Orpheus in the Underworld

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Ross Zentner

Christian Sanders as Orpheus in Madison Opera's production of "Orpheus in the Underworld," at Overture Center April 29 and May 1, 2022.

media release: Madison Opera welcomes spring with Jacques Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld on Friday, April 29 at 8pm and Sunday, May 1 at 2:30pm in Overture Hall at the Overture Center for the Arts. The first production of this popular operetta in Madison Opera’s history, it will be sung in English, in a translation by Jeremy Sams.

PRE-OPERA TALKS: Friday, April 29, 2022, 7pm; Sunday, May 1, 2022, 1:30pm, Wisconsin Studio at Overture Center: Join General Director Kathryn Smith one hour prior to performances for an entertaining and informative talk about Orpheus in the Underworld. FREE to ticket holders.

POST-OPERA Q & A directly following each performance, Wisconsin Studio at Overture Center: Audience members are invited to join General Director Kathryn Smith in the Wisconsin Studio immediately after the performance for a question-and-answer session. FREE to ticket holders.

Set on Earth, Mt. Olympus, and Hades, Orpheus in the Underworld takes some well-known myths and turns them on their head. Orpheus and Eurydice are unhappily married, so she is delighted to die and go to the Underworld with Pluto. When Public Opinion demands that Orpheus rescue her, he seeks the assistance of Jupiter, who is having his own trouble with rebellious gods who are bored of Mt. Olympus. Everyone soon decides to go down to Hades to have fun.

Spoofing humanity as well as mythology, Orpheus was a smash-hit for Offenbach in 1858, running for 228 performances when it premiered in Paris. The delightfully melodic score includes the “infernal galop,” now more popularly known as the can-can.

“Some operas exist to make the audience smile,” says Kathryn Smith, Madison Opera’s General Director. “Orpheus takes nothing seriously, other than the need to have fun, and provides an opportunity for a cast of talented performers to create an entertaining world together.”

Orpheus features a large ensemble cast. Jasmine Habersham stars as Eurydice in her Madison Opera stage debut, following online appearances during the 20/21 Digital Season. Christian Sanders debuts as Orpheus, reimagined by Offenbach as a violin player. Pluto – the ruler of the Underworld, Eurydice’s lover, and Jupiter’s brother – is played by Brian Vu in his debut. Laurel Semerdjian debuts as Public Opinion, who keeps everyone in line.

Up on Mt. Olympus, Craig Verm (Little Women) stars as Jupiter, trying to appease his family of gods and goddesses. Boredom has set in, and Cupid, Venus, and Diana have snuck down to earth to have fun; they are played by former Studio Artists Gillian Hollis, Kirsten Lippart, and Emily Secor. Joining them in their rebellion are Juno, played by Emily Glick (She Loves Me), and Minerva, Mercury, and Mars, played by current Studio Artists Anja Pustaver, Tyrese Byrd, and Jake Surzyn. Down in Hades, the not-quite-alive John Styx is played by Robert A. Goderich (She Loves Me).

Madison Opera’s production sets the mortal world in a 1960s suburb, populates Mt. Olympus with gods and goddesses in formal wear, and turns Hades into a nightclub, complete with show girls. Stephanie Havey directs, in her Madison Opera debut, with costumes by Karen Brown-Larimore, lighting by Derek Van Heel, scenery by Steven Kemp, and  choreography by Katrina Brunner. John DeMain conducts, with the Madison Opera Chorus and Madison Symphony Orchestra.