Orpheus in the Underworld

OVERVIEW

Orpheus in the Underworld is the English title of Orphée aux enfers, a comic opera with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Hectro Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy. The opera lampoons the ancient legend of Orpheus and Eurydice. In this version, Orpheus is not the son of Apollo but a rustic violin teacher. He is glad to be rid of his wife, Eurydice, when she is abducted by the god of the underworld, Pluto. Orpheus has to be bullied by Public Opinion into trying to rescue Eurydice. The reprehensible conduct of the gods of Olympus in the opera was widely seen as a veiled satire of the court and government of Napoleon III, Emperor of the French. 

CAST

Chorus:

Bernadette Bell, Kate Booth, Sue Brown, Thérèse Bucher, Doreen Button, Mieke Deketh, Shauna Dickson, Kath French, Vanessa Goldie-Scot, Veronica Hanmer, Ruth Pollard, Susan Roberts, Prudence Rochow, Sybil Sheppard, Jonna Sinclair, Hilary Swenson, Margaret Wittig, Ursula Zehnder, Margareth Zollinger, Ray Bach, Peter Barnett, Georg Briner, Roger Dixon, Richard Jones, Michel Schenker, David Stieber, José Tarre

Underworld Deities:

Margaret de Marchi, Frances Draper, Carolyn Hornfeld, Howard Hornfeld, Susan Lloyd

Dancers:

Wendy Briner, Sanda Freeman, Janet Mutlow, Shirley Rey, Inka Werner, Alison Lees

Imps:

Florian Bach, Kieran Fox, Jeffrey Hornfeld

PRODUCTIOn

PHOTOS

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