Orfeo dolente

Orfeo dolente (Orpheus inconsolable) is an opera by Domenico Belli to a libretto by Gabriello Chiabrera, an example of "representative style" of the early Baroque era.

Belli's work is regarded as one of the best examples of recitar cantando (acting while singing), a concept that had developed in the late 16th century.

He enriched the monodic formula by using violent dissonances, as be seen in his arias, including "Di vostri occhi" and "Ardo ma non ardisco".

[3] Florentine by birth and with a similar approach to other "fathers" of opera such as Jacopo Peri, Giulio Caccini, Emilio de' Cavalieri and Marco da Gagliano, Belli worked on other aspects of court spectacles, such as dances, intermedi, and even a maritime fable on the history of Andromeda (music lost) which was highly praised by Giulio Caccini.

[3] A free edition was released by Musica Antica Rotherhithe in 2021 following its first complete performance in modern times in London, United Kingdom.