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February 1, 2013

Christoph Willibald Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice 
Boston Baroque 
Boston Baroque Orchestra and Chorus 
Martin Pearlman, conductor

CAST: Owen Willets (Orfeo); Mary Wilson (Euridice); Courtney Huffman (Amor)

Of Gluck's two interpretations of the Orpheus story, Orphée, the French version, is probably the more striking -- with a famous, bravura aria and couple of well-known ballet numbers. But this version, in Italian, was the original, and is widely regarded as Gluck's masterpiece. Its premiere, in 1762, was a landmark event in 18th-century musical theater.

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