Line #33 Theatre/LOrfeo


1	''L'Orfeo'', sometimes called ''La favola d'Orfe'', is the first landmark {{opera}}. It was composed by Claudio Monteverdi in five acts, with libretto by Alessandro Striggio. While not the first opera in general or the earliest opera with all its score intact (those would be Jacopo Peri's ''Dafne'' and ''Euridice'', respectively), it is the earliest known opera still regularly performed in modern times.
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3	Like Peri's earlier works, the opera is based on Myth/ClassicalMythology, specifically Orpheus's dramatic journey to the Underworld to rescue his bride, Eurydice, after she is killed by a snake on their wedding day. With only his music to aid him and the Underworld being a place where even hope dare not enter, Orpheus sets out to plead his case to Hades and Persephone and retrieve Eurydice. Out of love for Persephone, Hades agrees, on one condition: Orpheus must lead Eurydice out while she follows behind, and if he turns to look at her, she stays in the Underworld for good.
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6	!!This opera contains examples of:
7	* AbductionIsLove: Persephone is so moved when Hades gives Orpheus a chance to go that she praises her own abduction and the love that came from it.
8	* AdaptationalAlternateEnding: After [[spoiler:losing Eurydice again]], Apollo appears to take Orpheus to Olympus. Notably, the original ending to the opera hewed much closer to the myth, with the Bacchantes vowing to hunt Orpheus down and ending in a wild rave.
9	* AintTooProudToBeg: Orpheus begs Charon to let him pass and is initially devastated when he's refused entry.
10	* AlternateShowInterpretation: Various productions have used the show to meditate on the themes of grief, death, and love, particularly in ones that use a SettingUpdate to modern or semi-modern times.
11	** David Bösch's 2014 production had Orpheus returning from the Underworld to find decades have passed, leaving open the idea that the Underworld trip didn't happen at all and he was wasting away grieving Eurydice, while also changing the ending to have [[spoiler:Orpheus die with Eurydice instead of ascending to the stars]].
12	** Silvia Costa's 2023 production set the happy beginning in Underworld colors to focus on the melancholy of the piece and how happiness can be fleeting, hinting that the events are Orpheus futilely reliving his wedding day and Underworld trip in the hopes of changing what happened until [[spoiler:Apollo either helps him cope or gives him a MercyKill with medicine]].
13	** Peter Warthmann's 2024 production at Opernhaus Zürich started with Orpheus alone and had the celebrations come later, seeing it as a conflict between Orpheus's divine parentage and being a man on Earth. This production also had super-sized fruit and Charon was a head on top of a door to the underworld.
14	* AmbiguousEnding: In the RevisedEnding where Apollo takes Orpheus up to heaven, he says "In the sun and in the stars you shall gaze at [Eurydice's] fair image." Does this mean that the gods have transported Eurydice from the Underworld to Olympus to live HappilyEverAfter with Orpheus? Or have they merely created a constellation in her image for Orpheus to gaze at? And if it's the latter, is Orpheus happy about it or not? All he says is that he would be an unworthy son to Apollo if he didn't accept his offer. The 1978 Jean-Pierre Ponnelle film notably plays the ending as a PyrrhicVictory, where [[MoodDissonance despite the happy final chorus]], Orpheus is still distraught to have lost Eurydice forever and looks miserable as he ascends.
15	* AnthropomorphicPersonification: La Speranza is the personification of Hope. She guides Orpheus to the gates of the Underworld, but can't enter, as the Underworld forces one to abandon all hope.
16	* BearerOfBadNews: Sylvia delivers the news of Eurydice's tragic death, and is so upset by being the one to deliver it and break Orpheus's heart that she exiles herself.
17	* BreakingTheFourthWall: The opera begins with La Musica, the spirit of music, introducing the tale and requesting the audience be silent.
18	* ButNowIMustGo: Hope can guide Orpheus to the gates of Hades but no further, and when he presses on she returns to her usual abode.
19	* CanonForeigner: Sylvia, the nymph messenger and close friend of Eurydice's, is original to the opera, and while Apollo is a Greek God who fathered Orpheus in some traditions, he doesn't normally feature in the Orpheus and Eurydice myth.
20	* DarkerAndEdgier: David Bösch's 2014 production was a modern take with a surreal, nightmarish tone even in the happier parts. The Underworld was full of harsh blue lighting and its spirits all looked like Eurydice but with skulls for faces, and the ending had [[spoiler:Orpheus take a knife to himself on Apollo's request, and lay down with Eurydice in a shared grave]] while [[MoodDissonance the chorus and music rejoiced]].
21	* DarkestHour: In Act III, it looks like Orpheus will be forced to return alone when Charon, despite feeling pity for Orpheus, refuses to budge. Then Orpheus lamenting his situation lulls Charon to sleep, letting him steal the boat and press on.
22	* DiedInYourArmsTonight: After her fatal snakebite, Eurydice died in Sylvia's arms, with her last words being Orpheus's name.
23	* DontLookBack: Like in the myth, Orpheus is charged with leaving the Underworld without turning to see if Eurydice is behind him. In this version, [[spoiler:he turns due to hearing a sound behind him and worrying it's the Furies come to take Eurydice away]].
24	* TheEeyore: Orpheus is said to have treated sighs and weeping as food and drink before he met Eurydice, and falls right back into this after her death, lamenting that he's still alive while she's dead. [[spoiler:He becomes this ''again'' after he causes her second death, but Apollo snaps him out of it]].
25	* ForcedSleep: When diplomacy and flattery fails to sway Charon, Orpheus sings him to sleep and hijacks the ferry.
26	* GreekChorus: The shepherds, nymphs, and Underworld spirits often lend commentary to the action at hand, particularly when they praise Orpheus's musical talent and ingenuity or lament how cruel fate can be.
27	* KilledOffscreen: Eurydice's death by snakebite occurs offstage, with Sylvia the messenger relating the unfortunate news.
28	* MoodWhiplash: Everyone's preparing for Orpheus's wedding to Eurydice, and most of the opera up to Act II has been one long celebration of the 'happy and fortunate day'... and then suddenly Sylvia the Messenger arrives and announces that Eurydice has just died.
29	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Sylvia castigates herself over telling Orpheus the news of Eurydice's death and exiles herself in anguish.
30	* MythologyGag: Charon the Ferryman is less than pleased to see Orpheus because of other visitors to the Underworld as of late, mentioning Pirithous and Theseus, who tried to abduct Persephone, and Heracles, who came to seize Cerberus as part of his Twelve Labors.
31	* ThePowerOfLove: Orpheus's song of love moves Persephone to tears and she begs Hades to let Eurydice go. Hades, while wary of what fate has in store, agrees due to his love for his wife.
32	* RelatedInTheAdaptation: Garsington Opera's version of the show made the messenger Sylvia also Eurydice's mother, making the moment where she had to break the news of her death even more tragic.
33	* RescuedFromTheUnderworld: Orpheus sets out to rescue Eurydice this way. He makes it all the way there and succeeds in moving Hades, [[spoiler: but fails on the way out due to hearing a noise behind him and turning around]].
34	* RevisedEnding: The opera's original ending was closer to the myth, with Dionysus's followers pursuing Orpheus out of anger. By its second performance, it was revised to have Apollo come down and take Orpheus to Olympus, where he could watch Eurydice from the stars. Since the original ending's music was lost, the revised one is most commonly used.
35	* RiddleForTheAges: A different sort than the usual, as [[spoiler:why Orpheus turns around]] is explained, but [[spoiler:what caused the sound that ''made'' him turn]] is completely unknown and up to a director's interpretation.
36	* SettingUpdate: Some productions are set in contemporary times or the recent past, often with anachronistic clothing to enhance the timeless feel.
37	* ShoutOut: As in ''Literature/TheDivineComedy'', the gates of Hades read "Abandon Hope, All Ye Who Enter Here," thus Hope cannot follow Orpheus inside.
38	* ShowWithinAShow: Since La Musica is speaking to an audience of nobles in her opening monologue, some versions of the opera have it being watched in-universe as well as out, usually in a period style.
39	* {{Stellification}}: Apollo taking Orpheus to Olympus in the ending is sometimes shown as Orpheus, his lyre, or both becoming a constellation in the night sky.
40	* TalkingIsAFreeAction: Being an opera, Orpheus putting Charon to sleep and telling himself to hurry before he wakes is done through several verses of music.
41	* TruerToTheText: The opera's original ending was closer to the myth, with Dionysus's followers pursuing Orpheus. Some productions either retain the original ending or alter it to be closer in other ways, such as cutting Apollo's scene, having [[spoiler: Orpheus be killed by the Bacchantes and Apollo come to rescue his spirit rather than his living self]], or changing it to [[spoiler:have Orpheus join Eurydice in death instead of a heavenly ascent]].

Context Theatre / LOrfeo