Ensembles: Opera
MSU Opera Theatre presented Jacques Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld, Spring 2002
The MSU College of Music's Opera Theatre presented three performances of
Jacques Offenbach's 1858 operetta Orpheus In the Underworld. The
performances were held March 22, 23 and 24, 2002 at MSU's Fairchild
Theatre.
A rollicking comedy, this bawdy reworking of the Orpheus legend featured unfaithful
spouses, oversexed gods and goddesses, mischievous denizens of the underworld
and even The Love Police. The score was filled with familiar tunes,
from the famous "Overture" to the "Can-Can," in which 38 singers and dancers
frolicked to the music.
"Orpheus
delighted the crowd with its hummable tunes, racy humor, topical dialogue
and bright, brash sets and costumes," said stage director Melanie Helton.
Considered one of the most popular and most performed operettas in
the world, Orpheus In the Underworld is recognized as one of Offenbach's
greatest masterworks. Originally written in French, the English
translation and adaptation by Buck Ross updates the action to a
contemporary setting, in this case, a not-so-fictional Big Ten university
(whose colors just happen to be green and white!).
MSU Opera Production Staff:
Conductor:
Dae Uk Lee/Jason Altieri
Stage
Director: Melanie Helton
Choreographer:
Dixie Durr
Stage
Design: John DesPres
Lighting
Design: Tiffany Tucker
|