476 2879

476 8030

ANTIPODES is a sub-label of ABC Classics

devoted to the historically informed

performance of music from the Renaissance,

Baroque and Classical periods.

L'OrfeoFavola in MusicaClaudio Monteverdi

Pinchgut OperaTucker ❙ MacliverWhiteley ❙ McMahon Weymark ❙ Mills ❙ FraserCantillation Orchestra of the AntipodesWalker

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L’Orfeo was first peformed at the court of Duke Francesco Gonzaga in Mantua, 1607.

This edition by Erin Helyard.

Mark Tucker Orfeo (Orpheus) Sara Macliver La Musica (Music), Messaggiera (Messenger),

Proserpina (Persephone) Damian Whiteley Caronte (Charon), Plutone (Pluto)

Paul McMahon ApolloBrett Weymark Eco (Echo)Penelope Mills Euridice (Eurydice)

Josie Ryan Ninfa (Nymph) Anna Fraser Speranza (Hope)

Paul McMahon/Brett Weymark,Jenny Duck-Chong, David Greco,

Philip Chu, Craig Everingham, Pastori (Shepherds)Belinda Montgomery,

Raff Wilson, Daniel WalkerBenjamin Loomes, David Greco Spiriti infernali (Spirits of Hell)

Cantillation

Orchestra of the Antipodes (on period instruments)Antony Walker conductor

L'OrfeoFavola in MusicaMusic by Claudio Monteverdi 1567-1643

Libretto by Alessandro Striggio c.1573-1630

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CD1 [49’27]

1 Toccata 1’58PROLOGO

2 Ritornello...Dal mio Permesso amato 6’16La Musica

ATTO PRIMO3 In questo lieto e fortunato giorno 1’34

Pastore I

4 Vieni Imeneo, deh vieni...Muse honor di Parnasso 1’40Choro, Ninfa

5 Lasciate i monti...Ma tu, gentil cantor 2’19Choro, Pastore II

6 Rosa del ciel...Io non dirò qual sia 3’03Orfeo, Euridice

7 Lasciate i monti…Vieni Imeneo, deh vieni 1’30Choro

8 Ma s’il nostro gioir 1’23Pastore III

9 Alcun non sia 1’17Pastori I & IV

0 Che poi che nembo rio 1’20Pastori I, II & V

! E dopo l’aspro gel...Ecco Orfeo 1’19Pastori VI & VII, Choro

ATTO SECONDO@ Sinfonia...Ecco pur ch’à voi ritorno 0‘49

Orfeo

£ Mira, ch’à se n’alletta...Dunque fà degno Orfeo 2’03Pastori I & IV, Choro

$ Vi ricorda ò boschi ombrosi 2’16Orfeo

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% Mira, deh mira, Orfeo...Ahi, caso acerbo! 3’35Pastore I, Messaggiera, Pastore VIII, Orfeo

^ In un fiorito prato...Ahi, caso acerbo! 4’05Messaggiera, Pastore I & IV

& Tu se’ morta 2’27Orfeo

* Ahi, caso acerbo!...Ma io ch’in questa lingua 4’14Choro, Messaggiera

( Chi ne consola, ahi lassi? 2’02Pastori I & VII

) Ahi, caso acerbo!…Ma dove, ah dove hor sono 4’13Choro, Pastori I & VII

CD2 [62’36]

ATTO TERZO1 Sinfonia 1’34

2 Scorto da te mio Nume 1’25Orfeo

3 Ecco l’atra palude 3’02Speranza

4 Dove, ah dove te’n vai...O tu ch’innanzi mort’a queste rive 3’18Orfeo, Caronte

5 Possente Spirto 6’17Orfeo

6 Orfeo son io 3’07Orfeo

7 Ben mi lusinga alquanto...Ahi, sventurato amante!...Sinfonia 2’45Caronte, Orfeo

8 Ei dorme, e la mia cetra 2’09Orfeo

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9 Sinfonia a 7...Nulla impresa per huom 4’04ChoroATTO QUARTO

0 Signor, quel infelice 2’49Proserpina

! Benchè severo ed immutabil fato 2’12Plutone

@ O degli habitator de l’ombre eterne 1’09Spiriti I & II

£ Quali grazie ti rendo...Tue soavi parole 1’57Proserpina, Plutone

$ Pietade oggi et Amore...Ecco il gentil cantore 0’42Choro, Spirito I

% Ritornello...Qual honor di te fia degno...Rott’hai la legge 3’22Orfeo, Spirito II

^ Ahi, vista troppo dolce...Torn’a l’ombre di morte 2’05Euridice, Spirito I

& Sinfonia a 7...È la virtute un raggio 3’56ChoroATTO QUINTO

* Ritornello...Questi i campi di Tracia 5’10Orfeo, Eco

( Ma tu anima mia 3’59Orfeo

) Perch’a lo sdegno...Padre cortese 3’49Apollo, Orfeo

¡ Saliam cantand’al cielo 1’12Apollo, Orfeo

™ Vanne, Orfeo, felice a pieno 1’01Choro

# Moresca 1’26

Total Playing Time 112’03

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‘Authenticity’ in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo

The canonising of Monteverdi and his music wasa cultural process well under way by the 1640s,when the composer was in his seventies, laudedand celebrated in Venice. The unknown librettistof a now lost setting of Le nozze d’Enea inLavinia (1640-41) wrote this encomium in thepreface to the printed libretto:

To this truly great man, this most noble artof music – and particularly theatrical music– knows itself to be so much in debt that itcan confess that it is thanks to him that ithas been brought to new life in a worldmore efficacious and perfect than it was inancient Greece … For this SignorMonteverde [sic], known in far-flung partsand wherever music is known, will besighed for in future ages, at least as far asthey can be consoled by his most noblecompositions, which are set to last as longas can resist the ravages of time any moreesteemed and estimable fruit of one who isa wondrous talent in his profession.

In the case of L’Orfeo, it seems that PrinceFrancesco Gonzaga, who had organised the firstperformance, was already planning a repeatperformance in Casale Monferrato (where hewas governor) in Carnival 1609-10, not long afterthe Mantuan premiere in 1607; there were twoprinted editions of the music, an unusually lavishfeat; the original Orfeo, the acclaimed tenor

Francesco Rasi, took it to the archbishop’s courtat Salzburg where it was performed regularlybetween 1614 and 1619; and there wereperformances in Genoa and elsewhere in theItalian peninsula right up to the 1650s, when thework itself was now forty years old. What was itabout L’Orfeo that ensured its place on thestage, and how did Monteverdi become sodeliberately associated with the music of a newgeneration, having brought ‘new life’ to‘theatrical music’?

L’Orfeo was described at the time as a favola inmusica (literally, a ‘musical fable’), and itheralded the beginning of the dissemination of anew theatrical or ‘representative’ style (stilerappresentativo) – a synthesis coaxed from theintellectual, philosophical and aestheticdiscussions of the Florentine Academies and theolder, more traditional dramatic models of themadrigal and intermedio. In what might bedescribed as a searching for ‘authenticity’ inmusic (a concept that might strike us today ascuriously modern), the debates of Florentineintellectuals in the late 16th and early 17thcenturies led them, in their conscious search fornewer musical forms and style, to review theworld of ancient Greece, believing that therendering of poetry into natural speech-likerhythms (which was understood to have beenGreek practice) would create a new musicwholly responsive to the needs of theatre. Itwas to be ‘authentic’ musical theatre – authentic

Orfeo’s ascent to heaven with his father Apollo –an ending not incompatible with the moregruesome versions, as it was generallyrecognised that Orpheus and Eurydice areeventually reunited in Elysium, whatever theearthly fate of the great singer.

Concerned with the in musica challenge of thefavola, Striggio makes conscious efforts toincorporate musical imagery into the librettowith continual references to singing anddancing, and indeed, it was the sung nature ofthe drama that surprised and delighted thecontemporary audience. ‘It should be unusual,as all the actors are to sing their parts … Nodoubt I shall be driven to attend out of sheercuriosity,’ wrote Carlo Magno to his brotherGiovanni. The Prologue, delivered by Musica,goes straight to the core philosophy of the stilerappresentativo itself: after the obligatory anddiscreet homage to the Gonzagas (‘renownedheroes, noble blood of kings’) Musica proclaimsher ability to calm the soul, to arouse it in anger,to inflame it with love. She invokes the Harmonyof the Spheres before she is ‘spurred on by thedesire to tell you of Orpheus’. Tim Carter, in hisrecent work Monteverdi’s Musical Theatre,interprets these neo-Platonic resonances as aninvitation to witness and even assess ademonstration of these claims; in a way,Monteverdi and Striggio are putting the‘representative’ style to the test.

Two aesthetic entities, not yet reconciled, werebeing held up for judgment: the libretto (thefavola) and the music. The libretto’s Humanistictone on the perils of earthly love and theabandonment of reason is aptly summed up inthe moralistic choruses; Musica herself in thePrologue outlines the central concern of theconjoining of text and music. Carter comments:

Keeping these messages separate resolvesthe apparent paradox that can cloud anyinterpretation of Orfeo, that an operaseemingly extolling the power of musicshould appear to end in failure, saved onlyby a contrived lieto fine. Orfeo’s failure isnot one of eloquence: in effect, Musicagets Orfeo through the gates of Hades.Rather, it is one of moral fibre: Orfeo lacksthe ability and experience to control hisemotions by way of reason.

The extraordinary Act III showpiece (‘PossenteSpirto e formidabil nume’), written specificallyfor Rasi’s agile and formidable voice, fails, in allits heightened ornamental delivery in the grandantique poetics of the terza rima, to moveCaronte (Charon), simply because pity, the godsays, is not an emotion worthy of his valour. It isonly Orfeo’s playing upon his lyre (representedby Monteverdi in a five-part string sinfonia) thatsends him to sleep, enabling the musician topass into Hades, his innate eloquence neitherdiminished nor vanquished.

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as in the Greek authentikos, ‘of first-handauthority, original’. One of the many noveltextures associated with the style was stilerecitativo, a single sung line supported bychordal instruments that partly evoked theancient instrumental conventions of lyre andkithara (lirone, chitarrone and so on). Monteverdicombined his skill as a madrigal composer withexperiments in the new style to set AlessandroStriggio’s L’Orfeo for a Carnival entertainment forthe Mantuan court in 1607.

This particular favola in musica was understoodto have reconciled and merged, in a unique andmasterly manner, contrary and conflictingdramatic concerns (speech/song; realism/artifice;declamation/conversation; chorus/soloist and soon) – concerns that were to fascinate Monteverdithroughout his career. The Mantuan courttheologian and poet Cherubino Ferrari wrote toDuke Vincenzio Gonzaga in August 1607:

[Monteverdi] has shown me the words andlet me hear the music of the play whichYour Highness had performed, and certainlyboth poet and musician have depicted theinclinations of the heart so skilfully that itcould not have done better. The poetry islovely in conception [inventione], lovelierstill in form [disposizione], and loveliest ofall in elocution [elecuzione]; and indeed noless was to be expected of a man as richlytalented as Signor Striggio. The music,

moreover, observing due propriety, servesthe poetry so well that nothing morebeautiful is to be heard anywhere.

Ferrari’s deliberate evocation of three traditionalpillars of Greek and Roman oratory – inventio(invention), dispositio (arrangement) and elocutio(style) – subtly acknowledges the ‘authenticity’exemplified in this new or ‘second’ style(seconda pratica), with its emphasis on neo-Platonic ideals that music (harmonia andrhythmos) should follow the demands of thetext, or original idea (logos).

Striggio’s interpretation of the Orpheus mythowes much to Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Theoriginal ending, however, which he replaced witha traditional lieto fine (‘happy ending’), reflects adifferent narrative tradition. Renouncing the loveof women, who are ‘pitiless and fickle, devoid ofreason and all noble thoughts’, Orpheus fleesthe arrival of a group of drunken female revellers– the Bacchantes, disciples of Dionysus. Theysing in praise of Bacchus and declare thatOrpheus will eventually get the punishment hedeserves. In other versions well known to theacademicians present at the first performance,Orpheus is murdered and decapitated by theBacchantes, the head continuing to lament forEurydice as it floats down the River Hebrus toLesbos. The final version of Monteverdi’sL’Orfeo, as represented in the two printededitions, ends with a deus ex machina and

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Pluto’s test to Orfeo is one of virtue – a test hefails when, in his humanity, emotion overcomesreason. Orfeo in Act IV sees Amor as a godmore powerful than Pluto; it is only byrenouncing earthly love (i.e. Amor) and byembracing Apollo’s offer of the path of truevirtue that he can attain the vaults of heaven. AsOvid pointed out, Orpheus’ only sin is that heloved too much. The Act III choruses fulfil thefunction of an Aristotelian chorus, reminding theaudience of three other heroes who defiednature with their art and failed: Daedalus (whoattempted to fly – ‘mocking the fury of theSouth and North winds’ – and lost his sonIcarus), Jason (who ‘reaped a golden harvest’but whose wife Creusa was murdered byMedea) and Phaeton (who tamed the Sun butdrowned). Pride comes before a fall, just as itwill for Orfeo.

The popularity of L’Orfeo seems only attributableto an enthusiastic reception of this new attemptin the stile rappresentativo. The Orpheus mythwas a convenient and fitting metaphor for thenew efforts at conjoining music, drama andpoetry, and the younger progressive princes sawin Monteverdi’s seconda pratica a kind ofreflection of their own political innovations.Monteverdi’s setting of the libretto presentselements of recitative and madrigal in uniquelystructured ways, artfully combined. Orfeo in allhis glorious eloquence stands at the centre with‘Possente Spirto’ – around him are arrayed other

spheres of symmetry: the joyful dances andchoruses orbiting Orfeo’s ecstatic ‘Rosa del ciel’in Act I; the strophic refrains of Caronte in ActIII; Orfeo’s song of joy at recovering Euridicebefore the second, fatal, death; his long, movinglament on the plains of Thrace; the final joyousduet with Apollo. Monteverdi’s specificorchestral directions colour the opposing scenesin traditional hues that would become amainstay of the developing operatic tradition formore than a century to come: sackbuts and thegrating regale for the underworld; harpsichords,winds and strings for the shepherds andnymphs; organ and chitarrone for heartfeltsoliloquies, and so on.

Ferrari placed Striggio’s poetic endeavourssquarely within the framework of the rhetoricaltradition, leaving to Monteverdi and music ingeneral only the delivery of an ideal orationarticulated by the ever-superior librettist.Returning to our anonymous 1640 encomium tothe venerable master, we see just how muchchange had occurred in musical circles towardsthe reception of theatrical music.

Now you, my Lords, tolerating theimperfection of my poetry, enjoy cheerfullythe sweetness of the music of the neverenough praised Monteverde, born to theworld so as to rule over the emotions ofothers, there being no harsh spirit that hedoes not turn and move according to his

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talent, adapting in such a way the musicalnotes to the words and to the passions thathe who sings must laugh, weep, growangry and grow pitying, and do all the restthat they command, with the listener noless led to the same impulse in the varietyand force of the same perturbations.

And so, by the mid-century, Monteverdi hadbecome Orpheus; the supreme orator, theconsummate musician, the inspired genius. Inthe words of Shakespeare, he:

…with his lute made trees,And the mountain tops that freeze,Bow themselves, when he did sing:To his music, plants and flowers Ever sprung; as sun and showersThere had made a lasting spring.(Henry VIII, Act III, scene i)

Erin Helyard

Claudio Monteverdi

Claudio Giovanni AntonioMonteverdi was born inCremona, in 1567. He was theson of a doctor and the eldestof five children. Not much isknown about his youth. Claudio and his brotherstudied music with a Marc Antonio Ingegneriwho was the cathedral composer, though thereis no evidence that either sang in the choir.

Monteverdi was a prodigy, publishing his firstwork, Cantiunculae sacrae, a volume of sacredsongs, as a 15-year-old. His second book waspublished the following year and in 1584 histhird book was published by the Venetian housewhich would become his main publisher,Vincenti & Amadino. Three years later, aged 19,he published his First Book of Madrigals.

In 1592, aged 25, Monteverdi was hired as a violplayer to Vincenzo I, Duke of Mantua. Mantuawas under the protection of the powerfulGonzaga family, and Monteverdi’s lot dependedvery much on the character of the ruling duke.The first Gonzaga Duke, Guglielmo, was wise,cultured, educated, talented and progressive;Vincenzo I, Guglielmo’s successor andMonteverdi’s boss, fell short of the idealRenaissance monarch. An inconsistent, brutishruler, he did however have a great love for dramaand music and kept a stable of virtuosoperformers to gratify his passion for display.

with regularly employed singers, instrumentalistsand many others for special events. Music hadto be provided – composed, rehearsed,performed – for about forty festivals per year. Inhis mid-forties, he was in his prime not only inhis own composition but also in how he took onhis new job. He reorganised the chapel band,brought the choir up to strength, hired moremusicians for more services and expanded themusic library. After three years he was granted aten-year contract. He was happy – financiallycomfortable, famous, appreciated by hisemployers, and loved by the public.

By 1620 Venice was a ferment of musiccomposition – there were six composersemployed by the Basilica itself. Monteverdi wasin his fifties, secure in his job and venerated athome and abroad. As well as his churchcomposition, he wrote solo motets, duets andother more easily performed works for variousanthologies of church music. Heinrich Schützvisited from Germany in 1628 to learn fromMonteverdi the new art of opera and churchmusic. In 1630 the plague swept through Venice,killing 40,000 but sparing Claudio. He was worndown by the strain, however, and in 1632 wasordained a priest.

Just when it seemed that his career wasbeginning to fade, Venice was evolving into acity of opera. In 1637 the first public operahouse opened with Manelli’s Andromeda. Soonafter, several others were opened and

Monteverdi was not one to be left out. Aged 70,Monteverdi’s composing took on a new life.Arianna was revived in 1639 (though wassubsequently lost); a series of new worksfollowed, including Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria. Hepublished his Eighth Book of Madrigals and acollection of church music. In 1642, at the age of75, he composed L’incoronazione di Poppea.

He died in Venice of a malignant fever on 29November 1643. The city mourned him with animpressive funeral ceremony held in twochurches, San Marco and Santa Maria dei Frari,where he was buried. His publisher Vincenticollected the manuscripts of all his unpublishedchurch music and published them in 1651. Alsothat year, Poppea was performed in far-awayNaples.

Like many great composers of the Baroque,Monteverdi’s work was largely neglected afterhis death and regained full recognition only inthe 20th century.

Alison Johnston and Ken Nielsen

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Duke Vincenzo promoted Monteverdi from violplayer to singer, a much more senior position.The next year Monteverdi was disappointedwhen the maestro di cappella died and thevacancy was filled by Benedetto Pallavicino, anolder, well-published musician whom Monteverdinevertheless considered his inferior. Despite hisown growing fame and the fact that he was thehighest-paid court singer – and next in line forpromotion – Monteverdi began to feeldiscontent. He married court singer ClaudiaCattaneo in May 1599; when Pallavicino died in1601, Monteverdi again applied for his positionand was awarded the post, the same year thathis son Francesco was born.

As he became more famous, his music wasattacked by Bolognese theorist Giovanni MariaArtusi, who in 1600 and 1603 pointed toMonteverdi as a perpetrator of crimes againstmusic. When the Fifth Book of Madrigalsappeared in 1605, perhaps in reply to Artusi,opinion sided with Monteverdi. Not only wasthis fifth volume reprinted within a year, thepublisher also reprinted all of Monteverdi’searlier books.

Two more children were born to Claudio andClaudia, and with their debts mounting,Monteverdi complained about irregular paymentof his salary. In 1607 he presented L’Orfeo(commissioned for Carnival at Mantua), but hadlittle opportunity to enjoy the triumph of his first

opera. Claudia died in September of that year,after a long illness, and Monteverdi was left awidower with his two surviving children, sonsaged six and three. He was 40 years old.

He stopped composing, but was coaxed back bya letter promising fame and a prince’s gratitude.He buried his sorrows in work – a new opera(Arianna), an intermezzo and a ballet for thecelebration of a royal wedding. Despiteextremely stressful working conditions, his musicwas a great success. However, this could notalter his depression and Monteverdi went hometo Cremona in such a collapsed state that hisfather wrote to the Duchess of Mantua with arequest that Claudio be released from his duties.

The request was denied and Monteverdi wassummoned to return, though with a substantialpay rise. By 1610 he was back in Mantua andobviously casting about for another job. Theneed to find this became urgent when, in 1612,Vincenzo died; his son Francesco ascended thethrone and suddenly dismissed Monteverdi.After more than twenty years of service in theGonzaga ducal court, Monteverdi returned toCremona with the equivalent of one month’ssalary in his pocket: his life savings.

The following year the maestro di cappella atSan Marco in Venice died. Monteverdi appliedfor the post and was appointed on the spot. Thisnew job was huge. The Basilica at San Marcowas the largest musical establishment in Italy,

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Damian Whiteley Paul McMahon Brett Weymark

Mark Tucker Sara Macliver

Penelope Mills Josie Ryan Anna Fraser

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Jenny Duck-Chong

Craig Everingham Belinda MontgomeryRaff Wilson

David Greco Philip Chu

Daniel Walker Benjamin Loomes Antony Walker

1716

l’alma già sì sdegnosa the soul, once so scornful,de la bell’Euridice. of the lovely Eurydice;Oggi fatto è felice today Orpheus is made happy,Orfeo nel sen di lei, per cui già tanto in the embrace of her for whom he so oftenper queste selve ha sospirato e pianto. sighed and wept in these woods.Dunque in sì lieto e fortunato giorno So on this happy and fortunate dayc’hà posto fine à gli amorosi affanni which has put an end to the pains ourdel nostro semideo demigod has suffered for love, cantiam, pastori, in sì soavi accenti let us sing, shepherds, in such sweet accents che sian degni d’Orfeo nostri concenti. that our refrains may be worthy of Orpheus.

CHORO NINFE, PASTORI CHORUS OF NYMPHS AND SHEPHERDS4 Vieni Imeneo, deh vieni, Come, Hymen, oh come!

e la tua face ardente and let your flaming torchsia quasi un sol nascente be like a sun risingch’apporti à questi amanti i dì sereni to bring blissful days to these lovers;e lunge homai disgombre sweep far from themde gl’affanni e del duol gl’orrori e l’ombre. the horrors and shadows of suffering and grief.

NINFA NYMPHMuse honor di Parnasso, amor del cielo, Muses, honour of Parnassus, beloved of Heaven,gentil conforto à sconsolato core, gentle comfort to disconsolate hearts,vostre cetre sonore let your sonorous lyressquarcino d’ogni nube il fosco velo: strip the gloomy veil from every cloud:e mentre oggi propitio al nostro Orfeo and, on this propitious day for our Orpheus,invochiam Imeneo while we call on Hymensù ben temprate corde on well-tempered strings,sià il vostro canto al nostro suon concorde. let your song be in harmony with our playing.

NINFE, PASTORI NYMPHS AND SHEPHERDS5 Lasciate i monti, Leave the mountains,

lasciate i fonti, leave the springs,ninfe vezzose e liete, you glad and graceful nymphs,e in questi prati and on these meadowsa i balli usati turn your pretty feetvago il bel piè rendete. to the familiar dances.

CD1

1 PROLOGO PROLOGUE

LA MUSICA MUSIC2 Dal mio Permesso amato à voi ne vegno, I come to you from my beloved river Permessus,

incliti Eroi, sangue gentil de regi, O great heroes, noble race of kings;di cui narra la Fama eccelsi pregi, Fame sings your splendid qualities,nè giunge al ver perch’è tropp’alto il segno. but falls short of the truth, so high is the mark.

Io la Musica son, ch’à i dolci accenti I am Music, who with sweet accentssò far tranquillo ogni turbato core, can calm every restless heart; et hor di nobil ira, et hor d’amore and, now with noble anger, now with love, posso infiammar le più gelate menti. can inflame the most frozen minds.

Io sù cetera d’or cantando soglio Singing to a golden lyre, I ammortal orecchio lusingar talhora sometimes wont to entice mortal ears,e in questa guisa a l’armonia sonora and thus, with the resounding harmoniesde la lira del ciel più l’alme invoglio. of heaven’s lyre, I inspire the soul.

Quinci à dirvi d’Orfeo desio mi sprona And now, spurred on by the desire to tell you ofd’Orfeo che trasse al suo cantar le fere, Orpheus, who drew the wild beasts with his singinge servo fè l’inferno à sue preghiere, and made Hell submit to his pleas –gloria immortal di Pindo e d’Elicona. the immortal glory of Pindus and of Helicon –

Hor mentre i canti alterno, hor lieti, hor mesti, While I sing now of joy, now of sorrow,non si mova augellin frà queste piante, let no bird now move among these trees,nè s’oda in queste rive onda sonante, nor any wave be heard upon these shores,et ogni auretta in suo camin s’arresti. and let every breeze stop in its path.

ATTO PRIMO ACT ONE

PASTORE SHEPHERD I3 In questo lieto e fortunato giorno On this happy and fortunate day

ch’à posto fine à gl’amorosi affanni which has put an end to the pains ourdel nostro semideo demigod has suffered for love, cantiam, pastori, in sì soavi accenti let us sing, shepherds, in such sweet accents che sian degni d’Orfeo nostri concenti. that our refrains may be worthy of Orpheus.Oggi fatta è pietosa Today has been moved to pity

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pegno di pura fede à me porgesti. in a pledge of pure faith! Se tanti cori havessi If I had as many heartsquant’occh’hà il ciel eterno, e quante chiomè as eternal heaven has eyes, or as these hillshan questi colli amenni il verde Maggio, have leaves in green May,tutti colmi sarieno e traboccanti every one would be full and overflowingdi quel piacer ch’oggi mi fà contento. with the joy that is making me happy today.

EURIDICE EURYDICEIo non dirò qual sia I can’t tell you how nel tuo gioir, Orfeo, la gioia mia, joyful it makes me to see you rejoice, Orpheus,che non hò meco il core, because my heart is no longer with me,ma teco stassi in compagnia d’Amore. but with you, in the company of Love.Chiedilo dunque à lui s’intender brami Ask him, then, if you want to knowquanto lieta gioisca, e quanto t’ami. how happy it is, and how much it loves you.

NINFE, PASTORI NYMPHS, SHEPHERDS7 Lasciate i monti… Leave the mountains…

Vieni Imeneo, deh vieni… Come, Hymen, oh come!…

PASTORE SHEPHERD III8 Ma s’il nostro gioir dal ciel deriva But if our joy comes to us from heaven,

come dal ciel ciò che quà giù n’incontra, as does everything we meet here on earth,giust’è ben che devoti then it is right and proper that, with devotion,gl’offriam’incensi e voti. we offer up incense and vows.Dunqu’al tempio ciascun rivolga i passi So let each of us turn our steps to the templea pregar lui ne la cui destra è il mondo, to pray to him who holds the world in his right hand,che lungamente il nostro ben conservi. that he may long preserve our wellbeing.

PASTORI SHEPHERDS I & IV9 Alcun non sia che disperato in preda Let no-one fall prey to despair

si doni al duol, or give himself to grief, ben chè tall’hor si assaglia even if sometimes it assails uspossente sì che nostra vita inforsa. with such force that it threatens our lives.

SHEPHERDS I, II & V0 Che poi che nembo rio gravido il seno For when the clouds, pregnant with

d’atra tempesta inorridito hà il mondo, dark storms, have terrified the world,dispiega il sol più chiaro i rai lucenti. the sun shows his shining beams more clearly.

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Qui miri il sole Let the sun here gaze onvostre carole your round-dances,più vaghe assai di quelle, far more lovely than thoseond’à la Luna, danced to the moonla notte bruna, in the dusky nightdanzano in ciel le stelle. by the stars in heaven.

Poi di bei fiori Then with fine flowersper voi s’honori crowndi questi amanti il crine, the heads of these lovers, c’hor dei martiri who now, far from the tormentsde i lor desiri of their desires,godon beati al fine. rejoice in bliss forever.

PASTORE SHEPHERD IIMa tu, gentil cantor, s’à tuoi lamenti But you, sweet singer, if your lamentsgià festi lagrimar queste campagne, once made these fields weep,perc’hora al suon de la famosa cetra why doesn’t the sound of your famous lyrenon fai teco gioir le valli e i poggi? now make the valleys and hills rejoice with you?Sia testimon del core Let some joyful song inspired by Lovequalche lieta canzon che detti Amore. bear witness to your heart.

ORFEO ORPHEUS6 Rosa del ciel, vita del mondo, e degna Rose of heaven, life of the world and true heir

Prole di lui che l’Universo affrena, of him who governs all the universe,sol, che’l tutto circondi e’l tutto miri, O sun who encompasses all and sees all, da gli stellanti giri, from your great circling among the stars, dimmi: vedestù mai tell me: have you ever seen di me più lieto e fortunato amante? a lover happier and more blessed than me?Fu ben felice il giorno, That day was truly happy,mio ben, che pria ti vidi, my love, when I first saw you,e più felice l’hora and happier still the hourche per te sospirai, when I sighed for you,poi ch’al mio sospirar tu sospirasti: because at my sighing, you sighed too:felicissimo il punto happiest of all was the moment che la candida mano when you gave me your milk-white hand

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suoi sventurati amori. his unhappy loves.Qui le Nappee vezzose, Here the graceful nymphs(schiera sempre fiorita) (always garlanded with flowers)con le candide dita were seen to pick rosesfur viste a coglier rose. with their white hands.

NINFE, PASTORI NYMPHS AND SHEPHERDSDunque fà degno Orfeo, So, Orpheus, dignifydel suon de la tua lira with the sound of your lyrequesti campi ove spira these fields where breezesaura d’odor Sabeo. waft the perfumes of Arabia.

ORFEO ORPHEUS$ Vi ricorda ò boschi ombrosi, Do you remember, O shady woods,

de’ miei lunghi aspri tormenti, my long and bitter torments,quando i sassi ai miei lamenti when the stones, moved to pity,rispondean fatti pietosi? responded to my laments?

Dite, allhor non vi sembrai Tell me, did I not then seem to youpiù d’ogni altro sconsolato? more wretched than anyone?Hor fortuna hà stil cangiato Now Fate has changed her tuneet hà volto in festa i guai. and turned my griefs into revels.

Vissi già mesto e dolente, My life then was sad and sorrowful,hor gioisco e quegli affanni but now I rejoice, and those miseriesche sofferti hò per tant’anni I suffered for so many yearsfan più caro il ben presente. make my present good fortune all the more dear.

Sol per te, bella Euridice, Only because of you, fair Eurydice,benedico il mio tormento. do I bless those torments;Dopò’l duol vi è più contento, after pain, one is the more contented,dopò’l mal vi è più felice. after misfortune, one is the happier.

PASTORE SHEPHERD I% Mira, deh mira, Orfeo, che d’ogni intorno Come, look now, Orpheus, how all around you

ride il bosco e ride il prato. the woods and the fields are laughing!Segui pur col plettr’aurato Continue then with your golden plectrum,d’addolcir l’aria sì beato giorno. to sweeten the air of this blessed day.

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SHEPHERDS VI & VII! E dopo l’aspro gel del verno ignudo And after the bitter cold of naked winter,

veste di fior la Primavera i campi. Spring clothes the fields with flowers.

NINFE, PASTORI NYMPHS, SHEPHERDSEcco Orfeo cui pur dianzi Here is Orpheus, who only a short time agofuron cibo i sospir bevanda il pianto, ate the bread of sighs and drank the water of tears:oggi felice è tanto today is so happyche nulla è più che da bramar gli avanzi. that he could wish for nothing more.

ATTO SECONDO ACT TWO

@ Sinfonia

ORFEO ORPHEUSEcco pur ch’à voi ritorno Here am I with you again, care selve e piagge amate, dear woods and beloved shoresda quel sol fatte beate blessed by the sunper cui sol mie nott’han giorno. which alone has changed my night into day.

PASTORE SHEPHERD I£ Mira, ch’à se n’alletta Look how those beech trees

l’ombra Orfeo de que’ faggi invite us into their shade, Orpheus,hor ch’infocati raggi now that Phoebus’ fiery raysFebo da ciel saetta. are shooting down from heaven.

SHEPHERD IVSù quel’herbosa sponde Let’s lie down on these grassy banksposianci, e in varii modi and each in his own wayciascun sua voce snodi let his voice run freeal mormorio de l’onde. to the murmuring of the waves.

DUE PASTORI SHEPHERDS I & IVIn questo prato adorno In this flowery meadowogni selvaggio nume it has often been the customsovente hà per costume of the woodland godsdi far lieto soggiorno. to pass happy hours.

Qui Pan, Dio de’ pastori, Here Pan, God of the shepherds,s’udì talhor dolente was sometimes heard sadlyrimembrar dolcemente and sweetly recalling

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ORFEO ORPHEUSOhimè. Alas!

MESSAGGIERA MESSENGER^ In un fiorito prato In a flowery field

con l’altre sue compagne, with her companionsgiva cogliendo fiori she was walking around gathering flowersper farne una ghirlanda à le sue chiome, to make a garland for her hair,quand’angue insidioso, when a treacherous serpentch’era fra l’erbe ascoso, hidden in the grassle punse un piè con velenoso dente. pierced her foot with its poison fang.Ed ecco immantinente And behold, straight awayscolorissi il bel viso e ne’ suoi lumi her lovely face grew pale, and in her eyes,sparir que’lampi, ond’ella al sol fea scorno. the light that once put the sun to shame grew dim.Allhor noi tutte sbigottite e meste Then we, all horrified and sad,le fummo intorno richiamar tentando gathered around her, trying to call backgli spirti in lei smarriti her failing spirit con l’onda fresca e co’possenti carmi. with cool water and powerful charms:Ma nulla valse, ahi lassa, but all was in vain, alas!ch’ella i languidi lumi alquanto aprendo, For, half-opening her heavy eyes,e te chiamando Orfeo, and calling to you, Orpheus, dopò un grave sospiro, after a deep sighspirò fra queste braccia, ed io rimasi she died in these arms, and I was leftpieno il cor di pietade e di spavento. with my heart full of pity and fear.

PASTORE SHEPHERD IAhi, caso acerbo!… Ah, bitter chance!…

SECONDO PASTORE SHEPHERD IVA l’amara novella At this bitter newsrassembra l’infelice un muto sasso the poor man seems a mute stone,che per troppo dolor non può dolersi. his grief so great that he cannot grieve.

SHEPHERD IAhi, ben havrebbe un cor di tigre o d’orsa Ah, surely he would have the heart of a tiger or a bearchi non sentisse del tuo mal pietade, who felt no pity for your pain,privo d’ogni tuo ben, misero amante. bereft of your beloved, O wretched lover!

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MESSAGGIERA MESSENGERAhi, caso acerbo! Ahi, fat’empio e crudele! Ah, bitter chance! Ah, evil and cruel fate!Ahi, stelle ingiuriose! Ahi, ciel avaro! Ah, malignant stars! Ah, greedy heavens!

PASTORE SHEPHERD IQual suon dolente il lieto dì perturba? What mournful sound disturbs this happy day?

MESSAGGIERA MESSENGERLassa, dunque, debb’io, Alas, must I then,mentre Orfeo con sue note il ciel consola while Orpheus charms the heavens with his music,con le parole mie passargli il core? pierce his heart with my words?

PASTORE SHEPHERD VIIIQuesta è Silvia gentile, This is the gentle Sylvia,dolcissima compagna sweetest companiondella bell’Euridice: of the fair Eurydice; ò quanto è in vista dolorosa! Oh, how sad she looks!Hor che fia? Deh sommi dei, What is happening? Ah, great gods,non torcete da noi benigno il guardo. don’t turn your kindly gaze away from us!

MESSAGGIERA MESSENGERPastor lasciate il canto, Shepherds, leave off your singing,ch’ogni nostra allegrezza in doglia è volta. for today all our joy is turned to grief.

ORFEO ORPHEUSD’onde vieni? Ove vai? Where have you come from? Where are you going?Ninfa che porti? Nymph, what is it you bring?

MESSAGGIERA MESSENGERA te ne vengo Orfeo I come to you, Orpheus messagiera infelice bearing sad tidingsdi caso più infelice e più funesto. of the saddest and most grievous ill-fortune.La tua bella Euridice... Your beautiful Eurydice...

ORFEO ORPHEUSOhimè che odo? Alas, what am I hearing?

MESSAGGIERA MESSENGERLa tua diletta sposa è morta. Your beloved bride is dead!

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Oggi turbo crudele Today, a cruel twist of fatei due lumi maggiori has put out the two greatest lightsdi queste nostre selve, of these our woods,Euridice e Orfeo, Eurydice and Orpheus,l’una punta da l’angue, the one stung by a serpent,l’altro dal duol trafitto, the other,ahi lassi, ha spenti. alas, transfixed with grief.

NINFE, PASTORI NYMPHS, SHEPHERDS) Ahi, caso acerbo!… Ah, bitter chance!…

PASTORI SHEPHERDS I & VIIMa dove, ah dove hor sono But where, ah, where now arede la misera Ninfa the beautiful, cold limbsle belle e fredde membra, of the wretched nymph,dove suo degno albergo where the worthy dwelling-placequella bell’alma elesse chosen by that sweet soulch’oggi è partita in su’l fiorir de’ giorni? which today has departed in the flower of youth?Andiam Pastori, andiamo Come, shepherds, let us gopietosi à ritrovarle, in pity to find here di lagrime amare and in bitter tearsil dovuto tributo let us pay due honourper noi si paghi almeno al corpo esangue. at least to her bloodless body.

PASTORI SHEPHERDSAhi, caso acerbo!… Ah, bitter chance!…

CD2

ATTO TERZO ACT THREE

1 Sinfonia

ORFEO ORPHEUS2 Scorto da te mio Nume Escorted by you, my Goddess,

Speranza, unico bene Hope, only solacede gl’afflitti mortali, omai son giunto of afflicted mortals, at last I have arriveda questi mesti et tenebrosi regni in these sad and shadowy landsove raggio di sol giamai non giunse. where no ray of sunlight has ever reached.Tù mia compagna e duce You, my companion and guide,

ORFEO ORPHEUS& Tu se’ morta, mia vita, ed io respiro? You are dead, my life, and am I still breathing?

tu se’ da me partita You have gone from me,per mai più non tornare, ed io rimango? shall never return to me, and I am still here?Nò, che se i versi alcuna cosa ponno, No, for if my verses can do anything,n’andrò sicuro a più profondi abissi I shall surely go down to the deepest abyssese intenerito il cor del Rè de l’Ombre, and melt the heart of the King of Shadows,meco trarròtti a riveder le stelle. bringing you back with me to see the stars once again.O se ciò negheràmmi empio destino, Or, if evil fate denies me this,rimarrò teco in compagnia di morte, I shall stay with you in the company of death:A dio terra, à dio cielo, e sole, à dio. Farewell to earth, to sky, to sun, farewell.

NINFE, PASTORI NYMPHS, SHEPHERDS* Ahi, caso acerbo!… Ah, bitter chance!…

Non si fidi huom mortale Mortal man, do not put your trustdi ben caduco e frale in fleeting, fragile happinessche tosto fugge, e spesso which soon is fled, and oftena gran salita il precipizio è presso. the highest leap lands on the precipice.

MESSAGGIERA MESSENGERMa io ch’in questa lingua But I, whose tonguehò portato il coltello carried the knifec’hà svenata ad Orfeo l’anima amante, that bled dry the loving soul of Orpheus:odiosa à i Pastori et à le Ninfe, hateful to the shepherds and to the nymphs,odiosa à me stessa, ove m’ascondo? hateful to my very self, where shall I hide?Nottola infausta il sole An ill-omened bat, I shall fuggirò sempre e in solitario speco forever flee the sun and in some solitary cavemenerò vita al mio dolor conforme. lead a life befitting my grief.

PASTORI SHEPHERDS I & VII( Chi ne consola, ahi lassi? Who will console us, alas?

O pur chi ne concede Or rather, who will lend negl’occhi un vivo fonte to our eyes a living spring,da poter lagrimar come conviensi that we may weep as is fittingin questo mesto giorno, on this sad day,quanto più lieto gia tant’hor più mesto? all the sadder for having been so glad?

Solcar quest’onde ad huom mortal non dassi, It is not given to mortal man to plough these waves,nè può co’ morti albergo haver chi vive. nor may the living find shelter with the dead.Che? Voi forse, nemico al mio Signore, What? Perhaps, an enemy of my master, you seekCerbero trar da le tartaree porte? to drag Cerberus from the doors of Tartarus?O rapir brami sua cara consorte Or do you want to ravish his beloved consort,d’impudico desire acceso il core? your heart consumed with indecent desires?Pon freno al folle ardir, ch’entr’al mio legno Put a stop to your foolhardiness, for no living bodynon accorrò più mai corporea salma, shall I ever allow to enter my boat,sì de gli antichi oltraggi ancor ne l’alma for the ancient affronts still awaken in my soulserbo acerba memoria e giusto sdegno. bitter memories and just resentment.

ORFEO ORPHEUS5 Possente Spirto e formidabil nume, Mighty Spirit, awe-inspiring God,

senza cui far passaggio à l’altra riva without whom no bodiless soul can presumealma da corpo sciolta in van presume: to cross to the far shore:

Non vivo io nò, che poi di vita è priva I am not alive, for my beloved bridemia cara sposa, il cor non è più meco, is deprived of life, my heart is no longer with me,e senza cor com’esser può ch’io viva? and with no heart, how can I be alive?

A lei volt’hò il camin per l’aër cieco, I have made my way to her through the blind air,a l’inferno non già, ch’ovunque stassi yet not to Hell, for wherever dwellstanta bellezza il paradiso hà seco. such beauty, there is Paradise.

6 Orfeo son io che d’Euridice i passi I am Orpheus, following Eurydice’s stepsseguo per queste tenebrose arene, through these shadowy lands,ove già mai per huom mortal non vassi. where no mortal man has ever trod.O de le luci mie luci serene, O clear light of my eyes,s’un vostro sguardo può tornarmi in vita, if one glance from you can restore me to life,Ahi, chi niega il conforto à le mie pene? ah, who would deny me comfort in my pain?Sol tu, nobile Dio, puoi darmi aita, You alone, noble God, can help me,nè temer dei, che sopr’un’aurea cetra nor should you be afraid, for on a golden lyresol di corde soavi armo il dita my fingers are armed only with sweet stringscontra cui rigid’alma in van s’impetra. against which the obdurate soul hardens itself in vain.

CARONTE CHARON7 Ben mi lusinga alquanto I am indeed rather charmed,

dilettandomi il core, my heart delighted,

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in così strane e sconosciute vie along such strange and unknown pathsregesti il passo debole e tremante, have supported my weak and trembling steps,ond’oggi ancora spero where today I hope once moredi riveder quelle beate luci to see again those beautiful eyesche sol’à gl’occhi miei portan’ il giorno. which alone can bring daylight to my own.

SPERANZA HOPE3 Ecco l’atra palude, ecco il nocchiero Here is the dark marsh, here is the helmsman

che trahe l’ignudi spirti a l’altra riva who ferries naked souls to the far shoredove hà Pluton de l’ombre il vasto impero. where Pluto rules his vast empire of shadows.Oltre quel nero stagn’, oltre quel fiume, Beyond that black swamp, beyond that river, in quei campi di pianto e di dolori, in those fields of weeping and of pain,Destin crudele ogni tuo ben t’asconde. cruel Fate is hiding your beloved from you.Hor d’uopo è d’un gran core e d’un bel canto. Now there is need of courage and of sweet singing. Io fin qui t’hò condotto, hor più non lice I have led you this far, but I may notteco venir, ch’amara legge il vieta. come any further with you; harsh law forbids it,Legge scritta co’l ferro in duro sasso a law engraved with iron in hard stonede l’ima reggia in sù l’orribil soglia over the dreadful threshold of the deepest realm,ch’in queste note il fiero senso esprime, which expresses its cruel message in these words:Lasciate ogni speranza ò voi ch’entrate. ‘Abandon all hope, ye who enter here!’Dunque, se stabilito hai pur nel core Therefore, if you are resolved in your heartdi porre il piè nella città dolente, to set foot in this city of pain, da te me’n fuggo e torno a l’usato soggiorno. I must flee from you and return to familiar surrounds.

ORFEO ORPHEUS4 Dove, ah dove te’n vai, Where, ah where are you going,

unico del mio cor dolce conforto? only sweet comfort of my heart?Poi che non lunge homai Since not far away nowdel mio lungo camin si scopr’il porto, I see the gate that ends my long journey,perche ti parti e m’abbandoni, ahi lasso, why do you depart and leave me alone, alas,sul periglioso passo? at this perilous threshold?Qual bene hor più m’avanza What good remains for me nowse fuggi tù, dolcissima Speranza? if you, dearest Hope, are fled?

CARONTE CHARONO tu ch’innanzi mort’a queste rive O you who, not yet dead, are come temerario te’n vieni, arresta i passi. recklessly to this shore, come no farther.

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Ei de l’instabil piano He has tilled the rolling fields of the shifting plains,arò gl’ondosi campi, e’l seme sparse and scattered the seedsdi sue fatiche, ond’aurea messe accolse. of his labour, reaping a golden harvest.Quinci perchè memoria And so, to keep the memory vivesse di sua gloria, of his glory alive,La fama à dir di lui sua lingua sciolse, Fame has loosed her tongue to speak of himchei pose freno al mar con fragil legno, who has tamed the sea in a fragile bark,che sprezzò d’Austr’e d’Aquilon lo sdegno. mocking the fury of the South and North Winds.

ATTO QUARTO ACT FOUR

PROSERPINA PERSEPHONE0 Signor, quel infelice My Lord, that wretched man

che per queste di morte ampie campagne who wanders these vast fields of the deadvà chiamand’Euridice, calling for Eurydice,ch’udit’hai tù pur dianzi whom you have just heard così soavemente lamentarsi, lamenting so sweetly,moss’hà tanta pietà dentr’al mio core has stirred such pity in my heartch’un’altra volta io torno a porger preghi that once again I come to appeal perchè il tuo Nume al suo pregar si pieghi. to Your Divinity to hear his prayers.Deh, se da queste luci Oh, if from these eyesamorosa dolcezza unqua trahesti you have ever drawn the sweetness of love, se ti piacqu’il seren di questa fronte if ever you have taken delight in this calm brow che tù chiami tuo cielo, onde mi giuri, which you call your heaven, by which you swore di non invidiar sua sorte à Giove, to me never to envy the fate of Jove,pregoti, per quel foco, I implore you, by that very firecon cui già la grand’alma Amor t’accese, with which Love set your great soul aflame,fa ch’Euridice torni a goder di quei giorni let Eurydice return to enjoy those daysche trar solea vivend’in feste e in canto, that she used to spend in feasting and song,e del miser Orfeo consola’l pianto. and console the tears of the wretched Orpheus.

PLUTONE PLUTO! Benchè severo ed immutabil fato Though a stern and unyielding fate

contrasti, amata sposa, a i tuoi desiri, opposes your wishes, beloved bride,pur null’homai si nieghi let nothing be denieda tal beltà congiunta a tanti prieghi. to such beauty allied with so many prayers.

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sconsolato cantore, O unhappy singer,il tuo piant’el tuo canto. by your lament and your song.Ma lunge, ah lunge sia da questo petto But far, ah, far from this breastpietà, di mio valor non degno affetto. be pity, a sentiment unworthy of my dignity.

ORFEO ORPHEUSAhi, sventurato amante! Alas for me, unhappy lover! Sperar dunque non lice Then may I not hopech’odan miei prieghi i cittadin d’Averno? that the people of Avernus may hear my pleas?Onde qual’ ombra errante Like the wandering shaded’insepolto cadavero infelice, of an unburied, hapless corpse,privo sarò del cielo e de l’inferno? shall I be denied both heaven and hell?Così vuol empia sorte Does evil Fate wish it thus,ch’in questi orror di morte that in this horror of death,da te cor mio lontano, far from you, my dear heart,chiami tuo nome in vano, I shall call your name in vain,e pregando e piangendo io mi consumi? and waste away with begging and weeping?Rendetemi il mio ben, Tartarei Numi. Give me back my love, Gods of Tartarus!

Sinfonia

8 Ei dorme, e la mia cetra He sleeps, and though my lyrese pietà non impetra could wring no pity ne l’indurato core, almen il sonno from that hardened heart, at least his eyesfuggir al mio cantar gli occhi non ponno. could not escape from slumber at my singing.Sù dunque, a che più tardo? So then, why wait any longer?Temp’è ben d’approdar su l’altra sponda, It is high time I head for the far shore,s’alcun non è ch’il nieghi, if there is no-one to hinder me,Vaglia l’ardir se foran van’i preghi. let courage prevail, since prayers were in vain.È vago fior del tempo Opportunity is a delicate flower of timel’occasion, ch’esser dee colta à tempo. which must be plucked at the right moment.Mentre versan quest’occhi amari fiumi While bitter streams flow from these eyes,rendetemi il mio ben, Tartarei Numi. give me back my love, Gods of Tartarus!

9 Sinfonia a 7

SPIRITI INFERNALI SPIRITS OF HELLNulla impresa per huom si tenta in vano, Nothing attempted by man is in vain,nè contro lui più sà natura armarse. nor has nature any defences against him.

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rinfrescan nel mio core; in my heart;così l’anima tua non sia più vaga so let your soul no longer be distracteddi celeste diletto, by heavenly delightssi ch’abbandoni il marital tuo letto. that cause you to forsake your marriage bed.

SPIRITI INFERNALI SPIRITS OF HELL$ Pietade oggi et Amore Today Pity and Love

trionfan ne l’inferno. have triumphed in Hell.

SPIRIT IEcco il gentil cantore, Here is the noble singer,che sua sposa conduce al ciel superno. leading his bride to heavenly heights.

% Ritornello

ORFEO ORPHEUSQual honor di te fia degno, What honour could do you justice,mia cetra onnipotente, my all-powerful lyre,s’hai nel Tartareo regno since you have been able to bend every obdurate piegar potuto ogni indurata mente? mind in the kingdom of Tartarus?Luogo havrai fra le più belle You shall have a place among the fairestimagini celesti images of heaven,ond’al tuo suon le stelle where at your sound the stars danzeranno co’gir’hor tard’hor presti. will dance in rounds, now slow, now fast.

Io per te felice à pieno Filled with happiness, thanks to you,vedrò l’amato volto, I shall see the beloved facee nel candido seno and be gathered todayde la mia donn’oggi sarò raccolto. into the white breast of my lady.

Ma mentre io canto ohimè chi m’assicura But while I sing, alas, how can I know for sure ch’ella mi segua? Ohimè chi mi nasconde that she is following? Alas, who is concealing from mede le amate pupille il dolce lume? the sweet light of her beloved eyes? Forse d’invidia punte Perhaps, stung by jealousy,le Deità d’Averno the Gods of Avernus,perch’io non sia qua giù felice à pieno to prevent me from finding such happiness here mi tolgono il mirarvi below, are depriving me of the sight of you,luci beate e liete, O blessed, happy eyes which withche sol col sguardo altrui bear potete? a single glance have the power to bring bliss?

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La sua cara Euridice His beloved Eurydicecontra l’ordin fatale Orfeo ricovri. shall be returned to Orpheus, against fate’s decree.Ma pria che trag’il piè da questi abissi But while he yet treads these abyssesnon mai volga ver lei gli avidi lumi, he shall not turn his eager eyes to her,che di perdita eterna for eternal lossgli sia certa cagion un solo sguardo. shall certainly result from even a single glance.Io così stabilisco. Hor nel mio Regno Thus I ordain. Now, ministers, fate o Ministri il mio voler palese, make my will known throughout my kingdom,sì che l’intenda Orfeo so that Orpheus understands ite l’intenda Euridice and Eurydice understands itne di cangiar l’altrui sperar più lice. and let no-one hope to change it.

SPIRITI INFERNALI SPIRIT I@ O degli habitator de l’ombre eterne O mighty King of all inhabitants of eternal darkness,

possente Rè legge ne sia tuo cenno, you nod your head and it is law,che ricercar altre cagioni interne for it is not given to us to seek the deeper workingsdi tuo voler nostri pensier non denno. of your will.

SPIRIT IITrarrà da quest’orribili caverne Will Orpheus carry his bride from these sua sposa Orfeo, s’adoprerà suo ingegno dread caverns, will he employ his intelligencesi che no’l vinca giovenil desio, to resist youthful desirene i gravi imperi suoi sparga d’oblio. and to remain mindful of the stern commands?

PROSERPINA PERSEPHONE£ Quali grazie ti rendo What thanks can I give you

hor che sì nobil dono now that you have granted such a noble giftconced’a preghi miei, Signor cortese? to my prayers, my gentle Lord?Sia benedetto il dì che pria ti piacqui, Blessed be the day I first pleased you,benedetta la preda e’l dolc’inganno, blessed the abduction and the sweet deception,poi chè per mia ventura since it was my good fortune,feci acquisto di tè perdendo sole. losing the sun, to gain you.

PLUTONE PLUTOTue soavi parole Your sweet words d’amor l’antica piaga re-open the old wound of love

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mal mio grado mi tragge, e mi conduce drags me away against my will, and leads mea l’odiosa luce? to the loathsome light?

& Sinfonia a 7

SPIRITI INFERNALI SPIRITS OF HELLÈ la virtute un raggio Virtue is a ray di celeste bellezza, of celestial beauty,preggio de l’alma ond’ella sol s’apprezza: prize of the soul, which alone knows its worth:Questa di temp’oltraggio She has no fear of the ravages of time,non tem’, anzi maggiore rather, in man the years rendernell’huom rendono gl’anni il suo splendore. her splendour all the greater.Orfeo vinse l’inferno e vinto poi Orpheus conquered Hell and then was defeatedfù da gl’affetti suoi. by his own emotions.Degno d’eterna gloria Only the man who conquers himselffia sol colui c’havrà di se vittoria. is worthy of eternal glory.

ATTO QUINTO ACT FIVE

* Ritornello

ORFEO ORPHEUSQuesti i campi di Tracia, e quest’è il loco These are the gardens of Thrace, and this the placedove passomm’il core where my heart was piercedper l’amara novella il mio dolore. with the bitter news of my sorrow.Poiche non hò più spene Now that I no longer have any hopedi ricovrar pregando that my prayers, piangendo e sospirando my tears and my sighs might recoveril perduto mio bene, the treasure I have lost,che poss’io più? se non volgermi à voi, what can I do but turn to you,selve soavi, un tempo sweet woods, who onceconforto a’ miei martir, brought comfort to my suffering, mentr’al ciel piacque, when heaven was pleasedper farvi per pietà meco languire to make you languish with me for pity al mio languire. of my languishing?Voi vi doleste, o monti, e lagrimaste You grieved, O mountains, and you wept,voi, sassi, al dipartir del nostro sole, stones, when our sun departed,et io con voi lagrimerò mai sempre, and I shall now weep with you for evere mai sempre dorròmmi, and forever give myself over to sorrow, ahi doglia, ahi pianto. ah grief, ah tears.

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Ma che temi, mio core? But what do you fear, my heart?Ciò che vieta Pluton comanda Amore. What Pluto has forbidden, Love commands.A nume più possente, I must obey che vince huomini e dei, a mightier god, ben ubidir dovrei. who rules over both gods and men.(Quì si fa strepito dietro alla Scena) (A noise is heard off-stage)Ma che odo, ohimè lasso? But what do I hear, ah me?S’arman forse à miei danni Can it be that the love-crazed Furies are arming con tal furor le Furie innamorate themselves in a frenzy to do me injury,per rapirmi il mio ben, ed io’l consento? to rob me of my love, and I am letting it happen?(qui si volta) (He turns)O dolcissimi lumi, io pur vi veggio, O sweetest eyes, now I see you now, io pur... ma qual eclissi ohimè v’oscura? now I...But alas, what eclipse wraps you in darkness?

UNO SPIRITO SPIRIT IIRott’hai la legge, e se’ di grazia indegno. You have broken the law, and are unworthy of mercy.

EURIDICE EURYDICE^ Ahi, vista troppo dolce e troppo amara; Ah, vision too sweet and too bitter!

Così per troppo amor dunque mi perdi? Thus, for having loved too much, you lose me now?Et io misera perdo And I, wretched woman, lose il poter più godere the power to ever again enjoye di luce e di vista, e perdo insieme either light or sight, and with that I losetè d’ogni ben più caro, mio consorte. you, dearest of all treasures, my spouse.

UNO SPIRITO SPIRIT ITorn’a l’ombre di morte Turn back to the shadows of death, infelice Euridice, unhappy Eurydice,nè più sperar di riveder le stelle and do not hope to see the stars again,ch’omai fia sordo à preghi tuoi l’inferno. for now all Hell will be deaf to your prayers.

ORFEO ORPHEUSDove te’n vai, mia vita? Ecco io ti seguo. Where are you going, my life? Look, I will follow you. Ma chi me’l nieg’, ohimè: But who is holding me back, alas: sogn’, o vaneggio? am I dreaming, or raving?Qual occulto poter, di questi orrori, What occult power among these horrors,da questi amati orrori these beloved horrors,

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mentre ad ogn’altra de suoi don fù scarso, yet was miserly in its gifts to all other women;d’ogni lingua ogni lode à te conviensi you are worthy of all praise from all tonguesch’albergasti in bel corpo alma più bella, for your lovely body sheltered an even lovelier soul,fastosa men quanto d’honor più degna. all the more worthy of honour for lacking ostentation.Hor l’altre donne son superbe e perfide Now other women are proud and deceitful,ver chi le adora, dispietate instabili, pitiless and fickle towards those who love them;prive di senno e d’ogni pensier nobile, they lack good sense and noble thoughts,ond’à ragion opra di lor non lodansi, hence it is right that they should receive no praise,quinci non fia giamai che per vil femina so let it never be that for a worthless womanAmor con aureo stral’ il cor trafiggami. Love’s golden arrow should transfix my heart.

APOLLO APOLLO) Perch’a lo sdegno et al dolor in preda Why do you give yourself over

cosi ti doni, ò figlio? to scorn and grief like this, my son?Non è, non è consiglio It is not wise, not wisedi generoso petto for a generous heartservir al proprio affetto. to be a slave to its own passions.Quinci biasmo e periglio Since I see blame and perilgià sovrastar ti veggio already overcoming you,onde movo dal ciel per darti aita: I have come from heaven to bring you help:hor tu m’ascolta e n’havrai lode e vita. listen to me, and you shall have praise and life.

ORFEO ORPHEUSPadre cortese, Kind father, al maggior uopo arrivi, you have come in my hour of greatest need,ch’a disperato fine for already, with the uttermost grief,con estremo dolore scorn and lovem’havean condotto già sdegn’e amore. were leading me to desperate ends.Eccomi dunque attento a tue ragioni, See how I am attentive to your words of reason,celeste padre; hor ciò che vuoi m’imponi. heavenly father; now impose on me what you will.

APOLLO APOLLOTroppo, troppo gioisti Too much, too much you rejoiceddi tua lieta ventura, in your glad fortune;hor troppo piagni now too much you bemoantua sorte acerba e dura. your hard and bitter fate. Ancor non sai Have you not yet learned

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ECO ECHOHai pianto. Your tears!

ORFEO ORPHEUSCortese Eco amorosa Gentle, loving Echo, che sconsolata sei, disconsolate yourself,e consolarmi voi ne’ dolor miei, you seek to console me in my suffering;benchè queste mie luci though these eyes of minesien già per lagrimar fatte due fonti, have already through weeping become two springs,in così grave mia fera sventura in this my heavy, harsh misfortune non ho pianto però tanto che basti. I have not tears enough.

ECO ECHOBasti. Enough.

ORFEO ORPHEUSSe gl’occhi d’Arg’avessi, If I had the eyes of Arguse spandessero tutti un mar di pianto, and could pour out a sea of tears,non forà il duol conforme à tanti guai. the sorrow would not match such woe.

ECO ECHOAhi. Oh!

ORFEO ORPHEUSS’hai del mio mal pietade, io ti ringrazio If you pity my plight, I thank youdi tua benignitade. for your kindness.Ma mentr’io mi querelo But while I am making accusations,deh, perchè mi rispondi oh, why do you answer mesol con gl’ultim’accenti? only with the last word?Rendimi tutt’integri i miei lamenti. Give me back my laments in full.

( Ma tu anima mia se mai ritorna But you, my soul, if ever your cold shadela tua fredd’ombra à quest’amiche piaggie, returns to these friendly slopes,prendi da me queste tue lodi estreme, accept from me these last praisesc’hor à te sacro la mia cetra e’l canto. which I dedicate to you now, my lyre and my song,Come à te già sopra l’altar del core just as once on the altar of the heartlo spirto acceso in sacrifizio offersi. I offered my burning spirit to you in sacrifice.Tu bella fusti e saggia, e in te ripose You were beautiful and wise, and on you tutte le grazie sue cortese il cielo, heaven poured all its kind graces,

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Cantillation

Antony Walker, Music Director

Alison Johnston, Manager

Sopranos

Anna FraserBelinda MontgomeryAlison MorganJosie RyanJane Sheldon

Altos

Jenny Duck-ChongAnne FarrellNatalie Shea

Tenors

Philip ChuBenjamin LoomesDaniel WalkerBrett WeymarkRaff Wilson

Basses

Daniel BeerCorin BoneCraig EveringhamDavid Greco

Orchestra of the Antipodes

Antony Walker, Music Director

Alison Johnston, Manager

Violin

Sophie GentArthur Robinson, Perth, Australia, 1998,after Amati

Elizabeth PogsonAnonymous, after Sebastian Klotz

Viola

Nicole ForsythTenor viola by Ian Clarke, Biddeston,Australia, 1998, after Giovanni PaoloMaggini, ‘Dumas’, c.1680

Viola da gamba

Daniel YeadonPetr Vavrous, Prague, Czech Republic,2002, after Bertrand, c.1720

Anthea CotteeGary D. Bridgewood, London, UK, 1987;bow by Juta Walsher, Oxford, 1996

Violone

Kirsty McCahonAnonymous copy after Maggini, 17thcentury. Used courtesy of WinsomeEvans and the Department of Music,University of Sydney

Recorder

Matthew RidleyMelissa FarrowRenaissance recorders by MichaelGrinter, Victoria, Australia; PeterKobliczek, Germany; David Coomber,Auckland, New Zealand; and PaulWhinray, Auckland, New Zealand, after16th-century originals

Curtal

Simon RickardG & M Lyndon-Jones, St Albans, UK,1992, after various originals

Cornetto

Danny LucinSerge Dalmas, Paris, France, 2002, aftervarious originals

Gregory RogersSerge Dalmas, Paris, France, 1998, aftervarious 17th-century originals

Sackbut

Scott KinmontAlto sackbut by John Webb, Wiltshire,UK, 1995, after various Italian instruments

Warwick TyrrellAlto and tenor sackbuts by John Webb,Wiltshire, UK, 1995, after various Italianinstruments

Robert CollinsTenor sackbut by Frank Tomes, England,1991, after Georg Neuschel, 1557

Nigel CrockerTenor sackbut by John Webb, Wiltshire,UK, 1995, after various Italianinstruments

Glenn BardwellTenor sackbut by Rainer Egger,Switzerland, 2000, after SebastianHainlein, 1632Bass Sackbut in F by Frank Tomes,England, 1992 after Issac Ehe, 1612

Baroque Harp

Marshall McGuireItalian double harp by Tim Hobrough,Scotland, 1989, after Trabaci, c.1600

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Come nulla qua giù diletta e dura? how nothing delightful here below will last for long?Dunque se goder brami immortal vita So if you want to enjoy immortal life,Vientene meco al ciel ch’a sè t’invita. come with me to heaven, which welcomes you.

ORFEO ORPHEUSSi non vedrò più mai Shall I never again seede l’amata Euridice i dolci rai? the sweet eyes of my beloved Eurydice?

APOLLO APOLLONel sole e nelle stelle In the sun and the starsvagheggerai le sue sembianze belle. you will be able to admire her fair likeness.

ORFEO ORPHEUSBen di cotanto padre Of such a fathersarei non degno figlio, I would not be a worthy sonse non seguissi il tuo fedel consiglio. if I did not follow your faithful counsel.

APOLLO, ORFEO APOLLO, ORPHEUS¡ Saliam cantand’al cielo, Let us ascend singing to heaven,

dove ha virtù verace where true virtue hasdegno premio di sè, diletto e pace its just reward, delight and peace.

CORO DI SPIRITI CHORUS OF SPIRITS™ Vanne, Orfeo, felice a pieno Go now, Orpheus, filled with happiness,

a goder celeste honore, to enjoy celestial honours;la ve ben non mai vien meno, where good never fails,la ve mai non fu dolore, where there has never been any sorrow,mentr’altari incensi e voti while we offer you altars, incense and vowsnoi t’offriam lieti e devoti. in gladness and devotion.

Così va chi non s’arretra So it is for the one who does not hesitateal chiamar di nume eterno, at the call of the eternal god,così grazia in ciel impetra thus the one who has tasted hell here belowchi qua giù provò l’inferno, is filled with grace in heaven, e chi semina fra doglie and the one who sows in tearsd’ogni grazia il frutto coglie. reaps the fruits of all grace.

# MorescaTranslation: Natalie Shea

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Harpsichord

Erin Helyard‘Strato’, William Bright, near Barraba,Australia, 2002, after Johannes Ruckers,1624, 1638 and 1640; lid painting byRupert Richardson. Used courtesy ofthe Powerhouse Museum, Sydney

Neal Peres da Costa‘Baron’, William Bright, near Barraba,Australia, 1998, after Johannes Ruckers,1624, 1638 and 1640; lid painting byRupert Richardson. Used courtesy ofthe Australian Chamber Orchestra

Chamber organ

Erin HelyardBernhard Fleig, Switzerland, 1996. Usedcourtesy of Sydney Grammar School

Lute/Theorbo/Guitar

Deborah FoxBaroque guitar by Jaume Bosser,Barcelona, Spain, 1999, after various17th-century Italian makersTheorbo by Michael Schreiner, Toronto,Canada, 2000, after Kaiser, Italy, 1611

Tommie Andersson Lute by Richard Earle, Basel,Switzerland, 1983, after Venere, Padua,Italy 1582 Theorbo by Peter Biffin, Armidale,Australia, 1995, after various 17th-century Italian makersBaroque guitar by Peter Biffin, Armidale,Australia, 1989, after Stradivarius,Cremona, Italy, 1680Chitarrino by Alexander Hopkins,Mallorca, Spain, 2004 after Dias, 1586

Samantha CohenTheorbo by Klaus Jacobsen, London, 1999 Baroque guitar by Lars Jonsson, Dalarö,Sweden, 1999

Percussion

Richard Gleeson Instruments include calfskin-headPremier tenor and bass drums; calfskin-head Lefima field drum with gut snares;calfskin-head Lefima davul andtambourine; fishskin-head mapleCooperman Riq jingled drum;tamburello; Turkish cymbal

Tuning: A440Temperament: 1/4 comma meantone of 1523

Executive Producers

Robert Patterson, Lyle ChanRecording Producer, Editor and

Mastering Virginia ReadRecording Engineers ChristianHuff-Johnston, Virginia ReadProject Coordinator

Alison JohnstonEditorial and Production

Manager Natalie SheaCover and Booklet Design

Imagecorp Pty LtdCover Image Jean CocteauOrphée à la lyre © 1960, usedwith kind permission of theComité Jean CocteauBack Cover Map Image

Johannes Van Keulen, Oost Indien (detail), c.1689Portrait of Claudio Monteverdi

Bernardo Strozzi, used with kind permission of TirolerLandesmuseum Ferdinandeum,InnsbruckPhotography Gerald Jenkins(Mark Tucker), Steven Godbee(Paul McMahon), MichaelChetham (Belinda Montgomery),Simon Hodgson (Antony Walker,Penelope Mills, Anna Fraser andall production photographs), Ed Hughes (all others).

Recorded live 1, 3, 5 and 6December 2004 at City RecitalHall, Angel Place, Sydney.

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� 2005 Australian Broadcasting Corporation. © 2005 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.Distributed in Australia by Universal Music Group,under exclusive licence. Made in Australia. All rightsof the owner of copyright reserved. Any copying,renting, lending, diffusion, public performance orbroadcast of this record without the authority of thecopyright owner is prohibited.

For Pinchgut Opera’s production of L’Orfeo

Director Mark GaalRepetiteurs Erin Helyard and Deborah FoxDesigners Mark Gaal and Alice LauLighting Designer Bernie TanProduction Manager Andrew JohnstonAssistant Conductor Erin HelyardStage Manager Sarah SmithDesign Associate Brendan BlakelyCostume Supervisor Tirion RodwellAssistant Director Tanya GoldbergLanguage Coach Nicole DorigoHarpsichord tuning and maintenance

Terry HarperChamber organ tuning and maintenance

Manuel S. Da Costa

For Pinchgut Opera

Artistic Directors Erin Helyard and Antony WalkerArtistic Administrator Alison JohnstonMarketing Manager Anna CerneazChair Elizabeth Nielsen

www.pinchgutopera.com.au