Monteverdi, C.: Orfeo L' [Opera] La Fenice, 2017

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Summary

The history books tell us that L'Orfeo was one of the earliest surviving operas, and the most frequently performed of its era. Monteverdi and his librettist called it a 'fable in music', one which ...

The history books tell us that L'Orfeo was one of the earliest surviving operas, and the most frequently performed of its era. Monteverdi and his librettist called it a 'fable in music', one which re-enacts the famous story of Orpheus who descends to the underworld in an attempt to bring his dead bride, Eurydice, back to life. His journey through Hades proves fruitless, as, being unable to resist looking back at Eurydice as she follows him back to the living world he thus inadvertently condemns her to return to the world of the dead. Orpheus su?ers, loses himself in the violence of grief, grows and fnally comes to a new and deeper understanding of himself. L'Orfeo is a magical introduction to Monteverdi's probing investigation of human nature, character and desire by means of music.

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