A Buxton International Festival Production in collaboration with Opera della Luna.
‘A profanation of holy and glorious antiquity. A desecration of the gods!’ That’s how one outraged critic greeted the first performance of Orphée aux Enfers in 1858. But Offenbach and his librettists were not so much desecrating ancient Greece as their own bourgeois society. Its waltzes and marches were played constantly from the Tuileries to the smallest taverns, and the Galop Infernal or Cancan became one of the most famous dance tunes ever written. Jeff Clarke’s new translation casts a satirical eye on our own society in much the same way that Offenbach’s original lampooned 2nd Empire Paris.
Opera della Luna specialises in the comic opera repertoire and has become one of the country’s most cherished touring companies. Described as ‘fast approaching national treasure status’, it Made its BIF debut last year with The Daughter of the Regiment, which played to sold-out houses and received 5-star reviews.
New English version by Jeff Clarke.
Tristan Stocks Orpheus
Daire Halpin Eurydice
Katharine Taylor-Jones Public Opinion
Anthony Flaum Pluto
Ian Belsey Jupiter
Louise Crane Juno
Paul Featherstone Mercury
Lynsey Docherty Diana
Kristy Swift Venus
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Toby Purser Conductor
Jeff Clarke Director
Elroy Ashmore Designer
Jenny Arnnold Choreographer