Moving Orfeo, 1607-1762: Or, How to Do Thing with Dance

With approximately fifty scorings of the Orpheus myth in the 17th and 18th centuries, it is the renditions by Monteverdi (Mantua 1607) and Gluck (Vienna 1762) that truly stand out. Although their premier performances are separated by 155 years and more than 700 kilometres, their enduring appeal can be accounted primarily by the dramatic, musical and terpsichorean concepts related to what we call ‘opera’ today. Both composers were eager to keep up with the times, Monteverdi by integrating the ballare lombardo style with the balletto ‘Lasciate I monti’ and a moresca into his score, and Gluck with the four diegetic balli (ballets en action) for his version of Orfeo ed Euridice. This paper traces the ways the dance scenes were utilized in Monteverdi’s and Gluck’s musical theatre, and asks the following questions: What is their function and significance for the narrative of the opera? And, how does the respective musical and choreographic style contribute to depict both the narrated time and the time of the premiere? These will be answered from a contemporary point of view, by evaluating the scores, the libretti by Striggio the Younger (1607) and Calzabigi (1762), and the writings of choreographer Angiolini.