Orpheus in the Underworld malsaine" (an unhealthy odor). In the opinion of Piat, however, Offenbach's "Orphée" is, like most of his major operettas, a "bijou" (jewel) that only snobs will fail to appreciate. The piece was not immediately a hit, but critics' condemnation of it, particularly that of Jules Janin, who called it a "profanation of holy and glorious antiquity," only provided vital publicity, serving to heighten the public's curiosity to see the piece. "Scene 1: Near Thebes" A melodrama (Introduction and Melodrame) opens the work. Public Opinion explains who she is – the guardian of morality ("Qui suis-je? du Théâtre Antique"). She seeks
The Gaze of Orpheus song” (Huffer 175). Another interpretation or usage of the gaze of Orpheus is by Geoffrey Sirc. Sirc uses Orpheus’s moment of violation as argument for creative form in writing versus the standard polished text. Urging the adolescent writer to break free of formal notions of form, Sirc views the journal as the media through which Orpheus yearns for Eurydice. “If the Work is freed of concern, the gaze is transgressive, then we’re clearly not talking about the polished text, especially one oriented dutifully around the tiny truths available through an analysis of middle-brow media” (Sirc 14). Sirc’s primary reference to