His two-act opera Orpheus Descending was premiered in 1994 at end of his stint as composer-in-residence at Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Orpheus Descending, a more faithful version – a film adaptation of the Peter Hall stage production – was released in 1990, starring Vanessa Redgrave.
Orpheus | Orpheus in the Underworld | Testament of Orpheus | Black Orpheus | Sonnets to Orpheus | Rodney Orpheus | Orpheus (film) | Orpheus Descending | Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 | Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus | Orpheus Winds | Orpheus (Telemann) | Orpheus Descending (film) | Orpheus Britannicus | Orpheus (band) | Orpheus (ballet) | ''Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 | Nude Descending a Staircase | Golden Orpheus | Bristol Siddeley Orpheus |
Magnani worked with Tennessee Williams again for the 1959 film, The Fugitive Kind (originally titled, Orpheus Descending) directed by Sidney Lumet, in which she played Lady Torrance and starred with Marlon Brando.