The tragic myth of Orpheus and Eurydice - Brendan Pelsue
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The marriage of Orpheus, the greatest of all poets and musicians, to Eurydice, a wood nymph, was heralded as the perfect union. Anyone could tell the couple was deeply in love. So when their wedding ceremony ended in Eurydice's untimely death, Orpheus had no choice but to venture into the underworld to try to reclaim his lost love. Brendan Pelsue shares the tragic myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.
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Additional Resources for you to Explore
Artists have reimagined the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice many times over the millennia. Here are a few notable examples:
Orfeo, a 1607 opera by the Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi, is one of the first operas ever written and the oldest that is still regularly performed. Listen to it here.
The composers Gluck, Haydn, Liszt, and Stravinsky also wrote music inspired by Orpheus and Eurydice. Listening to their different compositions allows you to compare how different artists from different periods in history have imagined the mythical music of Orpheus, which was so beautiful it (almost) overcame death.
Euridyce, a 2003 play by the playwright Sarah Ruhl, imagines the story from Eurydice’s perspective.
Orphée is a 1950 film by the French filmmaker and writer Jean Cocteau; the second part in his trilogy inspired by the Orpheus and Eurydice myth.
Orfeo, a 1607 opera by the Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi, is one of the first operas ever written and the oldest that is still regularly performed. Listen to it here.
The composers Gluck, Haydn, Liszt, and Stravinsky also wrote music inspired by Orpheus and Eurydice. Listening to their different compositions allows you to compare how different artists from different periods in history have imagined the mythical music of Orpheus, which was so beautiful it (almost) overcame death.
Euridyce, a 2003 play by the playwright Sarah Ruhl, imagines the story from Eurydice’s perspective.
Orphée is a 1950 film by the French filmmaker and writer Jean Cocteau; the second part in his trilogy inspired by the Orpheus and Eurydice myth.
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