Orphée aux enfers – Operetta
Offenbach’s Light Opera Orpheus in the Underworld, Summary
Orphée aux enfers, (Orpheus in the Underworld) Jacques Offenbach's comic operetta. Orpheus in the Underwold plot summary, Orphée aux enfers character list and info.
Offenbach’s Orphée aux enfers
Composed: 1858 (revised to 4 acts in 1874)
First Performance: October 21, 1858 Bouffes-Parisiens; Paris, France
Language: French
Libretto: Hectore Crémieux and Ludovic Helévy
Opéra-bouffon, Operetta in 4 acts
Fast Facts:
- Offenbach’s first major operatic success.
- Parody of baroque Opera and the Orpheus Myth, by using dialog and set pieces infused with satire.
- The the most famous piece from this opera is the 4th act Cancan, Ce bal est original
- Orphée started as a 2 act opera, but was revised by Offenbach in 1874 to be 4 acts with a bit broader dialog.
- Offenbach, with this operetta, helped inspire and pave the way for later operetta composers such as Sir Arthur Sullivan and Franz Lehár.
- The Greek legend of Orpheus inspired operas by several composers, including Monteverdi’s l’Orfeo and Gluck’s Orfeo et Euridice.
Characters:
- Orphée, Orpheus, a musician (tenor)
- Eurydice, wife of Orphée (soprano)
- Public Opinion, (mezzo-soprano)
- Jupiter, King of the Gods (baritone)
- Aristée/ Pluton, Pluto, God of the Underworld (tenor)
- John Styx, Prison Guard in Hades (tenor)
- Mercury, god (tenor)
- Mars, god (tenor)
The Plot:
Act I
- Orphée is a composer. (a very poor one, at that) His music and violin playing are completely hated by his wife, Eurydice.
- Annoyed with by his wife’s protests to stop playing his violin, Orphée threatens her with a violin concerto.
- Pluto, disquised as a shepherd Aristée, has had an affair with Eurydice.
- Orphée cannot stand to be with his wife, makes a deal with Pluto that she die by snakebite.
- Aristée /Pluto has made Eurydice fall in-love with him, and takes her to the Underworld. As she is leaving she leaves a note for Orphée that she is dead.
- Orphée is delighted, but Public Opinion insists that he follow his wife to Hades and beg the Gods for her safe return.
Act II
- The Gods at Mt. Olympus are tired of their boring lives and of only having a diet of Ambrosia and Nectar.
- The Gods rise-up against Jupiter, claiming that he is the only one that gets to have any fun.
- Jupiter is not pleased to find that Pluto has abducted Eurydice.
- Orphée arrives, searching for his wife.
- Jupiter uses this as a way to quiet the entire family of Gods. He decides that everyone should join him on a trip to Hades in search of Eurydice.
Act III
- Eurydice is now bored with Pluto and has decided that she would rather return to earth.
- Jupiter, who has been turned into a fly by Cupid, arrives to woo Eurydice and the two fall in-love.
- Eurydice and Jupiter make a decision to run off and elope.
Act IV
- At the farewell party back at Mt. Olympus, Jupiter has turned Eurydice into a Bacchante, who sings to everyone a song, then they all dance the Cancan.
- Jupiter reluctantly decides that Orphée can have his wife back, as long as on their way back to earth, he doesn’t look at her.
- As Orphée and Eurydice are returning, Jupiter throws a lightening bolt, causing Orphée to turn around and see his wife.
- The gods celebrate as Eurydice is returned to Mt. Olympus as a Bacchante.
The copyright of the article Orphée aux enfers – Operetta in Opera Composers is owned by Bryce Westervelt. Permission to republish Orphée aux enfers – Operetta must be granted by the author in writing.
