Organization

Singer

Tenor

Alessandro Giangrande

Echo

Gabriel Diaz

Fourth spirit

Víctor Sordo

Second spirit

First spirit

Soprano

Sara Mingardo

The messenger

Lise Viricel

The nymph

Bass

Salvo Vitale

Caronte

Pluto

Furio Zanasi

Apollo

Marianne Beate Kielland

Hope

Proserpina

Luciana Mancini

Music

Marc Mauillon

Orfeo

Euridice

Lighting designer

Pascal Noël

Costume designer

Bernadette Villard

Set designer

Emmanuel Clolus

Stage director

Pauline Bayle

Conductor

Jordi Savall

Baritone

Third shepherd

Second shepherd

First shepherd

Assistant Stage Director

Céline Gaudier

Yannis François

Fourth shepherd

Third spirit

Xavier Perez

Danseur

Opéra Grand Avignon

Opéra Royal de Versailles

Others

La Capella Reial de Catalunya

Orchestra

Le Concert des Nations

Opéra Comique

Italian

L'Orfeo -  (Orfeo)

Paris

France

Opéra-Comique

Rediscover the epic tale of Orpheus and Eurydice in Monteverdi's ageless L'Orfeo—the oldest opera still performed today! In a stark and refined mise en scène, featuring gorgeous costumes by Bernadette Villard and striking lighting design by Pascal Noël, the excellent soloists more than do justice to this monument of the operatic repertoire—under the direction of the great Jordi Savall, who has done more to popularize early music and the work of Monteverdi than perhaps anyone else alive.

Over the course of this enchanting drama, it is La Musique herself who first greets the public (the marvelous Luciana Mancini, who also plays the role of Eurydice). The plot follows its irrevocable course: soon after marrying Orpheus (the celebrated Marc Mauillon), the beautiful dryad Eurydice falls victim to a fatal snake bite. Despair overwhelms Orpheus's fellow shepherds, but he refuses to abandon hope, and—guided by Espérance (Hope)—takes up the route toward Hell in search of his betrothed. Pluto, god of the underworld, agrees to allow her to ascend back to the mortal plane—under one condition: on their journey back, Orpheus must not look back at Eurydice. Tragically, he yields to the temptation to turn around, and Eurydice is lost forever to the underworld. Orpheus, devastated, is comforted by Apollo, god of the arts, leaving us with a clear message: in difficult times, art and hope are steadfast allies that one must always keep close.

The decision to produce this opera in June 2021 was not without significance for the opera stage and the performers. In the words of Agnès Terrier, dramaturge at the Opéra-Comique, "After 15 months of pandemic hell, with all our artists guided by La Musica, let us bring light back into the theatre!"

The Orfeo
'Favola in musica' in a prologue and five acts by Claudio Monteverdi (1567 - 1643)
Libretto by Alessandro Striggio
Premiere in Mantua, Palazzo Ducale, 24 February 1607

Recording: June 10, 2021 - Opéra Comique | Paris
Directed by: François Roussillon
Duration: 01:58

Production booklet

Further reading