Jacques Offenbach, original name Jacob Offenbach, (born June 20, 1819, Cologne, Prussia [Germany]—died October 5, 1880, Paris, France), composer who created a type of light burlesque French comic opera known as the opérette, which became one of the most characteristic artistic products of the period.
Orpheus in the Underworld, French Orphée aux enfers, is a comic operetta, a satirical treatment of the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus. It premiered on October 21, 1858, at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens in Paris. The work’s best-known music is the cancan that appears in the overture and the final scene. The work was originally structured in two acts, though Offenbach later expanded it into four acts.
The best-known and much-recorded Orphée aux enfers overture is not by Offenbach, and is not part of either the 1858 or the 1874 scores. It was arranged by the Austrian musician Carl Binder (1816–1860) for the first production of the opera in Vienna, in 1860.
- Wikipedia contributors. (2022, November 6). Orpheus in the Underworld. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16:49, November 14, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Orpheus_in_the_Underworld&oldid=1120357729