Variations on its plot—the underground rescue mission in which the hero must control, or conceal, his emotions—can be found in Mozart's The Magic Flute, Beethoven's Fidelio, and Wagner's Das Rheingold.

Though originally set to an Italian libretto, Orfeo ed Euridice owes much to the genre of French opera, particularly in its use of accompanied recitative and a general absence of vocal virtuosity.

Indeed, twelve years after the 1762 premiere, Gluck re-adapted the opera to suit the tastes of a Parisian audience at the Académie Royale de Musique with a libretto by Pierre-Louis Moline.

[4] Algarotti proposed a heavily simplified model of opera seria, with the drama pre-eminent, instead of the music or ballet or staging.

The drama itself should "delight the eyes and ears, to rouse up and to affect the hearts of an audience, without the risk of sinning against reason or common sense".

Orfeo sends the others away and sings of his grief in the aria "Chiamo il mio ben"/"Objet de mon amour", the three verses of which are preceded by expressive recitatives.

This technique was extremely radical at the time and indeed proved overly so for those who came after Gluck: Mozart chose to retain the unity of the aria.

Amore (Cupid) appears, telling Orfeo that he may go to the Underworld and return with his wife on the condition that he not look at her until they are back on earth (1774 only: aria by Amour, "Si les doux accords").

As encouragement, Amore informs Orfeo that his present suffering shall be short-lived with the aria "Gli sguardi trattieni"/"Soumis au silence".

In the 1774 version only he delivers an ariette ("L'espoir renaît dans mon âme") in the older, showier, Italian style, originally composed for an occasional entertainment, Il Parnaso confuso (1765), and subsequently re-used in another one, Le feste d'Apollo (1769).

[1] In a rocky landscape, the Furies refuse to admit Orfeo to the Underworld, and sing of Cerberus, its canine guardian ("Chi mai dell’Erebo"/"Quel est l'audacieux").

When Orfeo, accompanied by his lyre (represented in the opera by a harp), begs for pity in the aria "Deh placatevi con me"/"Laissez-vous toucher", he is at first interrupted by cries of "No!"/"Non!"

This is followed (1774 only) by a solo which celebrates happiness in eternal bliss ("Cet asile"), sung by either an unnamed Spirit or Euridice, and repeated by the chorus.

On the way out of Hades, Euridice is delighted to be returning to earth, but Orfeo, remembering the condition related by Amore in act 1, lets go of her hand and refusing to look at her, does not explain anything to her.

She does not understand his action and reproaches him, but he must suffer in silence (Duet: "Vieni, appaga il tuo consorte"/"Viens, suis un époux").

She sings of her grief at Orfeo's supposed infidelity in the aria "Che fiero momento"/"Fortune ennemie" (in 1774, there is a brief duet before the reprise).

[2] Typically during the 19th century and for most of the 20th century, the role of Orfeo was sung by a female contralto, and noted interpreters of the role from this time include Dame Clara Butt and Kathleen Ferrier, and the mezzo-sopranos Rita Gorr, Marilyn Horne, Dame Janet Baker, Susanne Marsee, and Risë Stevens (at the Metropolitan Opera).

[12] In 1769 for Le feste d'Apollo at Parma which was conducted by the composer, Gluck transposed part of the role of Orfeo up for the soprano castrato Giuseppe Millico, maintaining a libretto in Italian.

After not having been performed for a very long time, this version was finally given its first modern revival on 13 November 2014 at the Tage Alter Musik [de] in Herne, with a countertenor in the title role.

[2]) From 1784 to 1859 the Parisian diapason (concert pitch) rose steadily from 820 to 896 cycles per second,[14] thus Gluck's French version for haute-contre became increasingly impractical.

Da capo arias are notable by their absence;[2] Gluck instead uses strophic form, notably in act one's "Chiamo il mio ben così", where each verse is interposed with dramatic recitative, – that is, stromentato, where the voice is accompanied by part or all of the orchestra – and rondo form, such as in act three's famous "Che farò senza Euridice?".

[2] The coup de théâtre of opening the drama with a chorus mourning one of the main characters is very similar to that used in Rameau's Castor et Pollux (1737).

[2] The role of Orfeo calls for an especially gifted actor, so that the strophic "Chiamo il mio ben così" does not become dull, and so that tragic import can be given both to this aria and to "Che farò senza Euridice?

on the grounds that it was emotionally uninvolved; he responded by pointing out the absolute necessity of fine execution of the aria: "make the slightest change, either in the movement or in the turn of expression, and it will become a saltarello for marionettes".

Here the voice is reduced to the comparatively minor role of recitative-style declamation, while the oboe carries the main melody, supported by solos from the flute, cello, bassoon, and horn.

[6] During the aria "Chiamo il mio ben cosi" and the interspersing recitatives Gluck added another offstage orchestra consisting of strings and chalumeaux, in order to provide an echo effect.

[2] For the original 1762 Italian version, Orfeo ed Euridice, azione teatrale in three acts, the libretto was published by van Ghelen (Vienna, 1762) and the full score by Duchesne (Paris, 1764).

Countertenors Derek Lee Ragin, Jochen Kowalski, René Jacobs, James Bowman, and Michael Chance have recorded Orfeo ed Euridice.

In 2002 haute-contre Jean-Paul Fouchécourt added his version, while Marc Minkowski brought out a period instrument performance with Richard Croft in the title role in 2004.

In April 2010, a concert performance recorded in Madrid two years earlier by tenore di grazia Juan Diego Flórez, was finally released.