Orpheus in the Underworld

Jacques Offenbach’s comic operetta, first performed in 1858, parodies the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice through satire of contemporary society and grand opera.

Orpheus and Eurydice: A Greek myth about the musician Orpheus’s attempt to bring his wife Eurydice back from the underworld. Offenbach turns this tragic myth into the operetta’s comic premise.
Libretto: The text written for an opera or other vocal stage work. Ludovic Halévy and Hector-Jonathan Crémieux shaped the myth into satirical dialogue and lyrics.
Hector-Jonathan Crémieux: A French playwright and librettist who co-wrote the libretto of Orpheus in the Underworld. He collaborated with Halévy on the operetta’s original text.
Eurydice: A nymph in Greek mythology whose death prompts Orpheus’s journey to the underworld. Offenbach recasts her as a character eager to escape her unhappy marriage.
Overture to Orpheus in the Underworld: A concert overture assembled from music in Offenbach’s operetta. It became the work’s best-known orchestral introduction, though it was not part of the original premiere.
Jacques Offenbach: A German-born French composer known for shaping the 19th-century operetta. He composed the score and helped define the work’s satirical style.
Galop infernal: A rapid, lively dance from Offenbach’s operetta, widely known as the “Can-can.” Its high-energy rhythm drives the underworld’s celebrated dance scene.
Ludovic Halévy: A French writer and librettist who co-wrote several works with Jacques Offenbach. His libretto helped give the myth its topical satirical edge.
Jupiter (Orpheus in the Underworld): The ruler of the gods in Offenbach’s operetta, portrayed as a self-serving comic figure. His disguises and schemes expose the gods’ hypocrisy.
Parisian operetta: A tradition of French comic musical theatre associated with Paris and the 19th century. The work became a defining example of this theatrical tradition.

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