1. 1. “L’Orfeo”

   August 17 through 25

   Monteverdi’s original opera, composed 400 years ago, is a masterpiece of simplicity and widely considered the first great work in the genre.

2. 2. “Orphée”

   August 16 through 27

   Philip Glass brings his singular voice to the myth; his opera musically interprets Cocteau’s 1949 film of the same name.

3. 3. “Orpheus in the Underworld”

   August 18 and 26

   In Offenbach’s hands, a dash of humor enlivens the ordinarily tragic story, in an operetta that includes an affair between Eurydice and Pluto and ends with the cancan.

Related:

• Articles by Rebecca Milzoff
• Table of Contents: August 20, 2007 issue of New York | Subscribe!