A Peek at the Costumes of ORPHEUS IN THE UNDERWORLD

"Sara Jean Tosetti's spectacular costumes...manage to seem both historical and contemporary, with a showy, masquerade-ball sensibility."

- Kyle MacMillan, Denver Post

Today we’re sharing with you some of these bright, festive costumes from this year’s production of Orpheus in the Underworld.

As Marc Astafan describes the show in his Director’s Notes:

“It's about a married couple who are sick of each other and looking for adventure. They go to the Greek Gods for help and find out that the gods are just as frustrated with their perfect lives on Mount Olympus and all flee to Hades for fun and frolic. Each scene has its own distinct color scheme: Scene One on Earth in natural tones of green and yellow, Scene Two on Mount Olympus in celestial gold and silvers and white and blue, Pluto's Boudoir in Act II in sexy purple and gold, and the finale, featuring the "Can-can," in dazzling pinks, reds and black!”

So, first we’ll take a look at Sara Jean Tosetti’s original design sketches for the disgruntled married characters of Orpheus and Eurydice:

You can see those bright greens and golds stayed true to form in this production photo of Orpheus (Edward Mout) and Eurydice (Joanna Mongiardo).

When we asked our Facebook users for some of their favorite moments this year, “Tom” mentioned the memorable part when Jupiter disguises himself as a fly. First we’ll look at the fun costume sketch of his outfit:

And now we see how the design was fully realized in our production:

Pictured: Joanna Mongiardo (Eurydice) and Matthew Worth (Jupiter).

You’ll have to come see the show to see how the back of Jupiter’s costume turned out!

Now let’s take a look at Hades, where all the fun is. Eurydice is sketched in that dazzling pink, while one of the “Can-can” girls…well, she’s got some pink too!

And now for the real excitement of seeing it all on stage:

The "Can-can" from Central City Opera’s ORPHEUS IN THE UNDERWORLD(2010). Pictured: Joannna Mongiardo (Eurydice) and citizens of the Underworld.

Don’t you want to join in the party? Come up and see Orpheus in the Underworld this weekend!

Pictured (Above Center) Joannna Mongiardo (Eurydice) and (Below Center) Ryan MacPherson (Pluto) surrounded by citizens of the Underworld.

All production photos taken by Mark Kiryluk. All sketches by Sara Jean Tosetti, Costume Designer.

Marc Shulgold’s Fun Facts on ORPHEUS IN THE UNDERWORLD

Today we bring you more "fun facts" from Marc Shulgold, former music critic of the Rocky Mountain News, focusing on Orpheus in the Underworld by Jacques Offenbach.

• Born Jakob Eberst in 1819 in Cologne, Germany, Jacques Offenbach was the son of a Jewish cantor and amateur musician. His father changed the family name to Offenbach in honor of his German hometown. At 14, Jakob attended the Paris Conservatory for only a year, but decided to make Paris his home, often playfully referring to himself there as “Monsieur O de Cologne.”
• Orpheus in the Underworld (a polite translation of Orphée aux enfers – more accurately, “Orpheus in Hell”) was a raucous satire – thumbing its nose at Greek mythology, at Gluck and his treatments of the Orpheus myth, as well as at various figures and scandals in contemporary French society. No surprise that the operetta drew a rash of indignant critical slurs soon after its premiere in 1858. One writer labeled the work “une parodie grotesque et grossière” (a coarse and grotesque parody) that gives off “une odeur malsaine” (an unhealthy odor). Naturally, such reviews helped spur ticket sales, soon packing Offenbach's 50-seat theater, the Bouffes-Parisiens, for 228 straight performances.
• Among those visiting Offenbach's tiny theater was Rossini, who called Offenbach “the Mozart of the Champs-Elysees.” An opposing view was expressed by another visitor, Richard Wagner, who described the music he heard as “a dung heap on which all the swine of Europe wallowed.”  
• The famous Can-Can heard in Act II of Orpheus is actually titled “Infernal Gallop” (galop infernal). In addition to its frequent use as accompaniment to that racy French dance, the music was adapted by Saint-Saens in his Carnival of the Animals – now slowed to a crawl in the lower strings to depict the tortoise. 
• In the spirit of the work's playful satirical bent, a 1980s English-language production mounted in London by English National Opera poked fun at then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher through the character Public Opinion, the self-proclaimed guardian of morality.  
• Sign on the door of a music shop: “Gone to lunch. Bach at One – Offenbach sooner.”

Above Right: Joyce Campana (Public Opinion) and Edward Mout (Orpheus) in Central City Opera’s ORPHEUS IN THE UNDERWORLD (2010). Photo by Mark Kiryluk.

 Be sure to check out our previous blog entry of Marc Shulgold's Fun Facts on Madama Butterfly.

Central City Happenings

It's almost time for the season to start, and Central City is buzzing with people and activity. The season doesn't officially begin until Saturday, but Madama Butterfly's final dress rehearsal is today, which means we have our first audience! Everyone has been preparing all week.

The ushers learned the famous Ushers' Song last week, and this week we learned how to do our march down Eureka Street. Former intern and current Education and Community Programs Coordinator Deven Shaff was nice enough to come up from Denver and teach us the ropes. It was pretty fun, and we're all psyched to try it for the first time in our uniforms this afternoon!

On Monday, the city of Central threw the opera company their annual picnic. The company showed up to find free food, drinks, and a lovely trio of musicians playing for our entertainment. There was mingling, swinging on swings (see studio artist Megan Gillespie and apprentice artist Monica Boldt to the right) and general merriment. It was a lovely event.

Later in the week I got the opportunity to see the Orpheus in the Underworld photoshoot, which was super fun and colorful. Look how awesome those costumes are! I can't wait to see the whole ensemble in costume - it is going to be SWEET!

We hope to see you at a performance soon!

Central City Round Up

Life is getting crazy busy here in Central City. There's so much going on that I'm not sure I can even blog about it all! In the past week Three Decembers started rehearsals, the ushers learned to sing the famous Usher Song, three board members were fitted for costumes for walk-on rolls in Orpheus in the Underworld, publicity photos were taken for Madama Butterfly, and John Moriarty shared with us the history of Central City Opera at the annual company meeting. Craziness!

I got the chance to attend both the design meeting and the first staging rehearsal for Three Decembers, and I am now totally hooked on that show. As principal artist Emily Pulley said in the design meeting, "It's not an opera, it's group therapy, really." And who doesn't like to see group therapy with music? I definitely do. Director Ken Cazan, who last directed West Side Story at Central City Opera in 2008, said "the theatre will never let you down," and I have a feeling this opera won't let us down either. I'm excited about it. [View Ken Cazan's Director's Notes on Three Decembers.]

Meanwhile, the ushers woke up early one morning to learn the Ushers' Song with Associate Conductor Andrew Altenbach. They don't look particularly happy about in this photo, but I swear we perked up once the real singing started. And just wait until we learn to march - it is going to be epic!

This morning we all attended the Central City Opera annual meeting, which was pretty awesome. John Moriarty told us the history of the Opera company, and I learned so much! I wasn't able to get any good pictures, but there's a historical reason for that, I swear. Apparently, the lighting in the opera house is super low because the paintings on the ceiling were meant to be seen in gas light. Mr. Moriarty told us that under modern bright lights, the colors look incredibly garish. Who knew!? And that was only one small fun fact we learned this morning.

Over the course of the week, three opera Board Members came in to get fitted for their costumes for the walk-on rolls they have in Orpheus in the Underworld. I stopped by George Ann Victor's fitting this morning. It was really fun to see how excited she was about her role and about her awesome costume. Look to the right. How cool is that! Just wait until you see her boots.

So life is starting to get busy busy busy in Central City. Trust me, you'll hear from me soon. Until then, scroll down and read the fun facts about Madama Butterfly Marc Shulgold put together.

Central City Happenings

It's a busy week here in Central City - Butterfly's rehearsals continue, Orpheus' rehearsals have just started, and Music and Martinis is on the horizon!

I had the pleasure of attending Orpheus' first rehearsal last night, and was delighted to be able to watch some choreography in progress. Director/Choreographer Marc Astafan* jumped right in to one of the dance numbers, and they start the Can-can tonight. So exciting! I can tell just by watching one rehearsal that this show is going to be hilarious, and I'm totally psyched.

Over the weekend, Central City was crowded with both Russian tourists (Who knew this town was an international destination? I didn't.) and visitors to the Gilpin County Arts Association 64th Annual Fine Art Exhibition opening. I stopped by and was semi-shocked to discover that despite the fact that the Gilpin County Arts Association Gallery is somewhat nondescript from the outside, it is gorgeous on the inside, and pretty big too. I know I'm going to be spending some of my lunch breaks enjoying both the space and the art work, and I suggest you visit if you get the chance.

Next up, Music & Martinis and percussion load in. I can't wait!

*View Marc Astafan's Director's Notes on Orpheus in the Underworld