Orphée aux Enfers
Here is an irreverent take on the tragic story of the lovers Orpheus and Eurydice. With his librettists Hector Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy, Jacques Offenbach creates a wonderful array of characters from the heavens who find themselves caught up in domestic antics. In this enchanting production from the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence from 2009 with a young cast from the European Academy of Music, director Yves Beaunesne transposes the action to the 1940s and spreads it over the four floors of a bourgeois residence. From the kitchen (Orpheus' home) to the attic (the Underworld), via the dining room (Olympus) and the bedroom (Pluto's boudoir), he succeeds in teasing out all the humour and elegance of Offenbach’s satirical masterpiece.
Cast
Pauline Courtin
as Eurydice
Julien Behr
as Orphée
Mathias Vidal
as Aristée / Pluton
Vincent Deliau
as Jupiter
Marie Gautrot
as L’Opinion Publique
Jérôme Billy
as John Styx
Paul Cremazy
as Mercure
Emmanuelle de Negri
as Cupidon
Soula Parassidis
as Diane
Marie Kalinine
as Vénus