Orfeo (Orpheus) is an opera in three acts, a prologue and an epilogue by the Italian composer Luigi Rossi. The libretto, by Francesco Buti, is based on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Orfeo premiered at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris on 2 March 1647.[1] It was one of the earliest operas to be staged in France.
Rossi had already written one opera, Il palazzo incantato, for Rome. This aroused the interest of the French first minister, the Italian-born Cardinal Mazarin, who was eager to bring Italian culture to Paris and hired Rossi in 1646 to write an opera for the Paris carnival the following year. During his stay in France, Rossi learnt that his wife, Costanza, had died and the grief he felt influenced the music he was writing. The premiere was given a magnificent staging with the sets and stage machinery designed by Giacomo Torelli. Over 200 men were employed to work on the scenery. The choreography was by Giovan Battista Balbi. The performance, which lasted six hours, was a triumph. However, Rossi proved to be a victim of his own success. The expense of the performance was just one of many reasons stoking popular discontent against Cardinal Mazarin which soon broke out into full-scale rebellion (the Fronde). When Rossi returned to Paris in December, 1647, he found the court had fled Paris and his services were no longer required.
The first modern revival was given at La Scala in June 1982[2] with Jadranka Jovanović in the leading role.[3] It was also performed on 2 April 1988 at the Indiana University Opera Theater, Bloomington and on 27 November 1990 at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London.[4] It was given its New York staged premiere on 10 November 2021 at the Juilliard School.[5] [6]
| Role | Voice type[7] | Premiere Cast[8] |
|---|---|---|
| Orfeo/La Vittoria (Orpheus/Victory) | castrato (soprano) | |
| Euridice (Eurydice) | soprano | Anna Francesca Costa |
| Aristeo (Aristaeus) | castrato (soprano) | Marc'Antonio Pasqualini |
| Giove (Jupiter) | tenor | |
| Giunone (Juno) | soprano | |
| Pluto | bass | Alessandro Cecconi |
| Proserpina (Proserpine) | castrato (soprano, travesti) | Domenico Dal Pane |
| Himeneo/Sospetto (Hymenaeus/Suspicion) | castrato (soprano) | Marc'Antonio Sportonio |
| Caronte (Charon) | tenor | Venanzio Leopardi |
| Amore (Cupid) | soprano | |
| Venere (Venus) | soprano | Rosina Martini |
| Endimione (Endymion) | tenor | |
| Momo (Momus) | tenor | |
| Bacco (Bacchus) | soprano (travesti) | |
| Satiro (satyr) | baritone[9] | |
| Nutrice (nurse) | castrato (soprano, travesti)[10] | |
| La Gelosia (Jealousy) | castrato (alto) | Micinello Panfili |
| Mercurio (Mercury) | castrato (alto) | |
| Apollo | castrato (alto) | |
| Una vecchia (an old woman) | tenor (travesti) | |
| Augure (an augur) | bass | |
| Le grazie (the three Graces) | sopranos (castrati, travesti) | Marc'Antonio Sportonio, Domenico Dal Pane,[11] (not reported) |
| Le parche (the three Parcae) | two sopranos and one alto (castrati, travesti) | Marc'Antonio Sportonio, Domenico Dal Pane, (not reported) |
The French armies win a glorious battle. Victory predicts France will triumph over evil just as Orpheus triumphed over the powers of the underworld.
Orpheus and Eurydice are due to be married. But when Eurydice's father, Endymion, takes auguries they forebode trouble. Aristaeus is unhappily in love with Eurydice and calls on the goddess Venus for aid. She tells him the marriage cannot be stopped but she will do her best to seduce Orpheus and Eurydice away from one another. As the wedding takes place, the torches suddenly go out, another evil omen.
Venus, dressed as an old woman, tries to persuade Eurydice to love Aristaeus, but she is inflexible. Cupid betrays his mother, Venus's schemes to Orpheus and he rushes off to warn Eurydice. But Eurydice is bitten by a snake as she is dancing and dies.
The grieving Orpheus sets off to rescue Eurydice from the underworld. Eurydice's ghost drives Aristaeus mad and he commits suicide. The goddess Juno persuades Proserpine, the wife of Pluto (the king of the underworld), that she should be jealous of Eurydice's beauty and allow her to return to the land of the living with Orpheus. Proserpine persuades Pluto to release Eurydice and he does so on condition that Orpheus does not turn round to look at her before they have reached the upper world. Orpheus fails in this task and loses Eurydice again. In his grief, he seeks only death but Jupiter appears to tell him he, Eurydice and his lyre will be turned into constellations.
Mercury explains that Orpheus's lyre represents the fleur-de-lys of France. The transformation of Orpheus and Eurydice into constellations is a symbol of the Resurrection. He ends by wishing the young King Louis a long life.
According to Loewenberg, the livret (libretto) was not printed, but an abrégé (synopsis) in French was published in 1647. A manuscript of the music, discovered by Romain Rolland in 1888 at the Biblioteca Chigi in Rome, was later moved to the Biblioteca Barberini in Rome. Goldschmidt published excerpts in 1901.[12] Modern editions include one from G. Ricordi in Munich[13] and another edited by Clifford Bartlett.[14]