Claudio monteverdi l'orfeo summary

More info on L' Orfeo

About the opera L' Orfeo

L'Orfeo (SV ), sometimes called L'Orfeo, favola in musica, is an early Baroque opera by Claudio Monteverdi, with a libretto by Alessandro Striggio. It is based on the Greek legend of Orpheus, and tells the story of his descent to Hades and his fruitless attempt to bring his dead bride Eurydice back to the living world.

Written in for a court performance during the annual Carnival at Mantua, L'Orfeo is one of the earliest music dramas still regularly performed.
Within the musical theatre at the beginning of the 17th century the traditional intermedio—a musical sequence between the acts of a straight play—was evolving into the form of a complete musical drama or "opera".

Monteverdi's L'Orfeo moved this process out of its experimental era, and provided the first fully developed example within the new genre. After its initial performance the work was staged again in Mantua, and possibly in other Italian centres in the next few years. Its score was published by Monteverdi in and again in After the composer's death in the opera remained unperformed, and was largely forgotten until a revival of interest in the late 19th century led to a spate of modern editions and performances.

At first these tended to be unstaged versions within institutes and music societies, but following the first modern dramatised performance in Paris, in , the work was seen increasingly in theatres.

After the Second World War most new editions sought authenticity through the use of period instruments. Many recordings were issued, and the opera was increasingly staged in opera houses. In the quatercentenary of the premiere was celebrated by performances throughout the world.

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