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Join us for the new production of Offenbach’s joyous operetta ‘Orpheus in the Underworld’ by the English National Opera with Three-Course Champagne Dinner at The Savoy Hotel
£147.00
Join us for the new production of Offenbach’s joyous operetta ‘Orpheus in the Underworld’ by the English National Opera to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the composer’s birth.
The star-studded cast includes the world-acclaimed British soprano Mary Bevan, the illustrious international bass-baritone Sir Willard White, and Lucia Lucas, the first female baritone in opera.
The date is Wednesday, October 23, 2019, and we have secured excellent tickets in the Orchestra Stalls at the London Coliseum so our Members can enjoy this new opera production to the full, opening with a delicious Three-Course Champagne Dinner at The Savoy Hotel. For details, read on!
This will be an evening of pure enjoyment and entertainment: the much awaited new production of Offenbach’s marvellous operetta ‘Orpheus in the Underworld’ for the English National Opera in this, the 200th anniversary of the composer’s birth. This will be a fabulous evening of glorious music, opera, dance, satire, burlesque, classical parody and ribald good humour, opening with a delicious Three-Course Champagne Dinner at The Savoy Hotel.
It will also be a chance to see some of opera’s brightest stars: the celebrated international soprano Mary Bevan alongside the great bass-baritone Sir Willard White, widely considered one of the best opera stars of his generation. They are joined by Ed Lyon, one of our most sought-after tenors, and, making international headlines this year, a female baritone, Lucia Lucas, described by critics as possessing ‘arguably one of the most powerful and beautiful baritone voices you could hear’.
This glitzy new production by the creative director of Shakespeare’s Globe, Emma Rice, promises much. It is, says Daniel Kramer, artistic consultant, ‘Full of luscious imagery, glamorous Hollywood costumes, dancing, and naughtiness.’ The operetta is also the ultimate in parodic comedy, and considered to be the first great full-length classical French operetta. It will showcase Rice’s talents for theatrical spectacle—and give full rein to the ENO headline for the production: ‘Heaven’s overrated. Hell is where the party’s at’. On the cards: pure, heart-lifting pleasure.
It will also be a sell-out performance—so we are delighted to have secured excellent seats in the Orchestra Stalls to make sure our Members do not miss this joyful new production—having first enjoyed a delicious Champagne Three-Course Dinner at the glittering Savoy Hotel, only minutes from the opera house.
The ENO are featuring four works on the theme of Orpheus and Eurydice in this their new season—and this is a new production of the operetta in which, unlike Gluck and others, Offenbach gives the story an ironic satirical twist. When it opened in Paris in October 1858 it prompted an outcry from critics for ‘irreverence and profanity’, thereby ensuring an immediate box office success.
It is a showcase of Offenbach’s virtuoso light opera and satiric joie de vivre, a comic work presenting the denizens of Mount Olympus in a funhouse mirror, a satire on everything from Napoleon and his government to classical mythology. In Offenbach’s version, Orpheus and his wife Eurydice are amicably living separate lives, each occupied with a new lover. As in Gluck’s version, Eurydice is fatally bitten by a snake, but, rather than dying tragically, she willingly relocates to the Underworld to be with Pluto, ruler of Hades, and, when incarnated as a mortal, her own former lover.
Offenbach was equally irreverent in terms of music, pairing courtly minuets with high-kicking can-cans and quoting satirically from Gluck’s earlier opera. This is the operetta in which one of the most famous pieces in the world, the can-can music ‘Gallop Infernal’—later adopted to accompany the high-kickers of the Moulin Rouge and the Folies Bergère—bestrides a cascade of enchanting arias, sweeping waltzes and haunting laments.
Through our special arrangements with the English National Opera and The Savoy Hotel, tickets for the full evening, including Orchestra Stalls seat for the Opera, delicious Three-Course Pre-Theatre Champagne Dinner at The Savoy, service charge, VAT and your taxi to the opera, is only £147 instead of the full £190.
Starring as Eurydice is Mary Bevan, summed up by one leading opera critic as ‘living up to all the notions of the celebrated, international, successful opera diva. She is young, she is beautiful, she is talented, she is in demand for opera and concert scenes across most of Europe, and on the official press photos she looks like a million dollars’. Hauntingly lovely, and with a cut-glass soprano, Mary Bevan a not only radiant but dramatically brilliant. She stars alongide the young rising star Ed Lyon, already one of Britain’s most sought-after and versatile tenors.
Sir Willard White, now aged 71, ‘still impressive of torso and timbre’, remains at the height of his long and illustrious career, singing in every great opera house in the world after making his professional debut at New York City Opera in ‘La bohème’ in 1974. He says of the bass-baritone voice: ‘It’s often seen as the voice of God because it’s so resonant and powerful. But it’s good at being the devil too … ‘ As Offenbach’s Jupiter, king of the gods, the parallel is a good one. Wherever Sir Willard White sings, the tributes follow: ‘What a joy it was to welcome the massively experienced Sir Willard White. His acting was a joy, and his voice was miraculous.’ And again, ‘Pity anyone who appears on the same platform as bass-baritone Willard White. He has so much presence he can eclipse an entire symphony orchestra and chorus with a mere twitch of an eyebrow.’
And then there is the first female baritone in opera, Lucia Lucas as Public Opinion. She has been making headlines this year, performing in her native America as Don Giovanni—the first transgender singer to star in such a prominent role. The accolades were tumultuous: ‘Lucia Lucas is nothing short of a revelation. She possesses a voice that can rattle the rafters with its power, without ever sacrificing subtlety of expression. It is a voice filled with character in every sense.’ Writes another leading critic: ‘She has her own sound. It sparkles. It has flecks of light like gold.’ This will be the first time audiences in the UK can hear her unique baritone, and witness her extraordinary stage presence.
With Alan Oke, baritone turned tenor and Glyndebourne favourite, mezzo-soprano Anne-Marie Owens and the full ENO company and orchestra, the evening promises to be filled with entertainment and fascinating surprises. The brilliant Sian Edwards, former ENO Music Director, has returned to conduct.
This enjoyable evening will be made even more memorable by a Three-Course Champagne Dinner in the famously stylish Kaspar’s restaurant at the glittering Savoy Hotel. Tickets for the full evening, including Orchestra Stalls ticket for the Opera, Three-Course Pre-Theatre Champagne Dinner at The Savoy, VAT, service charge and your taxi to whisk you on to the London Coliseum for the performance, cost only £147 for CountryClubuk Members, instead of the full value of £190.
We have only a limited number of tickets, so please book now: Click here to book tickets for the full event, including Champagne dinner. Or call the Member Services team on 020 7399 2960. If you prefer to book tickets only, please click here.
To extend the pleasure of the evening with a luxurious stay at The Savoy, or at another of our specially selected hotels and clubs at your exclusive Club rates, please call us on 020 7399 2960, or click here for an immediate availability check.
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