh grass into Symphony Hall, surprising performance-goers at its transformation. Another element that might surprise symphony audience is that in the collaborations, Spano has conducted without shoes and has actually moved with gloATL dancers.

“No one is more shocked than me,” Spano said. “I have a certain experience with movement but it’s in a very circumscribed way as a conductor. So for me, moving with her artists was pretty special.”

“Orfeo” is onstage at Symphony Hall this Thursday and Saturday at 8 p.m. Before the performances at 7:15 p.m., glo dancers will lead a campus migration from the High Museum of Art to the stage at Symphony Hall. In addition, glo will also host two workshops in the Atlanta Symphony’s rehearsal hall on Friday at 10:30 a.m. and Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m.