The Mask of Orpheus and Euridice fall in love and marry. Euridice later dies from a snake bite, and Orpheus consults the Oracle of the Dead, intending to follow her to the Underworld. Orpheus journeys to the Underworld through seventeen arches, each with a symbolic name. On his journey back, he believes Euridice is following him, but it is actually Persephone and the mime Euridice. Orpheus goes back for Euridice but realises she cannot follow him. Orpheus hangs himself. The act ends with Orpheus waking up, realising that his journey to the Underworld was a dream. The Seventeen Arches Each of the arches that
The Mask of Orpheus with the Orpheus myth decaying. "The Mask of Orpheus", in addition to vocal and orchestral music, contains a significant amount of electronic music, (which was precisely composed by Birtwistle, and realized on his behalf by Barry Anderson). Each act has its own electronic "aura", which goes on continuously, sometimes prominently, sometimes inaudibly; the voice of Apollo is heard on several occasions as an electronic sound "speaking" in an invented language. These electronic sounds were made by Anderson in Paris at IRCAM. There are also six purely electronic interludes created by computer manipulation of harp sounds. Jocelyn Herbert was commissioned to