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
Orpheus in the Underworld circles as the music for the "can-can" (to the extent that the tune is widely, but erroneously, called "can-can"). Saint-Saëns borrowed the Galop, slowed it to a crawl, and arranged it for the strings to represent the tortoise in "The Carnival of the Animals". The first performance of the two-act, opéra bouffe version took place at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens in Paris on 21 October 1858 and ran for an initial 228 performances. It then returned to the stage a few weeks later, after the cast had been given a rest. For the Vienna production of 1860, Carl Binder provided