Orfeo ed Euridice (French version: Orphée et Eurydice; English: Orpheus and Eurydice) is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck based on the myth of Orpheus, set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the azione teatrale, meaning an opera on a mythological subject with choruses and dancing. The piece was first performed at the Burgtheater in Vienna on 5 October 1762 in the presence of Empress Maria Theresa. Orfeo ed Euridice is the first of Gluck's "reform" operas, in which he attempted to replace the abstruse plots and overly complex music of opera seria with a "noble simplicity" in both the music and the drama.

Librettist Pierre-Louis Moline (d’après Ranieri de’ Calzabigi)
Premiered 1774, August 2nd (Salle du Palais-Royal) in Paris, France
First published 1774, Lemarchand in Paris, France
Dedicated to La reine (the Queen)
Type Opera
Catalogue Wq. 41
Spoken language French
Instruments Chorus/Choir - Mixed Chorus ;
2x Orchestra
2x Voice (Soprano)
Voice (Haute-contre)
Links
Autotranslations beta Christoph Willibald Gluck: Orphée et Euridice, Wq. 41
Christoph Willibald Gluck: Orphée et Euridice, Wq. 41
Christoph Willibald Gluck: Orphée et Euridice, Wq. 41