Carl Orff's O Fortuna in popular culture a direct version of it. Carl Orff's O Fortuna in popular culture In 1935–36, the 13th-century poem "O Fortuna" was set to music by the German composer Carl Orff for his twenty-five-movement cantata "Carmina Burana". The composition appears in numerous films and television commercials and has become a staple in popular culture, setting the mood for dramatic or cataclysmic situations. For instance, it is used to portray the torment of Jim Morrison's drug addiction in the film "The Doors." In 1983, Doors' keyboardist Ray Manzarek released his third solo album, "Carmina Burana", which is an interpretation of the piece in
Carmina Burana (Orff) disciple Wilhelm Killmayer in 1956 and authorized by Orff himself, to allow smaller ensembles the opportunity to perform the piece. See also Subsequent arrangements below. "Carmina Burana" was first staged in Frankfurt by the Frankfurt Opera on 8 June 1937 under conductor (1892–1967) with the , staging by and sets and costumes by Ludwig Sievert. Shortly after the greatly successful premiere, Orff said the following to his publisher, Schott Music: Several performances were repeated elsewhere in Germany. The Nazi regime was at first nervous about the erotic tone of some of the poems, but eventually embraced the piece. It became