L'Orfeo

A brief introduction:

Wedding celebrations for Orpheus and Euridice turn to mourning when Euridice is bitten by a snake and dies. Refusing to accept her loss, Orpheus travels to the Underworld to beg the gods to restore her to life. 

If Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo is not the first opera, it’s certainly the first great one – and still remains at the core of the repertoire today. The score takes a pastel-coloured myth about gods and mortals and invests it with primary-coloured human pain and joy: expressive, immediate, undeniable emotion. 

The Orpheus myth is a story about the power of music. In Orfeo, Monteverdi not only retold the story but enacted it upon his audience – mesmerised by the effect of this revolutionary score.

Find out more about Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo in this video with director William Kentridge:

Why not to miss it:

This production marks the Glyndebourne debut of celebrated South African artist William Kentridge. Kentridge’s opera and his art both share a visual language: an intricate mixture of live and filmed elements, hand-drawn animations, collages and multimedia layering. This is a rare opportunity to see a staging by him in the UK, and the first chance to see one premiered here.

Glyndebourne’s long and pioneering history with Monteverdi’s operas stretches back to the 1960s, but this is the first time the Festival has staged L’Orfeo.

A great moment to look out for:

The heart of L’Orfeo is Orpheus’s journey to the Underworld – his battle to save his beloved wife. But in order to gain entry he must first succeed where no man ever has before, and persuade Charon to ferry him – still living – down the River Styx to Hades. At first the boatman refuses, but Orpheus responds with an aria of such persuasive passion that he eventually relents.

“Possente spirto” is an aria sung by a character who is the greatest musician on Earth. It must move its intended listener, but also dazzle the audience with the full range of Orpheus’s skill. The aria’s essential architecture is simple, minimal, even: a series of stanzas supply melodic variations over a repeated harmonic sequence. 

The magic lies in the ornamentation – the elaborate embellishments and additions that Monteverdi then added, weaving them around the melodic scaffolding to create something extraordinary – and in the intricate textural variations. Organ and chitarrone (a large lute) supply Orpheus’s backing group, joined variously by violins cornetts and – most evocatively – double harp.

Cast and creative team:

This world premiere of William Kentridge’s new production will feature Glyndebourne-favourite Jonathan Cohen, Fresh from 2025’s Saul, back to conduct the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

Krystian Adam makes his Glyndebourne debut as Orfeo – a signature role for the Polish tenor. He’s joined by fellow period specialist Francesca Aspromonte as Euridice/La Musica.

Rising American mezzo Leia Lensing returns as Proserpina, with debut artist Davide Giangregorio as her husband Plutone. Festival regular Callum Thorpe returns as ferryman Caronte.

To find out more about production support for Festival 2026 click here
or contact our Director of Development, Helen McCarthy for an informal chat:
call 01273 013 308 or email helen.mccarthy@glyndebourne.com