Orfeo

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 was first performed at the Palais-Royal, Paris on 2 March 1647. 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 Cardinal Mazarin, then regent for the ... more

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 was first performed at the Palais-Royal, Paris on 2 March 1647. 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 Cardinal Mazarin, then regent for the young king of France Louis XIV, who was eager to bring Italian culture to Paris. In 1646 Mazarin hired Rossi 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 scenery by Giovan Battista Balbi. It required 200 men to work the theatrical machinery, designed by Giacomo Torelli. The performance, which lasted six hours, was a triumph. However, Rossi proved... less