Christoph Willibald Gluck Orphee et Eurydice (1774 tenor version in French) No. 1. The Mourning of Eurydice ( Richard Croft, Mireille Delunsch, Marion Harousseau Claire Delgado Boge; Marc Minkowski)

Though originally set to an Italian libretto, Orfeo ed Euridice, Gluck s first step in his reform of the operatic form, owes much to the genre of French opera, particularly in its extensive use of accompanied recitative and a general absence of vocal virtuosity. In fact, it is generally supposed that Gluck frankly took Rameau s Castor et Pollux as his model when he sat down to compose Orfeo : indeed, the plot of the earlier work has much in common with that of Orfeo. Therefore, it seems quite fittin br, br,