BOSTON EARLY MUSIC FESTIVAL

Monteverdi’s “Orfeo,” the opera that started it all, comes to life in high-BEMF style this weekend. As the featured work in the festival’s popular annual chamber opera series, Monteverdi’s iconic score will be attended to by music directors Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs, stage director Gilbert Blin, costume designer Anna Watkins, and choreographer Melinda Sullivan. The cast includes Aaron Sheehan (top left), Teresa Wakim (bottom left), Mireille Asselin, Shannon Mercer, Ryland Angel, Jason McStoots, Charles Blandy, Olivier Laquerre, and Douglas Williams. 8 p.m., Nov. 24; 3 p.m., Nov. 25. Jordan Hall. 617-661-1812, www.bemf.org. A pre-concert talk with Harvard musicologist Thomas Forrest Kelly and the BEMF creative team begins one hour before each performance.