Orfeo (Rossi)

L'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. 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 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.

...
Wikipedia