Orfeo Ed Euridice - Recordings

Recordings

There have been numerous recordings of the different versions, especially of the Berlioz adaptation featuring a female Orfeo. The British alto Kathleen Ferrier and American mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne were especially notable interpreters. In recent years, recordings and stage productions of the Vienna version of the opera have featured countertenors in the role of Orpheus. Countertenors Derek Lee Ragin, Jochen Kowalski, René Jacobs, James Bowman, and Michael Chance have recorded Orfeo ed Euridice. Until recent times, most recordings of all versions were cut or altered in some way.

Recordings of the French version for tenor are still relatively rare due to a lack of genuine haute-contres: there is one from the mid-1950s starring Léopold Simoneau opposite his wife Pierrette Alarie, and Nicolai Gedda also recorded the role in 1955. (Simoneau's version has been available on CD, although not at present, but Gedda's recording had its premiere CD release in 2009.) 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. There is also a DVD of the 1993 Australian Opera production, directed by Stefanos Lazaridis, with Australian haute-contre David Hobson as Orphée.