Orphée aux Enfers, Offenbach's riotous parody of the dissipations of French life in the Second Empire, fairly gallops past in this 1997 Herbert Wernicke production staged at the Theatre de la Monnaie in Brussels. Based on Offenbach's meatier second version (1874) of the Orpheus legend, it features nicely judged performances across the board and some stunning special effects, notably the explosive locomotive crash signalling the breach of the divide between Heaven and Hell. Satire reigns, not least in the reactionary figure of Public Opinion, a pinny-clad bossy boots with a hint of Dame Edna Everage about her. Olympus is a moribund salon full of bored Gods, sick of the Ambrosian diet.
Credits
Orphée aux Enfers Cast
| Name |
Character |
|
André Jung
He was 35, now 63 years old
|
as John Styx |
Orphée aux Enfers Crew
| Name |
Department |
|
Jacques Offenbach as Original Music Composer. He was 177 (61) years old when He died
|
Sound |
|
E.T.A. Hoffmann as Original Story. He was 221 (46) years old when He died
|
Writing |
|
Jules Barbier as Writer. He was 172 (75) years old when He died
|
Writing |
|
Herbert Wernicke as Director. He was 51 (56) years old when He died
|
Directing |
