# Could anybody offer a helpful summary of the each version of Orfeo ed Euridice?



## Il Seraglio (Sep 14, 2009)

As much as I know is that there is the original opera in Italian with a castrato Orpheus (now performed by counter tenor or mezzo-soprano) which premiered in Vienna in 1762, a revised version transposed for a soprano castrati in the role of Orpheus in 1769 which was never recorded, the 1774 Paris version with its French libretto, high tenor Orpheus, additional music and revised orchestration and more than one adaptation by Hector Berlioz (I may be wrong here, but the information online suggests he adapted it first in French and later in Italian, which were both reported to be altered posthumously by Camille Saint-Saens).

In particular, I'd be interested to know if the Berlioz' adaptations survive in the form before they were altered by Saint-Saens (something Berlioz, a huge Gluck enthusiast would never have approved of while alive) and which was more commonly recorded in the 20th Century.

List format would be preferred, but any info is appreciated. I ask because looking at this list of recordings and their scores raises as many questions as it does answers, especially the various Italian scores.

Oh, and feel free to mention any favourites of yours in terms of recordings, if that's okay to talk about outside the "Opera on CD, DVD and Blu-ray" section.


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## tyroneslothrop (Sep 5, 2012)

Il Seraglio said:


> As much as I know is that there is the original opera in Italian with a castrato Orpheus (now performed by counter tenor or mezzo-soprano) which premiered in Vienna in 1762, a revised version transposed for a soprano castrati in the role of Orpheus in 1769 which was never recorded, the 1774 Paris version with its French libretto, high tenor Orpheus, additional music and revised orchestration and more than one adaptation by Hector Berlioz (I may be wrong here, but the information online suggests he adapted it first in French and later in Italian, which were both reported to be altered posthumously by Camille Saint-Saens).
> 
> In particular, I'd be interested to know if the Berlioz' adaptations survive in the form before they were altered by Saint-Saens (something Berlioz, a huge Gluck enthusiast would never have approved of while alive) and which was more commonly recorded in the 20th Century.
> 
> ...


What's wrong with Revisions of _Orfeo ed Euridice_?


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