Monteverdi's Orfeo

Widely regarded as the first great opera, Claudio Monteverdi’s Orfeo features one of opera’s most adored stories, in which the heroic Orfeo endures the tragic death of his beloved Euridice, and travels to the underworld to plead for her return. Breathtaking in its beauty and variety, this masterpiece defined an art form still in its infancy, with rich instrumental colors, dramatic word painting, and a virtuosic opulence of tone and texture.

This broadcast will feature archival video of BEMF’s June 2015 production, where Orfeo was presented alongside Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria and L’incoronazione di Poppea as part of a groundbreaking presentation of all three of Monteverdi’s surviving operas. Tenor Aaron Sheehan (Orfeo) and soprano Mireille Asselin (Euridice) lead an outstanding cast featuring GRAMMY-nominee Teresa Wakim (Proserpina), bass-baritone Matthew Brook (Charon), and baritone Marco Bussi (Plutone), alongside dancer Carlos Fittante and 18 instrumentalists from the BEMF Chamber Ensemble and Dark Horse Consort. Lighting Design is by Lenore Doxsee and videography is by Kathy Wittman of Ball Square Films with audio by GRAMMY Award-winning sound engineer Antonio Oliart Ros of WCRB Classical Radio Boston.

Part of our “Looking Back at Orpheus” Broadcast Event!