Christoph Willibald Gluck’s opera Orfeo ed Euridice premiered in Vienna in 1762 and retells the myth of Orpheus.
The opera follows Orpheus as he travels into the underworld to recover his dead wife Eurydice. The gods permit him to lead her back on one condition: he must not look at her before they reach the upper world. Gluck’s version emphasizes direct dramatic expression and musical simplicity rather than elaborate display.
The premiere took place at Vienna’s Burgtheater on 5 October 1762. The title role was originally written for the castrato Gaetano Guadagni. Gluck and librettist Ranieri de’ Calzabigi used the work to advance reforms associated with opera seria, giving greater weight to dramatic coherence and the relationship between music and text.
The opera exists in several versions, including later adaptations for different voice types. This can cause uncertainty about its title and casting, but the original Vienna version is conventionally known as Orfeo ed Euridice.