ORPHEUS IN THE UNDERWORLD

Orpheus in the Underworld (Orphée aux Enfers) is a two-act operetta composed in 1858 by Jacques Offenbach. This work became incredibly popular also thanks to the famous Infernal Galop, also known as the “can-can,” a risqué dance which features ballerinas raising their legs to partially show their intimate parts to the audience. It tells the mythological story of Orpheus’ descent into hell to bring back to life the beloved Eurudice. The operetta, however, was most likely an irreverent parody and scathing satire of the “Second Empire” and of the scandals in society and politics of the new bourgeoisie during the reign of Napoleon III. Jacques Offenbach, born in Germany in 1819, moved to Paris in 1833, where he began to study cello at the Conservatory of Music. Financial difficulties obliged him to abandon his musical education and he earned his living working many different jobs until 1837, when he joined the Opéra- Comique as a cellist. In 1850, he became the director of the Théâtre Français, but because this theatrical company was uninterested in staging his works, he decided to lease a small theatre where he successfully presented a series of his own small-scale pieces. The German origins of the composer did not help him during the Franco Prussian War, which started in 1870, and he was forced to take refuge in Spain. After the war he returned to Paris where the public continued to support his operettas. In 1880, Offenbach died leaving unfinished his masterpiece, The Tales of Hoffmann (Les contes d’Hoffmann), which was then completed and produced by one of his friends in 1881