He persuades Hades and Persephone, king and queen of the underworld, to set Eurydice free under the condition that Orpheus not look back at his bride until they are safely above ground. As Lili, baritone Lucia Lucas also makes history as a transgender singer in a full opera about a transgender person. Lucas—a former Santa Fe Opera apprentice making her Santa Fe Opera debut—fully inhabits the role, which she helped develop as the production’s dramaturg (advisor), and which the creators have said they intend to be performed by a trans or non-binary performer for the foreseeable future. The music is the same though, and rousing in Santa Fe under conductor Roberto Kalb). The Orpheus myth has been used for many operas, including one of the earliest surviving operas, Euridice by Jacopo Peri, circa 1600 (not to mention the Broadway hit Hadestown).