Orpheus in the Underworld

Synopsis

Orpheus' trip to the Underworld to recover Eurydice. First performed in 1858 and perhaps the first ever full-length classical operetta, this opera is perhaps most famous for the 'Can Can', or as it is properly called, 'The Infernal Gallop'.

Our Review:

30 June 2009

Best known for its high-kicking can-can, Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld – just over 150 years old – was originally a scurrilous political satire, in the same way as Gilbert and Sullivan tore into Victorian hypocrisy. Unfortunately for G&S the most prevalent performing tradition has preserved their comic operas in aspic, but the much rarer outings for Offenbach do not have such impediments, even if the satirical swipes – not only at operatic style (like Gluck, which Offenbach actually quotes from), but also the traditions of Comédie Française acting and scandals of the Second Empire – may be less than clear nowadays.

However, I can’t fathom director Tom Hawkes’ decision to frame the comedy for Opera Holland Park’s first ever production of the operetta in a muddled cinematic milieu, especially as we had a German director on hand (Max Reinhardt, perhaps?). I can’t imagine this character appears in ...

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