Monteverdi’s opera L’Orfeo, written at Mantua for the court carnival celebrations of 1607, was not the first opera, but it is generally considered to be the first in the modern sense because it uses a large ensemble to add elaborate choruses and arias to the monody or recitative that carries forward the story.

The libretto, by the Mantuan courtier Alessandro Striggio, tells the familiar Greek myth of Orpheus’s descent into Hades in search of his lost love Euridice, though the original ending in which Orpheus is torn to pieces by the Bacchantes was replaced by a deus ex machina: at the end his father Apollo takes him up to Heaven to be reunited with Euridice. Monteveredi’s superb music, expressive and brilliant by turns, made a profound impact at the time and has continued to do so since its rediscovery early in the twentieth century.

This anniversary performance has been made possible by the generosity of a large number of SVF Friends, and should be a memorable occasion. The cast of notable early music singers is accompanied by eighteen musicians playing copies of the intruments specified by Monteverdi: natural trumpets, cornetts, sackbuts, Renaissance strings, theorboes, double harp, harpsichords, organ and regal. Early booking is recommended!