Divine wit, heavenly intrigues and one hell of a cancan: Jacques Offenbach's "Orpheus in the Underworld" returns to the Halle Opera - as a colorful satire on love, power and morality.
Orpheus and Eurydice's celestial harmony has long since evaporated - their marriage is on the brink of collapse. While he has devoted himself entirely to his music, she longs for a change and throws herself into adventure. She promptly falls for Pluto, the charming god of the underworld, who doesn't hesitate for long and whisks her away to the realm of the dead.
Orpheus is surprisingly calm about this, but 'public opinion' forces him to go to Olympus and ask for Eurydice's return. There, however, Jupiter, the father of the gods, pursues his own plans - and leads the entire host of gods down into the underworld with seductive vigor. What follows is a crazy game of vanity, intrigue and confusion, which reaches its exhilarating climax in Offenbach's legendary hellish cancan.
In his production, director Patric Seibert combines music from both versions of Offenbach's operetta and, together with set and costume designer Kaspar Glarner, creates a colorful, humorously pointed interpretation of this classic - light-footed, cheeky and full of esprit.
Premiere January 31
Further performances: February 14, March 1, 6 and 20, April 17, 2026
