CHÉRET, Jules
(b. 1836, Paris, d. 1932, Nice)

Poster for Jacques Offenbach's Orphée aux enfers

1858
Lithograph, 127 x 90 cm
Gallica, Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris

Orpheus in the Underworld (French Orphée aux enfers) is comic operetta by French composer Jacques Offenbach (French libretto by Hector Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy), a satirical treatment of the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus. It premiered on October 21, 1858, at the Théâtre 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