Commissioned by Cardinal Mazarin of the French court and first produced in Paris in 1647, Italian composer Luigi Rossi’s (1597-1653) three-act opera Orfeo, with libretto by Francesco Buti, is based on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.

One of the earliest operas, it’s a rarely-heard masterpiece and its inclusion in the 2026 Adelaide Festival has provided a golden opportunity to experience it.

The story tells of the marriage of Orpheus and Eurydice despite bad omens, the envious, love-sick Aristaeus calling on Venus’s help to win Eurydice away from Orpheus and deny fate, Eurydice’s subsequent death from a snakebite, and the distraught Orpheus’s travel to the underworld to beg Pluto, the ruler of the underworld, for her return.

Orpheus so enchants Pluto and his queen Proserpina with his music that Pluto grants Orpheus’s wish, but on condition that he walk ahead of Eurydice and not look back at her as they leave. But Orpheus turns to see if Eurydice is following, whereupon she is returned to the underworld.

In this version of the story, Eurydice catches up to Orpheus as he walks ahead and embraces him, and he thus cannot resist turning, looking at her and returning her embrace. She then dies in his arms in a tragic and highly emotional moment that recalls the denouement in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

Orpheus is inconsolable and eventually dies. Both Orpheus and Aristaeus have faltered at key moments, and the story dwells on the power of love and fidelity, the destructiveness of jealousy, the tension between fate and human action, and the relationship between gods and humans. Comic elements heighten the emotional range and psychological depth and sharpen the tragedy.

Raphaël Pichon and Ensemble Pygmalion. Photo © Fred Mortagne

In Rossi’s original production, castrati took the roles of Orpheus, Aristaeus and others, and for this production, the role of Orpheus is brilliantly sung by a soprano, Xenia Puskarz Thomas. Countertenor William Shelton takes the roles of both Eurydice’s Nurse and Cupid and the vocal gymnast Dominique Visse swings between countertenor and tenor in the comic role of the old woman Vecchia (Venus in disguise).

Soprano Julie Roset was a tantalising Eurydice and Alex Rosen’s rich bass voice filled the auditorium in the roles of the Augur and Pluto.

Xenia Puskarz Thomas was captivating in Orpheus’s many arias, for example in Act III, scene 1, where Orpheus finds he is unable to weep at Eurydice’s passing and which begins:

“O tears, where are you? Have you too abandoned me to my grief? What are you saving yourselves for, if you do not now pour forth from my eyes?”

Mezzo soprano Blandine de Sansal brought out all the emotion and psychological disturbance in the pivotal and demanding role of Aristaeus, who is initially consumed with jealousy at Eurydice’s marriage to Orpheus, plots with Venus to win her, is rejected by her and then descends into madness.

While this performance was staged as a concert rather than in full theatrical mode, the performers convincingly portrayed their roles through their actions on stage. In Act II, scene 4, the chorus sang from the balcony and in Act III, scene 2, they sang from the rear of the auditorium to draw the entire space into the performance.

Sung in Italian, the opera’s English surtitles are essential to understanding the story and identifying the many characters, but there seemed to be occasional glitches in the synchronisation of the surtitles, and they sometimes disappeared altogether, most crucially during Orpheus’s heartfelt aria when he is trying to persuade Pluto to return Eurydice to life.

The chorus was superb, and there were outstanding singers in all the minor roles, such as Endymion and Charon (baritone Thomáš Král), Apollo (tenor Laurence Kilsby), Prosperpina and Venus (soprano Camille Chopin), and Momo (energetic tenor Samuel Boden), as well as the three Graces and the three Fates.

The large ensemble of musicians performed on historically-informed instruments and, under the inspired direction of Raphaël Pichon, Rossi’s wonderful score was superbly realised — the sound was lush, clearly articulated and nicely balanced with the voices in the innumerable solos, duets and trios.

Violinists Sophie Gent and Louis Creac’h were excellent at key moments, such as the opening of Act II scene 2, where the distraught Aristaeus encounters the deceased Eurydice’s spirit.

Ensemble Pygmalion’s Orfeo is a magnificent production and is not to be missed.

Ensemble Pygmalion’s Orfeo is performed at Adelaide Town Hall until 6 March. An Adelaide Festival event.