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{{Short description|Opera by Christoph Willibald Gluck}}
{{For|other operas on this subject|List of Orphean operas}}
{{good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox opera
| name              = {{Lang|it|Orfeo ed Euridice}}
| composer          = [[Christoph Willibald Gluck]]
| translated_name   = 
| image             = Gluck's Orphée - title page illustration (lightened and cropped).jpg
| image_upright     = 0.95
| caption           = Illustration from the first printed score (1764)
| librettist        = [[Ranieri de' Calzabigi]]
| language          = Italian
| based_on          = [[Orpheus|myth of Orpheus]] 
| premiere_date     = {{Start date|1762|10|05|df=y}}
| premiere_location = [[Burgtheater]], Vienna
}}

'''{{Lang|it|Orfeo ed Euridice}}''' ({{IPA|it|orˈfɛːo ed euriˈdiːtʃe|lang}}; {{Langx|fr|'''Orphée et Eurydice'''}}; {{Langx|en|i=yes|Orpheus and Eurydice}}) is an [[opera]] composed by [[Christoph Willibald Gluck]], based on [[Orpheus|the myth of Orpheus]] and set to a [[libretto]] by [[Ranieri de' Calzabigi]]. It belongs to the genre of the ''[[azione teatrale]]'', meaning an opera on a mythological subject with choruses and dancing.<ref name="Viking375">{{harvnb|Holden|Blyth|1993|p=375}}</ref> The piece was first performed at the [[Burgtheater]] in Vienna on 5 October 1762, in the presence of Empress [[Maria Theresa]]. ''Orfeo ed Euridice'' is the first of Gluck's "reform" operas, in which he attempted to replace the abstruse plots and overly complex music of ''[[opera seria]]'' with a "noble simplicity" in both the music and the drama.<ref name="Grove">{{harvnb|Hayes|2002}}</ref>

The opera is the most popular of Gluck's works,<ref name="Grove" /> and was one of the most influential on subsequent [[Opera in German|German operas]]. Variations on its plot—the underground rescue mission in which the hero must control, or conceal, his emotions—can be found in [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]]'s ''[[The Magic Flute]]'', [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]]'s ''[[Fidelio]]'', and [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]]'s ''[[Das Rheingold]]''.

Though originally set to an Italian libretto, ''Orfeo ed Euridice'' owes much to the genre of [[French opera]], particularly in its use of accompanied [[recitative]] and a general absence of vocal virtuosity. Indeed, twelve years after the 1762 premiere, Gluck re-adapted the opera to suit the tastes of a Parisian audience at the [[Académie Royale de Musique]] with a libretto by [[Pierre-Louis Moline]]. This reworking was given the title ''Orphée et Eurydice'',<ref name="title">The original spelling of the French title was ''Orphée et Euridice'', but modern French orthography uses ''Orphée et Eurydice''.</ref> and several alterations were made in vocal casting and [[orchestration]] to suit French tastes.

==Background==
[[File:Jean-Étienne Liotard - Portret van Graaf Francesco Algarotti.jpg|thumb|upright|Algarotti by [[Jean-Étienne Liotard]] in the [[Rijksmuseum]]]]
[[Francesco Algarotti]]'s ''Essay on the Opera'' (1755) was a major influence in the development of Gluck's reformist ideology.{{sfn|Orrey|Milnes|1987|p=81}} Algarotti proposed a heavily simplified model of ''opera seria'', with the drama pre-eminent, instead of the music or ballet or staging. The drama itself should "delight the eyes and ears, to rouse up and to affect the hearts of an audience, without the risk of sinning against reason or common sense". Algarotti's ideas influenced both Gluck and his librettist, Calzabigi.<ref name="Orrey83">{{harvnb|Orrey|Milnes|1987|p=83}}</ref> Calzabigi was himself a prominent advocate of reform,<ref name="Grove" /> and he stated, "If Mr Gluck was the creator of dramatic music, he did not create it from nothing. I provided him with the material or the chaos, if you like. We therefore share the honour of that creation."<ref name="Mestron">{{harvnb|Mestron|1994}}</ref>

Other influences included the composer [[Niccolò Jommelli]] and his ''maître de ballet'' at Stuttgart, [[Jean-Georges Noverre]].<ref name="Orrey83" /> Noverre's ''Lettres sur la danse'' (1760) called for dramatic effect over acrobatic ostentation; Noverre was himself influenced by the operas of [[Jean-Philippe Rameau|Rameau]] and the acting style of [[David Garrick]].<ref name="Orrey83" /> The considerable quantity of ballet in ''Orfeo ed Euridice'' is thought to be due to his influence. Jommelli himself was noted for his blending of all aspects of the production: ballet, staging, and audience.{{sfn|Orrey|Milnes|1987|p=82}}

==Roles==
{| class="wikitable"
!Role
![[Voice type]]
!{{nowrap|Vienna premiere cast}}<br>5 October 1762
!Revised Italian version<br>{{nowrap|Parma premiere cast}}<br>24 August 1769<br>Conductor: Gluck
!Revised French version<br>{{nowrap|Paris premiere cast}}<br>2 August 1774
|-
|Orfeo
|[[alto]] [[castrato]] (Vienna premiere),<br>{{nowrap|[[soprano]] castrato (Parma premiere),}}<br> [[haute-contre]] (high tenor, French premiere)
|[[Gaetano Guadagni]]<br>&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;
|&nbsp;<br>[[Giuseppe Millico]]<br>&nbsp;
|&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;<br>[[Joseph Legros]]<br>&nbsp;
|-
|Amore
|soprano ([[en travesti]])
|Lucia Clavereau<ref name="Grove" />
|Felicita Suardi
|[[Sophie Arnould]]
|-
|Euridice
|soprano
|[[Marianna Bianchi]]<ref name="Grove" />
|Antonia Maria Girelli-Aguilar
|[[Rosalie Levasseur]]
|-
| colspan="5"|Chorus and dancers: ''shepherds, shepherdesses, nymphs, demons, [[Furies]], happy spirits, heroes and heroines''
|}

==Synopsis==
''The first lines of arias, choruses, etc., are given in Italian (1762 version) and French (1774 version).''
[[File:Gaetano Guadagni.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Gaetano Guadagni]], the first Orfeo]]

===Act 1===
A chorus of [[nymph]]s and shepherds join Orfeo around the tomb of his wife Euridice in a solemn chorus of mourning; Orfeo is only able to utter Euridice's name (Chorus and Orfeo: "Ah, se intorno"/"Ah! Dans ce bois"). Orfeo sends the others away and sings of his grief in the aria "Chiamo il mio ben"/"Objet de mon amour", the three verses of which are preceded by expressive recitatives. This technique was extremely radical at the time and indeed proved overly so for those who came after Gluck: Mozart chose to retain the unity of the aria. Amore ([[Cupid]]) appears, telling Orfeo that he may go to the Underworld and return with his wife on the condition that he not look at her until they are back on earth (1774 only: aria by Amour, "Si les doux accords"). As encouragement, Amore informs Orfeo that his present suffering shall be short-lived with the aria "Gli sguardi trattieni"/"Soumis au silence". Orfeo resolves to take on the quest. In the 1774 version only he delivers an ariette ("L'espoir renaît dans mon âme") in the older, showier, Italian style, originally composed for an occasional entertainment, ''Il Parnaso confuso'' (1765), and subsequently re-used in another one, ''[[Le feste d'Apollo]]'' (1769).<ref name="Viking375" />

===Act 2===
In a rocky landscape, the [[Furies]] refuse to admit Orfeo to the Underworld, and sing of [[Cerberus]], its canine guardian ("Chi mai dell’Erebo"/"Quel est l'audacieux"). When Orfeo, accompanied by his [[lyre]] (represented in the opera by a [[harp]]), begs for pity in the aria "Deh placatevi con me"/"Laissez-vous toucher", he is at first interrupted by cries of "No!"/"Non!" from the Furies, but they are eventually softened by the sweetness of his singing in the arias "Mille pene"/"Ah! La flamme" and "Men tiranne"/"La tendresse", and let him in ("Ah, quale incognito affetto"/"Quels chants doux"). In the 1774 version, the scene ends with the "Dance of the Furies" (No. 28).<ref>In the [[Metropolitan Opera]] productions in the 1950s, or even earlier, that number concluded act 1 of the opera, and act 2 starts with the ballet music of the next scene.</ref>

The second scene opens in [[Elysium]]. The brief ballet of 1762 became the four-movement "Dance of the Blessed Spirits" (with a prominent part for solo [[flute]]) in 1774. This is followed (1774 only) by a solo which celebrates happiness in eternal bliss ("Cet asile"), sung by either an unnamed Spirit or Euridice, and repeated by the chorus. Orfeo arrives and marvels at the purity of the air in an arioso ("Che puro ciel"/"Quel nouveau ciel"). But he finds no solace in the beauty of the surroundings, for Euridice is not yet with him. He implores the spirits to bring her to him, which they do (Chorus: "Torna, o bella"/"Près du tendre objet").

===Act 3===
{{Listen|type=music|filename=Gluck - Schumann - Heink - Che faro senza Euridice (In German) (1907).ogg|title="Che farò senza Euridice" (in German)|description=[[Ernestine Schumann-Heink]] (1907)}}
On the way out of [[Hades]], Euridice is delighted to be returning to earth, but Orfeo, remembering the condition related by Amore in act 1, lets go of her hand and refusing to look at her, does not explain anything to her. She does not understand his action and reproaches him, but he must suffer in silence (Duet: "Vieni, appaga il tuo consorte"/"Viens, suis un époux"). Euridice takes this to be a sign that he no longer loves her, and refuses to continue, concluding that death would be preferable. She sings of her grief at Orfeo's supposed infidelity in the aria "Che fiero momento"/"Fortune ennemie" (in 1774, there is a brief duet before the reprise). Unable to take any more, Orfeo turns and looks at Euridice; again, she dies. Orfeo sings of his grief in the famous aria "Che farò senza Euridice?"/"J’ai perdu mon Eurydice" ("What shall I do without Euridice?"/"I have lost my Euridice") Orfeo decides he will kill himself to join Euridice in Hades, but Amore returns to stop him (1774 only: Trio: "Tendre Amour"). In reward for Orfeo's continued love, Amore returns Euridice to life, and she and Orfeo are reunited. After a four-movement ballet, all sing in praise of Amore ("Trionfi Amore"). In the 1774 version, the chorus ("L’Amour triomphe") precedes the ballet, to which Gluck had added three extra movements.

==Performance history==
[[File:FerrierOrfeo1949-3.jpg|left|thumb|Ferrier in Orfeo & Eurydice (1949)]]
The opera was first performed in Vienna at the [[Burgtheater]] on 5 October 1762, for the [[name day]] celebrations of the [[Emperor Francis I]]. The production was supervised by the reformist theatre administrator, Count [[Giacomo Durazzo]]. Choreography was by [[Gasparo Angiolini]], and set designs were by [[Giovanni Maria Quaglio the Elder]], both leading members of their fields. The first Orfeo was the famous [[castrato]] [[Gaetano Guadagni]]. ''Orfeo'' was revived in Vienna during the following year, but then not performed until 1769. For the performances that took place in London in 1770, Guadagni sang the role of Orpheus, but little of the music bore any relation to Gluck's original, with [[Johann Christian Bach|J. C. Bach]] – "the English Bach" – providing most of the new music.<ref name="Grove" /> [[Joseph Haydn|Haydn]] conducted a performance of the Italian version at [[Eszterháza]] in 1776.

During the early 19th century, [[Adolphe Nourrit]] became particularly well known for his performances of Orpheus at the Paris Opera. In 1854 [[Franz Liszt]] conducted the work at [[Weimar]], composing a symphonic poem of his own to replace Gluck's original overture.<ref name="Grove" /> Typically during the 19th century and for most of the 20th century, the role of ''Orfeo'' was sung by a female [[contralto]], and noted interpreters of the role from this time include Dame [[Clara Butt]], [[Kathleen Ferrier]] and [[Ewa Podleś]], and the [[mezzo-soprano]]s [[Rita Gorr]], [[Marilyn Horne]], Dame [[Janet Baker]], [[Susanne Marsee]], and [[Risë Stevens]] (at the [[Metropolitan Opera]]).<ref name="Grove" /> Among conductors, [[Arturo Toscanini]] was a notable proponent of the opera.<ref name="Grove" /> His November 1952 radio broadcast of act 2 was eventually released on [[LP album|LP]] and [[CD]].

In 2017 the [[Lyric Opera of Chicago]] presented a new production by choreographer [[John Neumeier]] which fuses the musical and ballet elements of the opera and features the [[Joffrey Ballet]]. The production uses the 1774 "Paris version" (albeit with a rearranged finale), with the part of Orfeo being sung by a tenor.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://chicagoclassicalreview.com/2017/09/lyric-opera-and-joffrey-ballet-join-forces-for-a-stylish-imaginative-orphee/|title=Lyric Opera and Joffrey Ballet join forces for a stylish, imaginative "Orphée" Sun Sep 24, 2017 at 3:52 pm|last=Johnson|first=Lawrence A.|date=24 September 2017|work=Chicago Classical Review|access-date=12 March 2018}}</ref> The main characters are presented in a modern setting with Orfeo as a choreographer, Euridice as his principal dancer, and Amour as his assistant.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/reviews/ct-ent-lyric-joffrey-orphee-review-20170924-story.html|title=Review: Triumphant new 'Orphee' presages strong partnership of Lyric Opera, Joffrey Ballet|last=von Rhein|first=John|date=24 September 2017|work=Chicago Tribune|access-date=12 March 2018}}</ref> The same production was staged by the [[Los Angeles Opera]] in 2018 and by the [[Staatsoper Hamburg]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://lisetteoropesa.com/career/2018/la-opera-orfeo-ed-euridice|title=Orfeo ed Euridice|work=AP|publisher=lisetteoropesa.com|access-date=12 March 2018}}</ref> and the [[Festspielhaus Baden-Baden]] in 2019.<ref>[https://www.festspielhaus.de/en/events/orph%C3%A9e-et-eurydice-chr-w-gluck?date=2019-09-27-1900 Festspielhaus Baden Baden Website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200617080007/https://www.festspielhaus.de/en/events/orph%C3%A9e-et-eurydice-chr-w-gluck?date=2019-09-27-1900 |date=17 June 2020 }}.</ref>

==Revised versions==
[[File:Orphée et Euridice, Tragédie, Opera en trois actes 1774 - Gallica 2012 (adjusted).jpg|thumb|upright|Title page of the 1774 French version, as published by Lemarchand]]

===1769 Parma version===
In 1769, for ''[[Le feste d'Apollo]]'' at [[Parma]] (which was conducted by the composer), Gluck transposed part of the role of Orfeo up for the soprano castrato [[Giuseppe Millico]], maintaining a libretto in Italian. After not having been performed for a very long time, this version was finally given its first modern revival on 13 November 2014 at the ''{{ill|Tage Alter Musik|de|Tage Alter Musik in Herne}}'' in [[Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia|Herne]], with a countertenor in the title role.<ref>Thomas Molke, "[http://www.omm.de/veranstaltungen/festspiele2014/HER-2014-le-feste-d-apollo.html Gelungener Festival-Abschluss]"; ''Online Musik Magazin'', 16 November 2014.</ref> It was staged again, with [[Cecilia Bartoli]] in the male lead, at the 2023 [[Salzburg Whitsun Festival]]<ref>{{cite web|access-date=25 June 2025 |author=Pietro Dall'Aglio |date=13 June 2025 |language=it |title=Salisburgo, Festival di Pentecoste – Orfeo ed Euridice (con Cecilia Bartoli) |url=https://www.connessiallopera.it/recensioni/2023/salisburgo-festival-di-pentecoste-orfeo-ed-euridice-con-cecilia-bartoli/ |website=Connessi all'Opera}}<!-- auto-translated from Italian by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> and later at [[Cremona]]'s [[Teatro Amilcare Ponchielli|Teatro Ponchielli]] in June 2025.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=25 June 2025 |author=Fabio Larovere |date=13 June 2025 |language=it |title=Cremona, Monteverdi Festival 2025 – Orfeo ed Euridice (con Cecilia Bartoli) |url=https://www.connessiallopera.it/recensioni/2025/cremona-monteverdi-festival-2025-orfeo-ed-euridice-con-cecilia-bartoli/ |website=Connessi all'Opera}}<!-- auto-translated from Italian by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>

===Gluck's 1774 Paris Opera version===
Gluck revised the score again for a production by the [[Paris Opera]] premiering on 2 August 1774 at the second [[Salle du Palais-Royal]]. Renamed ''Orphée et Eurydice'',<ref name="title" /> this version had a French libretto by [[Pierre-Louis Moline]], which expanded as well as translated Calzabigi's original. Gluck composed additional music and made other adjustments such as shifting Orpheus down to a high [[tenor]], or ''[[haute-contre]]'', from [[castrato]], to suit the convention in French opera for heroic characters (the French almost never used castratos). The opera now had more ballet sequences, conforming to Paris taste, including the long "Dance of the Furies" originally written for Gluck's ballet ''Don Juan'' and the "Dance of the Blessed Spirits" for flute and strings. (By 1825 operatic castrati themselves had virtually vanished, and performances of the original version for castrato became increasingly rare. The modern practice of approximating castrati by using [[countertenor]]s as replacements dates back only to 1950.<ref name="Grove" />)

===Berlioz's 1859 version for mezzo-soprano===
[[File:Pauline Viardot as Orphée (1860) - Holoman p496.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Pauline Viardot as Orphée]]

From 1784 to 1859 the Parisian ''[[Wikt:diapason|diapason]]'' ([[concert pitch]]) rose steadily from 820 to 896 cycles per second,{{sfn|Walsh|1981|p=129}} thus Gluck's French version for ''haute-contre'' became increasingly impractical.<ref name=Cairns637>{{harvnb|Cairns|1999|p=637}}</ref> When [[Adolphe Nourrit]] sang the role at the Opéra in 1824 his music was altered.{{sfn|Cairns|1999|p=636}} [[Giacomo Meyerbeer]] suggested to the French [[mezzo-soprano]] [[Pauline Viardot]] that she should perform the role of Orfeo.<ref name=Holoman>{{harvnb|Holoman|1989|p=494}}</ref> The composer [[Hector Berlioz]] was a close friend of Viardot and the leading expert in France on the music of Gluck.<ref>Berlioz noted that the composer and chess-expert [[François-André Danican Philidor|Philidor]] had stolen parts of Gluck's ''Orfeo'' for his own 1764 opera, ''Le sorcier''. {{harvnb|Berlioz|1915|pp=30–33}}.</ref> He knew the score of "the largely forgotten Italian original as thoroughly as he knew the French",<ref name=Cairns637 /> and agreed to prepare a version of the opera – in four acts – with Viardot's voice in mind:<ref name="Holden136">{{harvnb|Holden|Kenyon|Walsh|1995|p=136}}</ref> thus, he did not simply "return to the original [[contralto]] version, but rearranged and retransposed the Paris version into keys more suitable for a mezzo".<ref>{{harvnb|Mackerras|2010|p=100}}</ref> In his adaptation, Berlioz used the key scheme of the 1762 Vienna score while incorporating much of the additional music of the 1774 Paris score. He returned to the Italian version only when he considered it to be superior either in terms of music or in terms of the drama. He also restored some of the more subtle orchestration from the Italian version<ref name=Hayes746>{{harvnb|Hayes|1992|p=746}}</ref> and resisted proposals by Viardot and the theatre's director [[Léon Carvalho]] to modernize the orchestration. In the end [[Camille Saint-Saëns]], who was acting as Berlioz's assistant on the project, did some of the minor rewriting which Berlioz had declined to do.<ref name=Holoman />

The Berlioz version was first presented at the [[Théâtre Lyrique]] on 18 November 1859 with Viardot as Orphée, [[Marie Sasse]] as Eurydice, Marie Ernestine Marimon as L'Amour, Mlle Moreau as L'Ombre, and [[Adolphe Deloffre]] as the conductor. The sets were designed by [[Charles-Antoine Cambon]] and Joseph Thierry, and the choreography was by [[Lucien Petipa]]. (The seventeen-year-old [[Jules Massenet]] was the orchestra's [[timpani]]st. During the rehearsals Berlioz had complimented the young player on the accuracy of his [[tuning (music)|tuning]].) The production was a popular and critical success, filling the house every night, and was given a total of 138 times by the company.<ref>{{harvnb|Walsh|1981|pp=112, 312}}; {{harvnb|Cairns|1999|pp=637, 639}}</ref>
[[File:Orfeo (mezzosoprano), figurino di Alfredo Edel per Orphée et Eurydice (1889) - Archivio Storico Ricordi ICON004459.jpg|thumb|''Orfeo (mezzosoprano)'', costume design for a four-act ''Orfeo'' (1889)<ref>In 1889 a four-act ''Orfeo'', evidently inspired by Berlioz's version, was staged at the [[Teatro La Fenice]] in Venice (cf. [http://corago.unibo.it/libretto/0001732560 Corago - Università di Bologna]).</ref>]]

===Subsequent versions===
By 1860 most theaters in Paris had lowered concert pitch to ''diapason normal''.{{sfn|Walsh|1981|pp=128–129, 131}} This was not as low as in Gluck's time: "a Commission had lately recommended that the pitch in France should be lowered from an A of 896 to 870 vibrations."{{sfn|Walsh|1981|p=93}} Still this was apparently enough that later in the 19th century the role of Orpheus came to be sung almost as frequently by a tenor as by a contralto.<ref name=Hayes746 />

Berlioz's version is one of many which combine the Italian and French scores, although it is the most influential and well regarded. Since about 1870 three-act adaptations of the Berlioz score, translating it back into Italian and restoring much of the music from the 1774 French version which Berlioz had left out, were common. An 1889 edition for contralto, published by [[Casa Ricordi|Ricordi]], became the most popular.<ref name=Hayes746 /> On occasion the role of Orfeo has even been transposed down an octave for a [[baritone]] to sing. [[Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau]] and [[Hermann Prey]] are two notable baritones who have performed the role in Germany.<ref name="Grove" /> Fischer-Dieskau recorded the opera several times; his recordings are still available commercially.

==''Orfeo'' and the reform==
The opera was the first by Gluck showing signs of his ambition to reform ''[[opera seria]]''. Self-contained [[aria]]s and [[refrain|chorus]]es make way for shorter pieces strung together to make larger structural units. [[Da capo aria]]s are notable by their absence;<ref name="Grove" /> Gluck instead uses [[strophic form]], notably in act one's "Chiamo il mio ben così", where each verse is interposed with dramatic [[recitative]], – that is, ''stromentato'', where the voice is accompanied by part or all of the orchestra – and [[rondo form]], such as in act three's famous "Che farò senza Euridice?". Also absent is traditional ''secco'' recitative, where the voice is accompanied only by the [[basso continuo]].<ref name="Grove" /> On the whole, old Italian operatic conventions are disregarded in favour of giving the action dramatic impetus. The complexity of the storyline is greatly reduced by eliminating subplots. Gluck was influenced by the example of French ''[[tragédie en musique|tragédies en musique]]'', particularly those of [[Jean-Philippe Rameau|Rameau]]. Like them, the opera contains a large number of expressive dances, extensive use of the chorus and accompanied recitative.<ref name="Grove" /> The ''coup de théâtre'' of opening the drama with a chorus mourning one of the main characters is very similar to that used in Rameau's ''[[Castor et Pollux]]'' (1737).<ref>{{harvnb|Girdlestone|1990|p=202}}. Girdlestone compares the effect of the two opening scenes in detail.</ref> Other elements do not follow Gluck's subsequent reforms; for instance, the brisk, cheerful overture does not reflect the action to come.<ref name="Grove" /> The role of Orfeo calls for an especially gifted actor, so that the strophic "Chiamo il mio ben così" does not become dull, and so that tragic import can be given both to this aria and to "Che farò senza Euridice?", both of which are based on harmonies that are not obviously mournful in nature.<ref name="Noiray">{{harvnb|Noiray|1994}}</ref> The first Orfeo, Gaetano Guadagni, was reputedly a fine actor who had certainly taken lessons while in London from the Shakespearian actor [[David Garrick]]. Guadagni was apparently also able to project a moving and emotive tone without raising his voice.<ref name="Noiray" /> Indeed, Gluck faced criticism of "Che farò senza Euridice?" on the grounds that it was emotionally uninvolved; he responded by pointing out the absolute necessity of fine execution of the aria: "make the slightest change, either in the movement or in the turn of expression, and it will become a saltarello for marionettes".<ref name="Noiray" />

Gluck's reforms, which began with ''Orfeo ed Euridice'', have had significant influence throughout operatic history. Gluck's ideals heavily influenced the popular works of [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]], [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]], and [[Carl Maria von Weber|Weber]],{{sfn|Orrey|Milnes|1987|p=88}} with Wagner's ''[[Gesamtkunstwerk]]'' vision especially influenced by that of Gluck.{{sfn|Orrey|Milnes|1987|p=169}} Old-style ''opera seria'' and the domination of [[Ornament (music)|embellishment]]-orientated singers came to be increasingly unpopular after the success of Gluck's operas as a whole and ''Orfeo'' in particular.<ref name="Grove" /> In ''Orfeo ed Euridice'' the orchestra is far more predominant than in earlier opera, most notably in Orfeo's ''arioso'' "Che puro ciel". Here the voice is reduced to the comparatively minor role of recitative-style declamation, while the [[oboe]] carries the main melody, supported by solos from the flute, cello, bassoon, and horn. There is also accompaniment from the strings (playing in triplets) and the continuo in the most complex orchestration that Gluck ever wrote.<ref name="Grove" />

==Orchestration==
Gluck made a number of changes to the orchestration of ''Orfeo'' when adapting it from the original Italian version to the French version of 1774. [[Cornett]]s and ''[[chalumeau]]x'' are replaced by more common and modern oboes and [[clarinet]]s, while the part played by [[trombone]]s considerably decreases, possibly due to a lack of technical ability on the part of the French trombonists.<ref name="Mestron" /> Cornetts were instruments that were typically used for church music, and ''chalumeaux'' were predominant only in [[chamber music]]: both cornetts and ''chalumeaux'' were unpopular in France in 1774.<ref name="Mestron" /> In many ways the change from ''chalumeau'' to oboe corresponds to that from castrato to high tenor.<ref name="Mestron" /> Neither castrato nor ''chalumeau'' were to survive.<ref name="Mestron" />

In both the Italian and French version Orfeo's lyre is represented by the harp, and it was this use of the instrument in 1774 that it is usually thought introduced the harp to French orchestras.<ref name="Mestron" /> Each verse of the strophic "Chiamo il mio ben cosi" is accompanied by different solo instruments. In Vienna these were flute, horns, and [[English horn]]s, but in 1774 Gluck was required to change this orchestration to that of a single horn and two clarinets, again replacing uncommon instruments with those in far more widespread usage.<ref name="Mestron" /> During the aria "Chiamo il mio ben cosi" and the interspersing recitatives Gluck added another offstage orchestra consisting of strings and ''chalumeaux'', in order to provide an echo effect.<ref name="Grove" />

==Scores and librettos==
For the original 1762 Italian version, ''Orfeo ed Euridice, azione teatrale'' in three acts, the libretto was published by van Ghelen (Vienna, 1762) and the full score by Duchesne (Paris, 1764). Many 18th-century manuscript copies of the full score may be found in libraries, including the [[Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde]] in Vienna, the [[Österreichische Nationalbibliothek]] in Vienna, the [[Bibliothèque Nationale]] (BNF) in Paris, the [[Bibliothèque-Musée de l'Opéra]] in Paris, and the [[British Library]] in London.{{sfn|Howard|2003|p=6}} A critical edition, edited by [[Anna Amalie Abert]] and [[Ludwig Finscher]], was published in 1963 as part of [[Bärenreiter]]'s ''{{Lang|de|Sämtliche Werke}}'' ("Complete Works").<ref>{{harvnb|Howard|2003|pp=6, 12}}; [http://www.worldcat.org/title/orfeo-ed-euridice-orpheus-und-eurydike-wiener-fassung-von-1762-azione-teatrale-per-musica-in-drei-akten/oclc/13022153/editions?sd=desc&referer=br&se=yr&editionsView=true&fq= listings of Bärenreiter's edition of the 1762 score] at [[WorldCat]].</ref>

For the 1774 French version, ''Orphée et Eurydice, tragédie opéra'' in three acts, the libretto was published by Delormel (Paris, 1774) and the full score by Lemarchand (Paris, 1774). A critical edition, edited by musicologist [[Ludwig Finscher]], was published in 1967 as part of Bärenreiter's ''Sämtliche Werke''. Substantial fragments of autograph scores are in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris and the Bibliothèque-Musée de l'Opéra in Paris.<ref>{{harvnb|Howard|2003|pp=7, 12}}; [http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=kw%3Abärenreiter+ti%3Aorphee+et+eurydice+au%3Afinscher&qt=advanced&dblist=638 listings of Bärenreiter's edition of the 1774 score] at WorldCat.</ref>

==Recordings==
{{main|Orfeo ed Euridice discography}}
There have been numerous recordings of the different versions, especially of the Berlioz adaptation featuring a female Orfeo. The British [[contralto]] [[Kathleen Ferrier]] and American [[mezzo-soprano]] [[Marilyn Horne]] were especially notable interpreters.<ref name="Grove" /> In recent years, recordings and stage productions of the Vienna version of the opera have featured [[countertenor]]s in the role of Orpheus. Countertenors [[Derek Lee Ragin]], [[Jochen Kowalski]], [[René Jacobs]], [[James Bowman (countertenor)|James Bowman]], and [[Michael Chance]] have recorded ''Orfeo ed Euridice''. The role of Orfeo has also been performed and recorded by tenors and even baritones such as [[Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau]], who has made three recordings of the role. Until recent times, most recordings of all versions were cut or altered in some way.{{sfn|Loppert|1979|pp=26–31}}

Recordings of the French version for tenor are still relatively rare due to a lack of genuine ''haute-contres'':<ref name="Grove" /> there is one from the mid-1950s starring [[Léopold Simoneau]] opposite his wife [[Pierrette Alarie]], and [[Nicolai Gedda]] also recorded the role in 1955.<ref name="Grove" /> (Simoneau's version has been available on CD, although not at present, but Gedda's recording had its premiere CD release in 2009.) In 2002 [[haute-contre]] [[Jean-Paul Fouchécourt]] added his version, while [[Marc Minkowski]] brought out a period instrument performance with [[Richard Croft (tenor)|Richard Croft]] in the title role in 2004. In April 2010, a concert performance recorded in Madrid two years earlier by ''[[tenore di grazia]]'' [[Juan Diego Flórez]], was finally released. There is also a DVD of the 1993 [[Opera Australia|Australian Opera]] production, directed by [[Stefanos Lazaridis]], with Australian ''haute-contre'' [[David Hobson (tenor)|David Hobson]] as Orphée.

In 2018 [[Erato Records|Erato]] released a recording using the score as performed in Italian at the [[Teatro San Carlo]] in Naples in 1774. The theatre had adapted the score to include additions by [[Johann Christian Bach]] and variations for soprano coloratura. In this recording [[Philippe Jaroussky]] sings Orfeo and [[Amanda Forsythe]] is Euridice.<ref>Denis, Gilles (23 March 2018). [https://www.lesechos.fr/week-end/culture/spectacles/0301466254554-les-metamorphoses-dorphee-2163642.php "Les métamorphoses d'Orphée"]. ''[[Les Echos (France)|Les Echos]]''. Retrieved 14 May 2018 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>

==References==
===Notes===
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

===Sources===
* {{cite book|last=Berlioz|first=Hector|author-link=Hector Berlioz|translator=Edwin Evans|translator-link=Edwin Evans (music critic)|url=https://archive.org/details/gluckhisoperaswi00berluoft|title=Gluck and His Operas|location=London|publisher=Wm Reeves|year=1915}}
* {{cite book|last=Cairns|first=David|author-link=David Cairns (writer)|year=1999|title=Berlioz. Volume Two: Servitude and Greatness 1832–1869|location=Berkeley, California|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-22200-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Girdlestone|first=Cuthbert|author-link=Cuthbert Girdlestone|title=Jean-Philippe Rameau: His Life and Work|publisher=[[Dover Publications]]|location=New York|year=1990|isbn=0-486-26200-6}}
* {{cite book|last=Hayes|first=Jeremy|year=1992|chapter=''Orfeo ed Euridice''|editor-last=Sadie|editor-first=Stanley|editor-link=Stanley Sadie|title=[[The New Grove Dictionary of Opera]]|volume=3|pages=744–749|location=London|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-1-56159-228-9}}
* {{cite Grove|title=Orfeo ed Euridice|last=Hayes|first=Jeremy|year=2002|id=O008226}}
* {{cite book|last1=Holden|first1=Amanda|author-link1=Amanda Holden (writer)|last2=Blyth|first2=Alan|author-link2=Alan Blyth|title=The Viking Opera Guide|publisher=Viking|location=New York|year=1993|isbn=0-670-81292-7|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780670812929}}
* {{cite book|editor1-last=Holden|editor1-first=Amanda|editor-link1=Amanda Holden (writer)|editor2-first=Nicholas|editor2-last=Kenyon|editor3-first=Stephen|editor3-last=Walsh|title=The Penguin Opera Guide|publisher=Penguin|year=1995|isbn=978-0-14-025131-9|url=https://archive.org/details/penguinoperaguid00hold}}
* {{Cite book|last=Holoman|first=D. Kern|author-link=D. Kern Holoman|year=1989|title=Berlioz|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-06778-3}}
* {{cite book|last=Howard|first=Patricia|year=2003|title=Christoph Willibald Gluck: A Guide to Research|edition=second|location=New York|publisher=Routledge Music Biographies|isbn=9780415940726}}
* {{cite book|last=Loppert|first=Max|year=1979|chapter=''Orfeo ed Euridice''|editor-last=Blyth|editor-first=Alan|editor-link=Alan Blyth|title=Opera on Record|location=London|publisher=Hutchinson|isbn=0-09-139980-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Mackerras|first=Charles|author-link=Charles Mackerras|year=2010|chapter=''Berlioz: the best of both worlds''|editor=Howard, Patricia|title=C.W. von Gluck. Orfeo|pages=99–105|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press (Cambridge Opera Handbooks)|isbn=978-0-521-29664-9}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Mestron|1994}}|reference=Mestron, Hervé (1994), "Archaisms and innovations in the orchestration of Orfeo", (brief essay to accompany the [[Jean-Claude Malgoire]] [[Orfeo ed Euridice discography|recording]]), translated by Mary Pardoe. [[Astrée (record label)|Astrée]]}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Noiray|1994}}|reference=Noiray, Michael (1994), "A musical manifesto", (brief essay to accompany the Jean-Claude Malgoire recording), translated by Mary Pardoe. Astrée}}
* {{cite book|last1=Orrey|first1=Leslie|last2=Milnes|first2=Rodney|author-link2=Rodney Milnes|title=Opera, a concise history|publisher=[[Thames & Hudson]]|location=London|year=1987|isbn=0-500-20217-6|url=https://archive.org/details/operaconcisehist00orre}}
* {{cite book|last=Walsh|first=T. J.|author-link=Thomas Joseph Walsh (Wexford)|year=1981|title=Second Empire Opera: The Théâtre Lyrique, Paris, 1851–1870|location=London|publisher=John Calder|isbn=978-0-7145-3659-0}}

==Further reading==
* Durazzo, Angela Valenti. "La premiata ditta Durazzo & Gluck" in ''I Durazzo: Da schiavi a dogi della Repubblica di Genova'', Principality of Monaco (2004).
*Rice, John A., [https://www.academia.edu/49276688/Women_in_Love_Glucks_Orpheus_as_a_Source_of_Romantic_Consolation_in_Vienna_Paris_and_Stockholm "Women in Love: Gluck's Orpheus as a Source of Romantic Consolation in Vienna, Paris, and Stockholm"]

==External links==
{{Commons category|Orfeo ed Euridice}}
* {{IMSLP|work=Orfeo ed Euridice (Gluck, Christoph Willibald)|cname=''Orfeo ed Euridice''}}
* ''Orfeo ed Euridice, azione teatrale per musica'', Gluck's 1762 Italian version in Parisian 18th-century manuscript copies at the BNF's [[Gallica]] website:
** [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b7400027h/f5.image.r=.langEN full score (BnF ms D-9215, 1764 or later)], originally from the Intendance des [[Menus-Plaisirs]]
** [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b74000745/f7.image.r=.langEN full score (BnF ms VM4-46, 1769 or later)], originally from the Bibliothèque Royale
** [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b7400028x/f7.image.r=.langEN full score (BnF ms RES-2397, 1769 or later)], after the Duchesne edition (engraved by Cambon, Paris, 1764), originally from the library of the [[Paris Conservatory]]
* [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b9062685r/f2.image.r=.langEN ''Orphée et Euridice, tragédie, opera en trois actes''] (Paris: Lemarchand), Gluck's 1774 Paris Opera version, full score at Gallica
* ''Orphée, opéra en quatre actes'', Berlioz's 1859 Théâtre Lyrique version:
** [https://archive.org/stream/orpheoeraenqua00gluc#page/n8/mode/1up libretto] (Paris: Calmann-Lévy) at the [[Internet Archive]]
** [https://archive.org/stream/orpheopraenquatr00gluc#page/n4/mode/1up vocal score] with piano reduction by Thédore Ritter (Paris: Heugel) at the Internet Archive
* [http://www.naxos.com/education/opera_libretti.asp?pn=&char=ALL&composer=Gluck&opera=Orfeo_ed_Euridice&libretto_file=Italian/Act_1.htm Libretto in Italian]
* [http://opera.stanford.edu/iu/libretti/orphee.html Libretto of the 1774 Paris version]
* [http://www.dlib.indiana.edu/variations/scores/bfk4074/large/index.html Piano Vocal Score – English and Italian]
* [http://www.opera-guide.ch/opera.php?id=131&uilang=en Libretto in Italian, French, English, German; synopsis] from Opera-Guide.ch
* [https://opera-inside.com/orfeo-ed-euridice-by-ch-w-gluck-the-opera-guide-and-synopsis/ Free Online opera guide on Gluck’s ORFEO ED EURIDICE], An opera portrait with synopsis, commentary, music analysis, anecdotes

{{Orpheus|state=collapsed}}
{{Christoph Willibald Gluck}}
{{Portal bar|Opera}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orfeo Ed Euridice}}
[[Category:1762 operas]]
[[Category:Italian-language operas]]
[[Category:French-language operas]]
[[Category:Azioni teatrali]]
[[Category:Operas by Christoph Willibald Gluck]]
[[Category:Operas]]
[[Category:Operas about Orpheus]]
[[Category:Rescue operas]]
[[Category:Opera world premieres at the Burgtheater]]