L'Orfeo
Monteverdi’s Groundbreaking Masterpiece on Fate and Music.
Curtis Opera Theatre opens its thrilling 2025–26 series with L’Orfeo, Monteverdi’s groundbreaking masterpiece that reshaped opera. Inspired by the Greek myth, this timeless tale follows Orpheus, a musician whose love for Eurydice drives him to challenge fate itself. Renowned conductor David Stern leads the cast of rising opera stars in acclaimed director and playwright John Matsumoto Giampietro’s production. Premiered in 1607, L’Orfeo merges Renaissance polyphony with Baroque drama, its stunning score brims with passion and beauty, placing raw human emotions at its core. More than 400 years later, this legendary work remains as powerful and moving as ever.
CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI, music
ALESSANDRO STRIGGIO, libretto
Performed in Italian with English supertitles
Please note programs and artists are subject to change.
Program
| MONTEVERDI | L'Orfeo |
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Artists
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David Stern Conductor
David Stern is an international conductor and newly appointed Music Director of the Palm Beach Opera after 10 years of serving as Chief Conductor; he has also been Music Director of the Israel Opera in Tel Aviv, the Opera St Gallen in Switzerland, and previously led the Philharmonie Südwestfalen in Germany.
Learn more
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John Matsumoto Giampietro Stage Director
John Matsumoto Giampietro is a Brooklyn-based stage director of opera and theatre.
He is the Associate Director of the Chautauqua Opera Conservatory, where he has directed several operas including The Cunning Little Vixen, Hänsel und Gretel, Le nozze di Figaro, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
John is a vocal arts acting faculty member and stage director at The Juilliard School where he teaches acting across all degree programs.
He is a frequent director with Youngblood, Ensemble Studio Theater’s Obie-award-winning young writers group. At EST, John directed the NY Times acclaimed production of Year of the Rooster by Olivia Dufault.
John has directed opera and theatre at Actors Theatre of Louisville, Urban Stages, Vermont Shakespeare Festival, Curtis Institute of Music, The Flea Theatre, Shenandoah Conservatory and NYU Tisch School of the Arts, among others.
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Curtis Opera Theatre
Through visionary productions, bold concepts, and compelling narratives, the artists of Curtis Opera Theatre prepare to become stars of the world stage. The combination of key elements of artistry—music, acting, singing, and design—allows these student-artists to create a lasting connection with audiences.
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Curtis Symphony Orchestra
Acclaimed for its “otherworldly ensemble and professional level of sophistication” (New York Times), the Curtis Symphony Orchestra offers a dynamic showcase of tomorrow’s exceptional young talent. Each year the 100 extraordinary musicians of the orchestra work with internationally renowned conductors, including Osmo Vänskä, Vladimir Jurowski, Marin Alsop, Simon Rattle, Robert Spano, and Yannick Nézet Séguin, who also mentors the early-career conductors who hold Rita E. Hauser Conducting Fellowships. This professional training has enabled Curtis alumni to assume prominent positions in America’s leading orchestras, as well as esteemed orchestral, opera, and chamber ensembles around the world.
Special Thanks
Curtis Opera Theatre is generously supported by the Ernestine Bacon Cairns Trust and the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation.
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- Date Nov 14, 2025
- Time 7:00 p.m.
- Location Mainstage Theater, Philadelphia Film Center
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Single tickets available in May.
