Parnasso in Festa

The scene represents Mount Parnassus, where the Muses and the god Apollo are gathering to celebrate the wedding of Prince Peleus, a mortal, and Thetis, a sea nymph. Orpheus, son of Apollo and a famed musician, also arrives for the marriage celebrations. Clio, muse of history, reminds Apollo of an episode in his own love life, when, enamoured of the nymph Daphne, he pursued her with lustful intent, but she prayed to the gods to be spared and was transformed into a laurel tree. As if embarrassed by this story, Apollo invites all to join him in drinking in praise of Bacchus. Mars, god of war, leads everyone in a drinking song, and Clio joins in the spirit of things so much that she begins to feel inebriated, much to the amusement of Orpheus' mother, Calliope, muse of epic poetry, and the chorus. The muses sing in turn in praise of Orpheus' great command of musical expression. Orpheus however is still inconsolable at the loss of his beloved wife Eurydice. He had descended into the underworld to rescue her after her death, but lost her for a second time when he could not restrain himself, as he had been instructed by the god of the underworld, from looking at her until they were back in the land of the living. Apollo and the muses tell Orpheus that his love for Eurydice will inspire all future generations, and the love of the royal couple Peleus and Thetis will bless the whole earth. Apollo orders the Tritons to blow upon their conch shells, represented by horns in the orchestra, …

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