Orpheus in der Unterwelt

In the organizer's words:

Opéra-bouffon in two acts and four pictures by Jacques Offenbach - Mixed version 1858/1874 - Libretto by Hector Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy - Critical edition Offenbach Edition Jean-Christophe Keck (OEK) - In German text version by Ludwig Kalisch with additions by Frank Harders-Wuthenow

Orpheus and Eurydice have finally had enough of their marriage. They cheat on each other without restraint, and Eurydice has no idea that her affair with Aristeus is with Pluto, the god of the underworld. The latter cunningly initiates Eurydice's death and she immediately agrees to accompany him to the realm of the dead. Orpheus already believes himself to be happy about the unexpected loss of his wife, when the notorious guardian of law and order appears to him: Public Opinion! She urges Orpheus to go to Olympus to reclaim his wife from the supreme god Jupiter himself. Once in Olympus, Jupiter and all the gods there decide to travel to the underworld to get to the bottom of the case. The ever-lusty Jupiter secretly sets his sights on conquering the beautiful Eurydice himself. A turbulent celebration begins in Pluto's realm, culminating in the famous infernal cancan.

After The Abduction from the Seraglio, Tosca and The Magic Flute, in-house director Nikolaus Habjan now turns his attention to the comic genre. He brings Offenbach's long-running hit to the Dortmund opera stage as a satire on the licentious life of today's high society. Heike Vollmer has conjured up a comic-look stage set in which, among other things, the entire orchestra pit is transformed into a swimming pool. Denise Heschl is responsible for the costume design and Adriana Naldoni for the choreography.

Cast:

Orpheus Zachary Wilson
Eurydice Rinnat Moriah
The Public Opinion Maria Hiefinger
Aristeus/Pluto Fritz Steinbacher
Hans Styx Steffen Schortie Scheumann
Jupiter Morgan Moody
Juno Christine Groeneveld
Venus Hyejun Kwon
Diana Ruth Katharina Peeck
Minerva Subin Park
Mercury Min Lee
Cupid Soyoon Lee
Dance ensemble Janina Clark, Marlou Düster, Elisa Fuganti Pedoni, Nathalie Gehrmann, Helena Sturm, Iván Keim, Evaldo Melo, Christian Meusel
Swing Eva Kwasny

(Hyejun Kwon, Subin Park and Soyoon Lee are members of the Opernstudio NRW)

Dortmund Opera Chorus Theater
Dortmund Philharmonic Orchestra

Musical direction Motonori Kobayashi, Andrea Alessandrini, Koji Ishizaka
Production Nikolaus Habjan
Stage Heike Vollmer
Costumes Denise Heschl
Choreography Adriana Naldoni
Lighting N.N.
Choral rehearsals Fabio Mancini
Dramaturgy Daniel Andrés Eberhard
Director of Studies Thomas Hannig
Production management Fabian Schäfer
Assistant director Dominik Kastl
Assistant stage designer Madeleine Mebs
Costume assistant Nina Albrecht-Paffendorf
Prompter Adriana Naldoni
Dance Captain Iván Keim
Stage manager Ulas Nagler, Alexander Becker