YMMV / Orfeo ed Euridice

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Depending on the production, Cupid can be seen as anything from a benevolent figure sincerely trying to help Orpheus to an amoral Trickster God unconcerned with mortals and their grief, or somewhere in between. The Mood Whiplash of the encounters with him add fuel to varying interpretations, particularly the finale where he brings Eurydice back to life after Orpheus's suffering is wrung out to the point of near-suicide.
  • Is Eurydice's behavior in Act III understandable and sympathetic, since she's suddenly been taken out of Elysium's paradise and back toward the living world, and her husband inexplicably refuses to look at her? Or do her unfair suspicion and rage make her seem unworthy of Orpheus's devotion? Some modern productions have implied that before her death, as much as Orpheus idealizes her memory, their marriage was actually an Awful Wedded Life.
  • The 2014 Český Krumlov Castle film reimagines Orpheus as The Atoner, since it's implied that he neglected Eurydice in favor of his art when she was alive, and then accidentally caused her death.
• Nightmare Fuel: Depending on the production, the Furies and spirits of Hades can be terrifying as they swarm Orpheus and initially refuse to listen to his pleas for leniency. Many productions have them in demonic makeup or using red cloth as a blood substitute, and the music for the scene is very intense.

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