Monteverdi madness has begun. The Harris Theater opened its season Thursday night with the Italian composer’s L’Orfeo—the first of three operas by Claudio Monteverdi to be performed through Sunday by the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists led by conductor John Eliot Gardiner

Gardiner and colleagues have been taking their “Monteverdi 450” tour across Europe since last April to mark the 450th birthday anniversary of the Italian master. Chicago is one of only two U.S. stops with the project wrapping up in New York next week.