Proms 2015 Prom 25: Monteverdi – Orfeo

Monteverdi’s Orfeo is the first great opera – the moment when psychological truth and musical virtuosity came together to tell a story of love, loss and the power of art. Sir John Eliot Gardiner – making the first of two appearances this year, tonight with the English Baroque Soloists – transforms the Royal Albert Hall into the 17th-century Mantuan court of the Gonzagas with some of Monteverdi’s loveliest melodies and most colourful instrumental writing, bringing the tale of Orpheus and his beloved Eurydice to fresh musical life.