MMM | Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducts Monteverdi

01 MARCH 2026: In the 1970s, the Zurich Opera House launched a cycle of performances of Claudio Monteverdi's three surviving musical theatre works, beginning with L'Orfeo

L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi is one of the earliest operas. It tells the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, a young couple separated by fate and put to the test once again. In 1975, it was to be performed as faithfully as possible to the original, as it had been when it premiered more than 350 years earlier. First on stage in Zurich and later as a film production in Vienna. A radical vision by Austrian conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt, directed by star director Jean-Pierre Ponnelle.

Harnoncourt brought back the historical sound experience. He meticulously sought out musicians who played period instruments and brought them together to form an ensemble. He succeeded in making the opera not only comprehensible but also captivating. More dramatic, more immediate, more direct than any modernisation could have achieved. With his historical performance practice, Harnoncourt shows that the seemingly so old, so past music of the early Baroque speaks most clearly to today's audience when it is played with the instruments, the playing techniques and in the awareness of the artistic intentions of the time of its creation.

Ponnelle, who designed stage sets for Monteverdi operas at a young age, transforms the world of the Orpheus myth into a wildly romantic yet sombre land of milk and honey with ancient allusions. Opulent costumes meet lively staging and passionate acting.

Outstanding singers such as Anna-Lucia Richter, Rolando Villazón, Elsa Benoit, Äneas Humm and also Nikolaus Harnoncourt's son Philipp comment on the legendary production from 50 years ago.

English series title Magic Moments of Music
Director Holger Preuße, Philipp Quiring
Producer Lily Küntzle
Co-Producer Christopher Janssen
Production Company sounding images, ZDF/ARTE
Duration 43 min / 52 min