Orpheus in the Underworld (in French: 'Orphée aux enfers') is an opéra bouffe (or opéra féerie in its revised version) in two acts by Jacques Offenbach. The original French text was by Meilhac and Halévy, and the first production took place in Paris in 1858. It is famous for the good plot and the far more famous music. Outside classical circles, the Infernal Galop from Act II, Scene 2 is widely recognized as the music for the "Can-can". Opéra bouffe (plural, opéra bouffes) is a genre of late 19th century French operetta, closely associated with Jacques Offenbach, who produced many of them at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens that gave its name to the form. ... Opéra féerie (plural, opéra féeries) is a French genre of opera or opéra-ballet based on fairy tales, often with elements of magic in their stories. ... Jacques Offenbach (20 June 1819 – 5 October 1880), composer and cellist, was one of the originators of the operetta form, a precursor of the modern musical comedy. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur Tossed by the waves, she does not founder Coordinates : , Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) Administration Subdivisions 20 arrondissements Département Paris (75) Région ÃŽle-de-France Mayor Bertrand Delanoë (PS) City (commune) Characteristics Land Area 86. ... 1858 (MDCCCLVIII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The Can-can (also spelt Cancan, Can Can) is regarded today primarily as a music hall dance, perfomed by a chorus line of female dancers who wear costumes with long skirts, petticoats, and black stockings, harking back to the fashions of the 1890s. ...

Synopsis

Note: Orpheus in the Underworld exists in several forms: Offenbach originally wrote it in a two-act form, then expanded it to four acts with a great deal of filler material, ballets, and such like when it proved popular. The English translations are in a far more confusing state, as several add numbers from other operas, a major translation replaces Public Opinion with Orpheus' mother, and so on. This article lists only songs in the original two-act version (the four-act version is performed rarely and has the same plot), using the names given to them by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company's 1994 CD. An additional song included on that CD from the four-act version ("A skip, a hop") is ignored for consistency. The DOyly Carte Opera Company staged performances of Gilbert and Sullivans Savoy operas in the UK, Europe, America, South Africa and elsewhere from the nineteenth century to the twenty first. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal. // Events January Bill Clinton January 1 : North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect. ...

Act I, Scene 1: Near Thebes

We open with a melodrama (Introduction and Melodrame) in which Public Opinion explains who she is, setting herself up as the guardian of morality. She seeks to rework Orpheus and Eurydice - who hate each other - into a moral tale for the ages. However, she has her work cut out for her: Eurydice is in love with the shepherd, Aristaeus, who lives next door ("Ah when a woman's heart is yearning"), and Orpheus is in love with Chloë, a shepherdess. When Orpheus mistakes Eurydice for her, everything comes out, and Eurydice insists they break the marriage off ("So you confess?"). However Orpheus, fearing Public Opinion's reaction, torments her into keeping the scandal quiet using violin music, which she hates. Poster for The Perils of Pauline (1914). ...

We now meet Aristaeus (who is, in fact, Pluto) keeping up his disguise by singing a pastoral song about those awful sheep ("Hail! My name's Aristaeus"). Since Pluto was originally played by a famous female impersonator, this song contains numerous falsetto notes. Eurydice, however, has discovered what she thinks is a plot by Orpheus to kill Aristaeus, but is in fact a conspiracy between him and Pluto to kill her, so Pluto may have her. Pluto tricks her into walking into the trap by showing immunity to it, and, as she dies, transforms into his true form (Transformation Scene) Eurydice finds that death is not so bad when the God of Death is in love with you ("I thought that death would be more painful"), and so keeps coming back for one more verse. They descend into the Underworld as soon as Eurydice has left a note telling her husband she has been unavoidably detained (Descent to the Underworld).

All seems to be going well for Orpheus until Public Opinion catches up with him, and threatens to ruin his violin teaching career unless he goes to rescue his wife. Orpheus reluctantly agrees ("Come, come, come").

Act I, Scene 2: Olympus

The scene changes to Olympus, where the Gods sleep out of boredom ("We're fast asleep"). Things look a bit more interesting for them when Diana returns and begins gossiping about Actaeon, her current love ("When I go riding"). However, Jupiter, shocked at the behaviour of the supposedly virgin goddess, has turned Actaeon into a stag. Pluto then arrives, and reveals to the other gods the pleasures of Hell (Entrance of Pluto), leading them to revolt against horrid ambrosia, hideous nectar, and the sheer boredom of Olympus ("To arms, you gods and demi-gods"). Jupiter's demands to know what is going on lead them to point out his hypocrisy at great length, describing - and poking fun of - all his mythological affairs ("When you seduced the fair Alcmena"). However, little further progress can be made before news of Orpheus' arrival forces the gods to get onto their best behaviour (Finale, Act I). Pluto is worried he will be forced to give Eurydice back, and, after a quotation from Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice sends the gods to tears, Jupiter announces that he is going to Hell to sort everything out. The other gods beg to come with him, he consents, and mass celebration breaks out at this holiday. Actaeon and his dogs In Greek mythology, Actaeon (or Aktaion) was a son of Aristaeus and Autonoe in Boeotia, a hunter who endured the wrath of Artemis. ... Gluck, detail of a portrait by Joseph Duplessis, dated 1775 (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna) Christoph Willibald (von) Gluck (July 2, 1714 – November 15, 1787) was a German composer. ... Orfeo ed Euridice is an opera by Christoph Willibald Gluck. ...

Act II, Scene 1

Eurydice is being kept locked up by Pluto, and is finding life very dull. Her gaoler (jailer), a dull-witted fellow by the name of John Styx, is not helping, particularly his habit of telling, at the slightest provocation, all about how he was King of the Beotians until he died. But if he had not died, he would still be king ("When I was King of the Beotians").¹

Jupiter spots where Pluto hid Eurydice whilst being shown around by him, and slips through the keyhole by turning into a beautiful, golden fly. He meets Eurydice on the other side, and sings a love duet with her where his part consists entirely of buzzing (The Fly Duet). Afterwards, he reveals himself to her, and promises to help her, largely because he wants her for himself.

¹ Beotia is a part of Greece that Aristophanes fills with idiotic rural rubes - rather appropriate for this Styx. Boeotia (Greek Βοιωτια) was a central area of ancient Greece. ... Bust of Aristophanes Aristophanes (Greek: ΄Αριστοφανης, c. ...

Act II, Scene 2

The scene shifts to a huge party the gods are having in Hell, where ambrosia, nectar, and propriety are nowhere to be seen ("It's party time in Hell"). Eurydice sneaks in disguised as a Bacchante (Hymn to Bacchus), but Jupiter's plan to sneak her out is interrupted by calls for a dance. Unfortunately, Jupiter can only dance minuets ("How I love to dance") which everyone else finds boring and awful. Things liven up, though, as the most famous number in the opera, the Infernal Galop (best known as the music of the Can-can) starts, and everyone throws themself into it with wild abandon. In Greek mythology, Maenads [MEE-nads] were female worshippers of Dionysus, the Greek god of mystery, wine and intoxication. ... The Can-can (also spelt Cancan, Can Can) is regarded today primarily as a music hall dance, perfomed by a chorus line of female dancers who wear costumes with long skirts, petticoats, and black stockings, harking back to the fashions of the 1890s. ...

Ominous violin music heralds the approach of Orpheus (Entrance of Orpheus and Public Opinion), but Jupiter has a plan, and promises to keep Eurydice away from him. As with the standard myth, Orpheus must not look back, or he'll lose Eurydice forever. Public Opinion keeps a close eye on him, to keep him from cheating ("Look ahead and not at your wife"), but Jupiter throws a lightning bolt, making him jump and look back, and so all ends happily, with a reprise of the Galop.

List of Numbers

A video recording of Orpheus in the Underworld on DVD

Note: The names vary widely between translations. Consult the plot synopsis for more information on individual arias. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (506x729, 84 KB) Summary DVD cover - visual reference Licensing This image is of a DVD cover, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher of the DVD or the studio which produced the DVD in question. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (506x729, 84 KB) Summary DVD cover - visual reference Licensing This image is of a DVD cover, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher of the DVD or the studio which produced the DVD in question. ...

Act I, Scene 1

• Introduction and Melodrame (Public Opinion)
• Couplets, "Ah when a woman's heart is yearning (Eurydice)
• Duet, "So you confess" (Orpheus, Eurydice)
• Pastoral song, "Hail! My name's Aristaeus" (Aristaeus (Pluto))
• Transformation (Aristaeus (Pluto) and Eurydice)
• Couplets, "I thought that death would be more painful" (Eurydice)
• Descent to the Underworld (Pluto and Eurydice)
• Duet, "Come, come, come" (Public Opinion and Orpheus)

Act I, Scene 2

• Entr'acte and Chorus, "We're fast asleep" (Chorus of Gods), Song, "When I go riding" (Diana)
• Entrance of Pluto (Orchestra)
• Revolution Chorus, "To arms, you gods and Demi-Gods" (Chorus, Pluto, Jupiter)
• Couplets, "When you seduced the fair Alcmena" (Minerva, Diana, Cupid, Venus, Pluto, and Chorus)
• Finale, Act I, "He is coming, how upsetting" (Pluto, Public Opinion, Orpheus, and Gods)

Act II, Scene 1

• Entr'acte (Orchestra)
• Couplets, "When I was King of the Beotians" (Styx)
• Fly Duet, "I'm feeling all lovely and shivery" (Jupiter, Eurydice)

Orpheus in the Underworld as recorded by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company (CD)

Image File history File links Doyly-Carte-Orpheus-in-the-Underworld. ... Image File history File links Doyly-Carte-Orpheus-in-the-Underworld. ...

Act II, Scene 2

• Infernal Chorus, "It's party time in Hell" (Chorus)
• Hymn to Bacchus, "I saw him on a rock" (Eurydice, Chorus)
• Minuet, "How I love to dance" (Jupiter).
• Infernal Galop (Chorus)
• Entrance of Orpheus and Public Opinion (Pluto, Eurydice, Jupiter, Public Opinion, Orpheus)
• Finale, Act II "Look ahead and not at your wife" (Ensemble)

Titles of the numbers are from the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company's 1994 production of the opera, as given on the liner notes of their CD. The DOyly Carte Opera Company staged performances of Gilbert and Sullivans Savoy operas in the UK, Europe, America, South Africa and elsewhere from the nineteenth century to the twenty first. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal. // Events January Bill Clinton January 1 : North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect. ...

Recordings

Orpheus in the Underworld as recorded by the English National Opera (CD)

The operetta has been recorded many times. There is a historic recording made in 1951 by René Leibowitz and the Paris Philharmonic available on compact disc (REGIS RRC 2063). Michel Plasson recorded the work with Mady Mesplé in 1978 (EMI CDS7496472), and in 1999 Marc Minkowski conduted the operetta in Lyon, with a strong cast including Natalie Dessay, Laurent Naouri, Jean-Paul Fouchécourt, Véronique Gens, and Ewa Podles (EMI 0724355672520). Image File history File links Orpheus-in-the-Underworld-CD.jpg‎ Summary CD cover - visual reference Licensing This image is of a music album or single cover, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher of the album or the artist(s) which produced the... Image File history File links Orpheus-in-the-Underworld-CD.jpg‎ Summary CD cover - visual reference Licensing This image is of a music album or single cover, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher of the album or the artist(s) which produced the... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... René Leibowitz (February 17, 1913 – August 29, 1972) was a French composer, conductor, music theorist and teacher born in Warsaw, Poland. ... Michel Plasson (born 2 October 1933 in Paris, France) is a French conductor. ... Mady Mesplé (1931 - ) is a French soprano. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Marc Minkowski is a French conductor of mostly baroque works and french neoclassical music, he was born in Paris in 1962. ... Three of the main sights in Lyon, the Cathedral St-Jean, the Basilica Notre Dame de Fourvière, and the Tour métallique de Fourvière City flag City coat of arms Motto: (Franco-Provençal: Forward, forward, Lyon the best) Coordinates : , Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) Administration Subdivisions 9... Natalie Dessay (born in Lyon, 19 April 1965) is an important French opera soprano. ... Jean-Paul Fouchécourt is a French tenor, best known as an opera singer. ... Véronique Gens is a highly respected French soprano. ... Ewa Podles is a Polish-born Contralto, whose amazing repertoire ranges from Handels Giulio Cesare (Cesare) to songs by Shostakovich. ...

Minkowski is also the conductor on a DVD released in 1997, again at Lyon with Natalie Dessay, Laurent Naouri, and Jean-Paul Fouchécourt, as well as Yann Beuron and others in a production by Laurent Pelly (TDK DV-OPOAE). 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Laurent Pelly (born 1962) is a French opera and theatre director. ...

Orpheus in the Underworld in popular culture

The Infernal Galop from Act II, Scene 2 is famous outside classical circles as the music for the "Can-can". Saint-Saëns borrowed the Galop, slowed it to a crawl and assigned it to the bass violin to represent the tortoise in The Carnival of the Animals. The Can-can (also spelt Cancan, Can Can) is regarded today primarily as a music hall dance, perfomed by a chorus line of female dancers who wear costumes with long skirts, petticoats, and black stockings, harking back to the fashions of the 1890s. ... Charles Camille Saint-Saëns (IPA: ) (9 October 1835–16 December 1921) was a French composer and performer, best known for his orchestral work The Carnival of the Animals. ... The violoncello, almost always abbreviated to cello (the c is pronounced as the ch in cheese), is a stringed instrument and a member of the violin family. ... Genera Chersina Dipsochelys Furculachelys Geochelone Gopherus Homopus Indotestudo Kinixys Malacochersus Manouria Psammobates Pyxis Testudo A tortoise is a land-dwelling reptile of the order Testudines. ... The Carnival of the Animals (Le carnaval des animaux in the original French) is a musical suite of 14 movements by the French Romantic composer Camille Saint-Saëns. ...

References

'The Opera Goer's Complete Guide by Leo Melitz, 1921 version.