Orfeo ed Euridice

Orfeo ed Euridice is an opera by Christoph Willibald Gluck. The libretto was written by Ranieri de'Calzabigi. It was first performed in Vienna on October 5, 1762.

Related Topics:
Opera - Christoph Willibald Gluck - Ranieri de'Calzabigi - Vienna - October 5 - 1762

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The opera is the first by Gluck showing signs of his ambition to reform opera seria. Self-contained numbers (aria, choruses and so on) make way for shorter pieces strung together to make larger structural units. Da capo arias are notable by their absence; Gluck instead uses strophic form (in act one's Chiamo il mio ben cosi, for example, in which each verse is interposed with dramatic recitatives) and rondo form (in act three's famous Che faro senza Euridice?), and simple recitatives accompanied only by the basso continuo are also absent. On the whole, old operatic conventions are disregarded in favour of giving the action dramatic impetus.

Related Topics:
Opera seria - Aria - Chorus - Da capo aria - Strophic form - Recitative - Rondo form - Basso continuo

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For a 1774 Paris production of the work, Gluck expanded and rewrote parts of the opera, creating a new version, Orphée et Eurydice (libretto translated into French and expanded by Pierre-Louis Moline). He also changed the role of Orpheus from a part for a castrato to one for high tenor (the French never used castrati). In the 19th century, Hector Berlioz made a version of the opera which combined the two versions - in his day, Orpheus was generally sung by a female alto or a tenor.

Related Topics:
1774 - Pierre-Louis Moline - Castrato - Tenor - 19th century - Hector Berlioz - Alto

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Orfeo ed Euridice is part of the standard operatic repertoire. There are a number of recordings of it, and it is regularly performed.

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Among other operas based on the story of Orpheus and Euridice are Claudio Monteverdi's Orfeo, Jacques Offenbach's operetta Orpheus in the Underworld, Orpheus operas by Franz Joseph Haydn and Georg Philipp Telemann, and Harrison Birtwistle's The Mask of Orpheus.

Related Topics:
Orpheus - Euridice - Claudio Monteverdi - Orfeo - Jacques Offenbach - Orpheus in the Underworld - Franz Joseph Haydn - Georg Philipp Telemann - Harrison Birtwistle - The Mask of Orpheus

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