Orpheus and Eurydice Resources

Websites

Edith Hamilton's Myth Mash-Up

Check out this great summary of the Orpheus and Eurydice story, as told by myth master Edith Hamilton.

Movie and TV Productions

Jim Henson's Version (Kermit Not Included)

Take a look at part one of the Orpheus and Eurydice episode from Jim Henson's "The Storyteller: Greek Myths" television series. You know it's big when the Muppet-Master takes it on.

A Brazilian Spin

Orfeu Negro (or Black Orpheus) is a movie adaptation of the myth set in Brazil. Check out that movie cover.

Getting Existential with the French

Here's a clip from Orphée, a Parisian film based on the myth. Sounds fancy!

Plays, Ballets, and Operas

Goin' Down to Hadestown

Check out this website about the folk opera "Hadestown," which draws heavily from the myth.

How Long Can You Hold That Note?

Here you'll see some clips and interviews from the Minnesota Opera's 2010 production of Gluck's Orpheus and Eurydice.

Tim Burton Would be Proud

Cirque Beserk takes on the myth in its performance, "Beneath."

An Ancient Character in a Pink Dress

Check out a clip of Sarah Ruhl's play Eurydice at the Second Stage Theatre.

Videogames

Pixilated Orpheus

Here's a clip of Orpheus in The Battle of Olympus, a Nintendo game from the 1980s. Oh my, that music. (And yes, this is what videogames used to look like.)

Video

Shadow Puppet Heartbreak

A very pretty portrayal of the myth by Kansas City Art Institute students, using shadow puppets. Pretty stinkin' cool.

Audio

Belting It

Listen to some audio samples from Christoph Willibald Gluck's famous opera, Orphee et Euridice.

Downright Lyrical

Check out this Delphic hymn to Apollo played on an old lyre, like the one Orpheus might have carried.

Books

Ovid's Spin

Allen Mandlebaum wrote a fantastic translation of Ovid's classic poem Metamorphoses, which includes the Orpheus and Eurydice myth.

Virgil's Take

Janet Lembke translates Virgil's poem nature-focused Georgics, which also includes a nod to the tragic myth.

Comic Book

Neil Gaiman's popular Sandman comic book series includes a retelling of the myth, in an issue called The Song of Orpheus. From epic poetry to modern comics – not too shabby.

Images

An Elevator to the Underworld

Here, Eurydice arrives in the Underworld – by elevator! – in Sarah Ruhl's play Eurydice (at the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre).

Love in Rio

Check out this beautiful, sun-dappled image from the movie Black Orpheus.

No Peeking

Famous sculptor Auguste Rodin takes on Orpheus and Eurydice. Kind of literal, don't you think?