Orpheus in Opera: Musical Adaptations of the Greek Myth

In this installment of “A Modern Look at Opera,” we discover how opera has portrayed Orpheus in past centuries.

The story of Orpheus and Eurydice has been told in many operas. "Orpheus and Eurydice" by Nicolas Poussin. Louvre Museum. Public Domain

The story of Orpheus and Eurydice is one of the classic tragic love stories of ancient Greek mythology. Orpheus, the great Thracian musician, whose voice and instrumental skills charmed the furies of the underworld, is a natural hero for a musical drama, and one of the most popular stories in opera.

The myth was recorded by Virgil in his “Georgics” poems, Ovid in “Metamorphoses,” and Pseudo-Apollodorus in “Bibliotheca.”  The central plot is similar in all three versions. The divinely talented musician Orpheus marries the beautiful Eurydice, his beloved.