L'Orfeo
(L'Orfeo, favola in musica) - 'The Legend of Orpheus' - is regarded as
the earliest operatic masterpiece. The first performance took place
in the ducal palace at Mantua on 24 February 1607, with a libretto by
Alessandro Striggio (c.1573-1630) and music by Claudio Monteverdi
(1567-1643), at the time of the annual carnival. It was published in
Venice two years later. In style the work mixes the new vocal
‘monody’ with Renaissance dances and choruses, and is notable for
its extravagant orchestration and the virtuosity required by the
title role.
The Orpheus story (from
Ovid’s Metamorphoses) was very popular in seventeenth century
Italy, and four other operas (by Peri, Caccini, Belli and Landi) took
it as their theme during Monteverdi’s lifetime alone; up through
modern times, this total reaches about sixty operas.
