In reality, of course, it was Jacopo Peri's Dafne (1598) that was the first opera to be performed, but only the text has survived intact, with hardly more than a few excerpts of music remaining. Another work by Peri, Euridice, followed in 1600 - and remains available to posterity in its entirety. However, Orfeo was the first true masterpiece of the genre, which is why we regard it as the first opera. Everyone knows the story of the Thracian minstrel: Orpheus loses his beloved Eurydice to a snakebite and, with truly death-defying courage, descends to the underworld to bring her back. The subject is therefore both uplifting and eternal: love enduring beyond the grave.
We have every reason to hope that Müpa Budapest's concert-version performance will be an extraordinary experience. This is guaranteed first and foremost by the artist in the title role: Rolando Villazón's tenor voice is both resonant and powerful, and at the same time soft and supple. Above all, however, it is an instrument of sensual beauty - exactly the kind of voice we would imagine for this mythical minstrel who tamed even the wild beasts when they heard him accompanying himself on a lyre. Joining the Mexican-born singer, who has been a French citizen since 2007, will be L'Apeggiata, headed by the wonderful lute player Christina Pluhar. Famous for bringing so much life to all of the early music it plays, the ensemble makes the compositions sound as if they were written the previous day.

Presented by: Müpa Budapest