Ancient Opera Orfeo Feels As Fresh As Ever — londonist.com

The earliest composition to constitute an opera as we know it is Dafne, written by the Italian Jacopo Peri in 1597. The oldest for which a score survives is the same composer’s Euridice of 1600, but the most ancient to remain frequently performed today is Claudio Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo of 1607. Written for a court performance during the annual Carnival at Mantua, and based on the Greek legend of Orpheus, it tells of his descent to Hades and unsuccessful attempt to bring his dead bride Euridice back to the living world.

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