Poster for Jacques Offenbach's Orphée aux enfers

Orpheus in the Underworld (French Orph�e aux enfers) is comic operetta by French composer Jacques Offenbach (French libretto by Hector Cr�mieux and Ludovic Hal�vy), a satirical treatment of the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus. It premiered on October 21, 1858, at the Th�âtre des Bouffes-Parisiens in Paris. The work’s best-known music is the cancan that appears in the overture and the final scene. The work was originally structured in two acts, though Offenbach later expanded it into four acts.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 4 minutes):

Jacques Offenbach: Orpheus in the Underworld, overture