Orpheus and Eurydice: One Story, Many Arts

We are delighted to share that today (28th February 2026) we launched a new initiative for secondary school and university students, including those from music and art schools, with the series beginning in Italy. In collaboration with the Research Centre on the Legacy of Polish Migration (Union of Polish Writers Abroad Związek Pisarzy Polskich na Obczyźnie) we are creating a multimodal series of lessons presenting Polish writers in the wider context of Mediterranean cultural heritage.

The first session, “Orpheus and Eurydice: One Story, Many Arts”, was a great success. Jarosław Solecki prepared a distinctive multimedia presentation, drawing on experience gained through international interdisciplinary projects involving virtual environments (VR and AR). For us, this is a vital part of the initiative, bringing together literature, image, music, and contemporary storytelling tools. Today’s session explored how the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice continues to resonate in poetry, opera, and the visual arts. At its centre is a story of love, loss, memory, and the limits of trying to “reverse fate”, a theme present in culture from antiquity to the present day. This perspective is especially meaningful in the Italian context, as opera began to take shape in Florence, with the myth of Orpheus among its key early inspirations.