Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice

Sara Mohr-Pietsch explores the musical landscape of Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice.

Gluck's opera was by no means the first work to be inspired by the great myth of Orpheus - the legendary musician who journeyed to the underworld in a bid to rescue his wife, Eurydice. Sara traces the tale's musical legacy, from the birth of opera itself to the present day. Along the way, she hears Orphic music by Claudio Monteverdi, Dobrinka Tabakova, Jóhann Jóhannsson, and perhaps the most famous retelling of all, Jacques Offenbach's 'Can-Can' from Orpheus in the Underworld.

Sara also explores a selection of works which place the flute centre stage, featuring music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Claude Debussy, Imogen Holst, alongside a composer who was profoundly influenced by Gluck's operatic reforms and took them to dizzying new heights: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

To listen on most smart speakers, just say: “Ask BBC Sounds to play Music Map.”