OFFENBACH: Orpheus in the Underworld (1971)

by | Jun 25, 2007 | DVD & Blu-ray Video Reviews | 0 comments

OFFENBACH: Orpheus in the Underworld (1971)

Performers: Soloists – Liselotte Pulver, Inge Meysel, Franz Grundheber, Theo Lingen, Elsabeth Steiner, Kurt Marschner/Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra/Marek Janowski cond./Ballet & Chorus of the Hamburg State Opera
Studio: ArtHaus Musik 101 267 (Distr. by Naxos)
Video: 4:3 color
Audio: PCM mono, in German
Subtitles: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian
No regional coding
Length: 101 minutes
Rating: ***

Now that I see by the box and notes that this was a 1971 production I begin to understand my disappointments with it.  It has a sort of very loose air about it, with lame attempts at modern references bringing the myths of the gods on Olympus more up to date. The one character not a mythical figure is Public Opinion, who comes dressed in mastheads from Life, Die Welt, and other such publications. Perhaps everybody is supposed to be drunk. The staging reminded me of a Viennese production of Die Fledermaus run amok.  Of course this is a quintessential French operetta – probably the most lavish one Offenbach ever produced – and is full of French wit and polish. But we are seeing it in a German production, sung in German… Enough besagt.

The costumes and staging certainly are colorful, have to give it that. See-thru clear plastic seems to be a prominent theme, and with Eurydice’s costume it turns her into a topless dancer – no wonder Orpheus couldn’t help looking back after he snatches her from the raucous hard-drinking orgy going on in the underworld. Another over-the-top touch is Mercury making his grand entrance on a little motorbike with clear plastic wings over his ears.  I didn’t recognize a great deal of Offenbach’s delicious music either except for the big cancan at the end.  However, if you’re into things Viennese and love Die Fledermaus you’ll probably find this German TV production right up your strasse.

 – John Sunier

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