Composed in 1762, this theme is taken from Orfeo ed Euridice, the thirtieth and most well-known opera from the German composer Christoph Willibald Gluck. This tragedy in three acts relating the Greek myth of two cursed lovers belongs to the genre of azione teatrale, an opera on a mythological subject with choruses and dancing. This work owes much to the genre of French opera, particularly in its use of accompanied recitative and a general absence of vocal virtuosity. It became one of the most influential works on subsequent German operas.