Orpheus and Eurydice Act 1 Scene 1 (Streets of New Orleans)

based on the 1959 movie by Marcel Camus. The story is an ancient Greek myth of two lovers, Orpheus and Eurydice; Orpheus is a young man who can make the sun rise with the beauty of his voice, and Eurydice is his tragic love. On their wedding day, Eurydice is dancing through a meadow when she is bitten on the heel by a snake. She immediately dies and her soul goes to Hades, the underworld where all souls go after death. Bereft of his young bride, Orpheus decides to go down to the underworld and plead with Hades to release Eurydice back to him. At first, Hades refuses, but when Orpheus begins to sing, even the God of the Dead is moved to tears and agrees to allow Eurydice to return above ground to join the living, but on one condition - that Orpheus cannot look upon her face until they reach above ground. If Orpheus looks back at her while they are still in Hades' dominion, then Eurydice will return to him as his prisoner and Orpheus will never see her alive again. The two lovers begin their trek but just as Orpheus sees the sunlight breaking through the mouth of the cave above ground, he can no longer restrain himself and he turns with shining eyes to gaze upon his beloved. But alas, in his eagerness to be with his love, Orpheus has broken Hades' condition and with a cry of despair Eurydice is drawn back into the depths of the underworld, never to be seen by Orpheus or any living creature again. The story has been updated to present day Mardi Gras in New Orleans. A young ...