“Mon­teverdi’s L’Or­feo is not only one of the most beau­ti­ful operas ever writ­ten but it relates very strong­ly to the Teatro Olimpi­co in Vicen­za. The the­atre was built in 1585, a few years before L’Or­feo has first been per­formed in Man­to­va. It is the per­fect opera for the per­fect the­atre.

But there is an impor­tant aspect: I am fas­ci­nat­ed by the finale. Orig­i­nal­ly (in the libret­to and in the clas­sic Greek-Roman sources) Orpheus returns from the under­world and is killed by mad, ecsta­t­ic women who are angry with him. Why? Because Orpheus denounces women — he nev­er wants to fall in love again after hav­ing lost his “per­fect” Euridice twice. The insult­ed mad women (fol­low­ers of Diony­sus who per­form a wild bac­cha­na­lia) tear him to pieces.

Usu­al­ly this opera is per­formed with a revised end­ing com­posed by Mon­tever­di a few years after the first per­for­mance. Here, there is no bac­cha­na­lia but Apol­lo appears from heav­en and ele­vates Orpheus to the skies. We end with a hap­py end, with a con­ven­tion­al finale.”