About the Production
The happiness of the singer Orfeo and his Euridice is short-lived: on the day of their wedding, Euridice is killed by a snake bite.
Orfeo refuses to accept fate and decides to descend into the underworld to bring Euridice back. He uses his singing to penetrate the realm of the dead and persuades its rulers, Proserpina and Pluto, to release Euridice. However, Orfeo is given the condition that he must not look around for her during their ascent together. On the way, however, Orfeo has doubts as to whether Euridice is really following him, so he turns back. His beloved then disappears - this time forever.
L'Orfeo
Storyline
It is the day of Orfeo and Euridice's wedding. Shepherds and nymphs celebrate the couple with dances and songs.
Orfeo is asked to sing a song. In his song, he thanks the creator of the universe. He expresses his happiness to Euridice about their being together. Euridice expresses her own happiness at Orfeo's love. The god of the wedding is invoked and a ceremony is held.
Orfeo celebrates the beauty of nature with the shepherds. He also recalls his earlier hopelessness, which makes his happiness with Euridice seem even more perfect. A messenger brings terrible news: Euridice has died from the poison of a snake. The happy mood turns to horror. Orfeo refuses to accept his fate. He wants to use the power of his songs to reach the underworld and bring Euridice back. If he does not succeed, he wants to stay with her in the realm of the dead.
Hope has accompanied Orfeo to the entrance to the Inferno. The law forbids her to go any further. She moves away. While Orfeo laments her loss, Caronte stands in his way. He is the ferryman who takes the dead across the River Lethe. He refuses Orfeo the crossing. No living person can enter the realm of the dead.
Orfeo tries to soften Caronte with his song. When the ferryman falls asleep, Orfeo is able to seize his boat and cross the river.
Proserpina asks her husband Plutone to release Euridice and let her return to life with Orfeo. The ruler of the underworld agrees to do so out of love for her.
However, he makes one condition: Orfeo must not look back at Euridice during his ascent to the light. In gratitude for his granting her permission, Plutone asks Proserpina to forgo her annual visit to the world of the living in future.
Orfeo and Euridice set off. Orfeo has doubts as to whether Euridice is really following him. He turns around after her. He immediately hears voices accusing him of breaking the law. Euridice disappears. Orfeo remains behind in despair.
Orfeo is back in the world of the living. He cannot overcome his pain at the loss of Euridice. An echo seems to comfort him, but above all reflects his own despair back to him. Orfeo once again praises his lost beloved and reviles all other women.
Apollo advises Orfeo not to let himself go. Just as he had previously enjoyed his happiness too much, he is now immersing himself too much in his pain. He advises Orfeo to accept his fate and ascend to heaven with him. There he will find Euridice's image in the sun and the stars. Orfeo agrees. Together, Apollo and Orfeo sing of the peace that Orfeo now hopes to find. A ceremony of the living confirms this hope.
Orfeo contains many different ingredients: the madrigal art of the late Renaissance, influences from the music of the French court, the first attempts at opera by the Florentine Camerata as well as all kinds of military and folk music. The framework for Orfeo was provided by the form of tragedy, which was used as a pretext to stage an elaborate courtly celebration and at the same time to make a dramatic-musical statement. Here, too, a wide variety of ingredients were used: scenery, stage machinery, polyphonic elements, dances, purely instrumental parts, recitatives and detailed stage characters.
in 2022, Monteverdi's L'Orfeo was performed for the first time at the Vienna State Opera. The production was part of a cycle of all three of the composer's surviving operas realized at this venue for the first time and at the same time a tribute to the eminent influence that this work, first performed in 1607, had on the entire history of music. In October and November, the title role will be embodied by Rolando Villazón, an artist whose versatility, infectious passion for music and musical theater and sparkling creativity have enriched the international opera world for almost a quarter of a century.
