– Composer: Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (15 May 1567 — 29 November 1643)
– Ensemble: Concentus Musicus Wien
– Choir: Capella Antiqua München
– Conductor: Nikolaus Harnoncourt
– Soloists:
Lajos Kozma (Orfeo)
Rotraud Hansmann (La Musica/Euridice)
Cathy Berberian (Messaggiera/Speranza)
Eiko Katanosaka (Proserpina/Ninfa)
– Year of recording: 1969
L’Orfeo (SV 318) “Favola in musica”, written in 1607.
Prologo
00:00:00 – 1. Toccata
00:02:04 – 2. Ritornello-Dal mio Permesso amato
Act I
00:07:31 – 1. In questo lieto e fortunato giorno
00:09:29 – 2. Vieni Imeneo, deh vieni
00:11:33 – 3. Lasciate i monti
00:14:13 – 4. Rosa del Ciel, vita del mondo
00:17:15 – 5. Lasciate i monti
00:20:05 – 6. Ritornello-Alcun non sia che disperato
Act II
00:24:32 – 1. Sinfonia-Ecco pur ch’a voi ritorno
00:28:01 – 2. Ritornello-Vi ricorda o bosch’ombrosi
00:30:40 – 3. Mira, deh mira Orfeo
00:33:36 – 4. Donde vieni? Ove vai?
00:38:39 – 5. Tu se’ morta
00:40:42 – 6. Ahi caso acerbo
00:43:08 – 7. Sinfonia-Chi ne consola ahi lassi?
Act III
00:49:14 – 1. Sinfonia
00:49:56 – 2. Scorta da te mio Nume
00:51:24 – 3. Ecco l’altra palude
00:55:11 – 4. O tu ch’innanzi morte
00:57:35 – 5. Possente spirto
01:03:33 – 6. Orfeo son io
01:06:36 – 7. Ben mi lusinga al quanto
01:09:18 – 8. “Ei dorme, e la mia cetra”
01:11:30 – 9. Sinfonia-Nulla impresa per huom
Act IV
01:15:10 – 1. Signor quell’infelice
01:17:42 – 2. Benché severo ed immutabil fato
01:20:50 – 3. Quali grazie ti rendo
01:22:56 – 4. Ecco il gentil cantore
01:26:03 – 5. O dolcissimi lumi io pur vi veggio
01:29:30 – 6. Sinfonia-É la virtite un raggio
Act V
01:32:54 – 1. Ritornello-Questi i campi di Tracia
01:37:40 – 2. Ma tu, anima mia, se mai ritorna
01:40:23 – 3. Sinfonia-Perch’a lo sdegno ed al dolor
01:42:54 – 4. Troppo, troppo gioisti
01:46:01 – 5. Ritornello-Vanne Orfeo felice a pieno
01:47:14 – 6. Moresca
L’Orfeo is a late Renaissance/early Baroque opera, with a libretto by Alessandro Striggio. It is based on the Greek legend of Orpheus, and tells the story of his descent to Hades and his fruitless attempt to bring his dead bride Eurydice back to the living world. Written in 1607 for a court performance during the annual Carnival at Mantua, L’Orfeo is one of the earliest music dramas still regularly performed.
During the early 17th century, the traditional intermedio—a musical sequence between the acts of a straight play—was evolving into the form of a complete musical drama or “opera”. Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo moved this process out of its experimental era and provided the first fully developed example of the new genre. After its initial performance the work was staged again in Mantua, and possibly in other Italian centres in the next few years. Its score was published by Monteverdi in 1609 and again in 1615. After the composer’s death in 1643 the opera went unperformed for many years, and was largely forgotten until a revival of interest in the late 19th century led to a spate of modern editions and performances. At first these tended to be unstaged versions within institutes and music societies, but following the first modern dramatised performance in Paris, in 1911, the work began to be seen increasingly often in theatres. After the Second World War most new editions sought authenticity through the use of period instruments, like this version by Harnoncourt. Many recordings were issued, and the opera was increasingly staged in opera houses. In 2007 the quatercentenary of the premiere was celebrated by performances throughout the world.
In his published score Monteverdi lists around 41 instruments to be deployed, with distinct groups of instruments used to depict particular scenes and characters. Thus strings, harpsichords and recorders represent the pastoral fields of Thrace with their nymphs and shepherds, while heavy brass illustrates the underworld and its denizens. Composed at the point of transition from the Renaissance era to the Baroque, L’Orfeo employs all the resources then known within the art of music, with particularly daring use of polyphony. The work is not orchestrated as such; in the Renaissance tradition instrumentalists followed the composer’s general instructions but were given considerable freedom to improvise. This separates Monteverdi’s work from the later opera canon, and makes each performance of L’Orfeo a uniquely individual occasion.