By Reviewed by Harriet Cunningham
Orpheus in the Underworld
Sydney Opera House, February 28, until March 27
In Orpheus in the Underworld, Offenbach and his librettist Halevy took aim at both the indolent ruling class and the lowest common denominator of public opinion. As they say, plus ca change …
Brilliant ... Mitchell Butel as John Styx.Credit: Lisa Tomasetti
In this updated version of the 2003 production, Jonathan Biggins and co-librettist Phil Scott have not had to try too hard to find contemporary targets. Before the overture is finished Public Opinion, a commanding Suzanne Johnston clad in a dress emblazoned with ''Please Explain'', has told us what she likes and, more importantly, what she does not. It is a great moment and sets the tone for a riotous evening.
The story goes thus: Orpheus and Eurydice have the kind of marriage that divorce lawyers dream of. Eurydice wants more and gets it with a handy shepherd, Aristaeus, who is, of course, Pluto in disguise.
Orpheus wants less but is persuaded by Public Opinion to go in half-hearted pursuit of his wandering wife. Cue onstage fireworks, dancing boys and cries of ''Oh, my gods''.
Opera Australia fields a strong cast, with its tongue firmly in cheek at all times. Andrew Brunsdon is an eloquent and suitably repellent Orpheus but the stage is dominated by Rachelle Durkin's rapacious Eurydice, who manages to dance like Ginger Rogers and sing like an angel.
There are many juicy roles for the ensemble, including Sian Pendry as a whiny Venus and Jane Ede as the statuesque Diana. Stephen Smith plays Mercury with puppy-like enthusiasm and Christopher Hillier is a solid Jupiter.
The weakest link is Pluto. Casting a charismatic music theatre artist like Todd McKenney in this role looks good on paper but in practice he stands out for all the wrong reasons: the amplification does his singing no favours; his acting is pitched just the wrong side of pantomime and, sadly, he barely gets to dance.
Mitchell Butel, pictured, on the other hand, absolutely nails the cameo role of John Styx.
Otherwise, this production is all about the laughs. Mark Thompson's design is full of visual gags, and the surtitles spell out Biggins' and Scott's barbed libretto.
The Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra sound ragged but hopefully this will correct during the run. Hellishly good.