2/5. Donald Macleod examines the opera that transformed Gluck's international standing, and looks at the radical re-working Gluck undertook for performances in Paris, in which the lead role was given to a tenor, as the Italian castrato voice had already fallen out of fashion in France.
Orfeo ed Euridice (excerpts) Derek Lee Ragin (countertenor), English Baroque Soloists, director John Eliot Gardiner Orphee et Eurydice (excerpts)
Marion Harousseau (soprano: L'Amour), Mireille Delunsch (soprano: Eurydice), Richard Croft (tenor: Orphee), Les Musiciens du Louvre, director Marc MinkOWSki Rptd on Monday at 12 midnight