2023-12-27 11:48:36
On the stage of the Lausanne Opera until December 31, director Olivier Py presents “Orphée aux Enfers” by Jacques Offenbach which mixes modernity and a baroque surge. A festive and colorful show, served by an excellent cast.
More than a thousand: this is the number of performances of “Orphée aux Enfers” which took place between the creation of the work in 1858 in Paris and the death of Jacques Offenbach in 1880. However irreverent it may be, the operetta quickly gained the favor of the public and the good society of the Second Empire, although it was mocked without moderation in the libretto.
In his “fairy opera”, Jacques Offenbach mishandles mythology to better make fun of his contemporaries. We notably encounter Emperor Napoleon III in the guise of Jupiter, whom the composer even has the audacity to transform into a fly in the third act, during a love duet with the beautiful Eurydice.
At the invitation of the Lausanne Opera, the French director Olivier Py, rather accustomed to “pathos and pain”, takes on an operetta for the first time and does not shy away from his pleasure: “C “is prodigious, I hope to continue in this repertoire. It requires more demands, but it puts me in an extraordinary state of happiness”, indicates the current director of the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris to the Echo des pavanes of 16 December.
>> Listen to: Olivier Py’s interview regarding “Orphée aux Enfers” at the Lausanne Opera:
Olivier Py leads Orpheus to Hell / The echo of the pavanes / 8 min. / December 16, 2023
An offbeat dive into Antiquity
Jubilant, the libretto is in tune with its era of boring and conventional marriages. Orpheus and Eurydice, tired of each other, multiply their extramarital affairs. When Eurydice dies, kidnapped by Pluto, Orpheus’ jubilation is short-lived. The character from Public Opinion threatens him with scandal if he does not hurry to fetch her from the Underworld. The plot then takes a detour through Olympus inhabited by a crazy jumble of gods who are bored under the care of “Papa Piter”, before reaching the heart of Hell, where Eurydice will end up transformed into Bacchante.
From this surreal and hilarious story, Olivier Py creates a baroque party, filled with action in every corner and colors enhanced by the sumptuous dresses of the singers and dancers. Pierre-André Weitz’s immense mobile sets depict different theater scenes, sometimes topped with impressive reproductions of infernal paintings. A troupe of ten dancers and more than thirty choristers take part in this “exultant celebration”, as the director describes it, highlighted in the last act by the famous “Galop infernal” later taken up by the French cancan.
High performance vocal platform
With his tattooed arms, his peroxided hair and his rocker appearance, tenor Samy Camps composes a convincing Orpheus, irritating as can be and completely full of himself. Soprano Marie Perbost, endowed with undeniable talent as an actress, shines in the role of an impertinent and free Eurydice. As Aristaeus/Pluto, tenor Julien Dran is excellent, while Nicolas Cavallier plays a hilarious Jupiter, in the guise of Napoleon III. In the pit, conductor Arie van Beek, at the head of the Sinfonietta of Lausanne, sometimes seems battered by the infernal tempi of the work. During the premiere on December 23, we noted some discrepancies between the soloists and the orchestra.
Nicolas Cavallier (Jupiter) and Julien Dran (Pluto) in “Orphée aux Enfers” at the Lausanne Opera. [Jean Guy Python – Opéra de Lausanne]
With its party favors, festive music and libretto filled with caustic humor, “Orphée aux Enfers” lends itself perfectly to an end-of-year production. The Lausanne public was not mistaken: all the performances are already sold out.
Melissa Härtel
Comments collected by Julie Evard and Benoît Perrier
“Orphée aux enfers”, Jacques Offenbach, to be seen once more at the Lausanne Opera on December 27, 28, 29 and 31, 2023.
Broadcast of this production on the show “A l’opéra” on January 6, 2024 at 8 p.m.
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