As he knew that I had spent several years in studying Gluck's works under the microscope, so to speak, Gustave Doret did me the honor to ask my advice. His choice for the opening work was _Orphee_, which requires only three principals, Orpheus, Eurydice, and Love. It has become the custom to add a fourth, a Happy Spirit, but this spirit is one of Carvalho's inventions and has no reason for existence. There are, however, two _Orphee_. The first is _Orfeo_ which was written in Italian, on Calzabigi's text, and was first presented at Venice in 1761. The role of Orpheus in this score was written for a contralto and was designed for the eunuch Quadagni. The Venetian engravers of that day were either incompetent or, perhaps, there were none, for the scores of Gluck's _Alceste_ in Italian and Haydn's _Seasons_ were printed from type. However that may be the score of _Orfeo_ was engraved in Paris. The composer Philidor corrected the proofs. He little thought that _Orfeo_ would ever get so far as Paris, so he appropriated the romanza in the first act and introduced it with but slight modifications into his opera-comique _Le Sorcier_. Later on Marie Antoinette called Gluck to Paris and thus afforded him the opportunity for the complete development of his genius. After he had written _Iphigenie en Aulide_, performed in 1774, especially for the Opera, he had the idea of adapting _Orfeo_ for the French stage. To tell the truth he must have thought of it before, for _Orphee_ appeared at the Opera only three months after _Iphigenie_ and it had been entirely rewritten in collaboration with Moline. The contralto part had been changed to tenor and so the principal role was given to Legros. While it may be true that the author improved this work in the French version, it is not true in every case. There is some question whether the overture existed in the Italian score. It is generally believed that it did, but there are old copies of this version in existence and they begin the opera with the funeral chorus and show no overture at all. This overture, although the _Mercure de France_ treats it as a "beautiful symphonic piece which serves as a good introduction to the work," in reality does not resemble the style of the rest at all. It in no way prepares for that admirable chorus at the beginning--unequaled of its kind--which Orpheus's broken hearted cry of "Eurydice! Eurydice!" makes so pathetic.