Gluck's opera, Orfeo ed Euridice is about a famous ancient Greek myth about Orfeo and his unfailing love for his dead wife, Euridice. Orfeo faces a huge dilemma to go to the underworld and regain his wife back to life. But can he adhere to the rules in order to get her back?

Orfeo ed Euridice is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck, based on the myth of Orpheus and set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the azione teatrale, meaning an opera on a mythological subject with choruses and dancing. The piece was first performed at the Burgtheater in Vienna on 5 October 1762, in the presence of Empress Maria Theresa. Orfeo ed Euridice is the first of Gluck's "reform" operas, in which he attempted to replace the abstruse plots and overly complex music of opera seria with a "noble simplicity" in both the music and the drama.  READ MORE ON WIKIPEDIA

SETTING

As Sophia says it on the Golden Girls, “Picture it” Orfeo ed Euridice is set in Thrace, Greece during ancient times in the countryside and the underworld.

Act 1: Euridice’s tomb

Act 2: Rocky landscape into the Underworld

Act 3: Elysian Fields/ Mythical countryside

LEGENDARY CAST- WHO YOU WILL HEAR

Due to time constraint, this opera talk features a partial cast. If you loved the program, purchase from our affiliates or borrow the above DVD’s from your local library to see the full cast.

TANISHA’S PICKS

 This opera talk features Tanisha’s favorite casts from these recordings. Click the link to purchase them for your own collection.

OPERA-ALIKES

If you thought Orfeo and Euridice's love affair was tragic, wait until you see these...