Vocal Roles:
Orphée, un rebouteux – Tenor
Eurydice, une bohémienne – Soprano

Chœurs des Métiers : Le Charron, Le Maréchal, Le Vannier
Chœurs des Animaux : L’Ours, Le Loup, Le Renard, Le Sanglier
Chœurs des Bohémiennes : La Sœur aînée, La Sœur jumelle, La Sœur cadette

Milhaud had long been haunted by the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice, and had searched for the proper dramatic framework within which he could tell his version of the story, which explored Orpheus's feelings of utter despair. Early in 1924 Milhaud asked his friend Armand Lunel to write the libretto, which turned out excellently. The composer decided to use a vocal quartet instead of a chorus, and a group of six or seven instruments rather than an orchestra.

The opera is exceptionally concise. All three acts total only forty minutes, and it has been observed that the "opera in three acts" designation is a bit misleading. Orpheus, whose musical powers are often used to heal his neighbors, awaits Eurydice, his betrothed, while the chorus warns him not to take a wife from another region. Eurydice is also breaking her society's laws. They decide to live among the beasts, who will protect them. But Eurydice dies. Orpheus, the fox, the wolf, and the bear all join with Orpheus in lamenting her death. They all sing a dirge. Orpheus returns to his home village. Alone with his sorrows, even left in solitude by the animals, he expresses his grief. Suddenly Eurydice's three sisters appear, blaming Orpheus for her death. Furiously they swear vengeance. He welcomes this, since in death he will be united again with Eurydice. As the three sisters approach him with scissors, whip, and cord, he stretched out his arm and accepts the death he desires.

The music is beautiful, heartfelt, and dignified. It was first performed at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels in 1925, on a double bill with Mozart's Abduction from the Seraglio. Maurice Ravel called it "... a magnificent, expressive work."