Orfeo (Rossi) of Pluto (the king of the underworld), that she should be jealous of Eurydice's beauty and allow her to return to the land of the living with Orpheus. Proserpine persuades Pluto to release Eurydice and he does so on condition that Orpheus does not turn round to look at her before they have reached the upper world. Orpheus fails in this task and loses Eurydice again. In his grief, he seeks only death but Jupiter appears to tell him he, Eurydice and his lyre will be turned into constellations. Mercury explains that Orpheus's lyre represents the fleur-de-lys of France. The
Orpheus in the Underworld (Transformation Scene). Eurydice finds that death is not so bad when the God of Death is in love with you ("La mort m'apparaît souriante"), and so keeps coming back for one more verse. They descend into the Underworld as soon as Eurydice has left a note telling her husband she has been unavoidably detained (Descent to the Underworld). All seems to be going well for Orphée until Public Opinion catches up with him, and threatens to ruin his violin teaching career unless he goes to rescue his wife. Orphée reluctantly agrees. "Scene 2: Olympus" The scene changes to Olympus, where