The three Stones, a kind of Greek chorus, explain that Eurydice has crossed the river of forgetfulness (which is portrayed as a shower in the elevator descending to the underworld), and now has no memory and no power of language.

In the land of the living, Orpheus mourns Eurydice's death and writes her a letter, but does not know how to get it to her; he decides he might give it to a worm.

Orpheus then lowers the collected works of Shakespeare on a string, and her father reads it to her, helping her to relearn language.

He sings outside the gate and rouses Hades, the lord of the underworld, who was the "interesting man" she met just before her death.

Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times said the opera is "ambitious, confident, often impressive, mostly engaging, instrumentally colorful and splendidly singable.

[4] Jim Farber wrote in the Orange County Register that the production was "a triumph – musically, visually and vocally.

"[5] Matthew Richard Martinez, writing for Bachtrack, noted that the creators (composer Aucoin, librettist Ruhl, and director Zimmerman) are all recipients of the MacArthur "Genius" grant and said that "Given the brilliance of the piece's music, its moving and unique take on the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, and its deft execution, three 'geniuses' make for one captivating opera.

The cast included Erin Morley as Eurydice, Joshua Hopkins as Orpheus, Jakub Józef Orliński as Orpheus's double, Barry Banks as Hades, and Nathan Berg as Eurydice's father; the conductor was the company's music director, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and the stage director was Mary Zimmerman.

[7] Zachary Woolfe, who reviewed the performance for The New York Times, praised Ruhl's libretto, but felt that Aucoin's music and scoring overwhelmed the story.

Still, he thought it was a "a clearer, stronger work" than Aucoin's previous opera, Crossing (2015), and noted that "the dancing at Orpheus and Eurydice's wedding, a hint of pop music glimpsed through ominous shadows, is a little jewel.