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Orpheus in the Underworld

Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2006 10:42 am
by cambrook
Does this Offenbach opera have tuba part? I know the arrangement of the overture that is normally played does have a part, but I'm not sure about the original opera itself.

Thanks in advance,

Cam

Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2006 1:33 pm
by TUBAMUSICIAN87
The Crane School of Music did Orpheus in the underworld last semester and I did not see any tubists in the pit. Kind of interesting how the Opera it was spoofed off of L'Orpheo by Claudio Monteverdi was written 400 years ago(1606)

Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2006 11:38 pm
by MikeMason
just as a (nearly useless) tidbit, I know many opera companies use reduced orchestrations,which usually means no tuba even if the original opera has one.I'm falling victim to this practice this season...

Posted: Sat Oct 14, 2006 4:31 am
by corbasse
Alphonse Leduc lists 2222 2230 , so that would mean no tuba. But, there's a further 5 players on stage and a 11 piece fanfare backstage, and they don't list the orchestration for that.....

Posted: Sat Oct 14, 2006 7:44 pm
by Erin
TUBAMUSICIAN87 wrote: Kind of interesting how the Opera it was spoofed off of L'Orpheo by Claudio Monteverdi was written 400 years ago(1606)
What do you mean by "spoofed", exactly?

Monteverdi and Offenbach both wrote operas about Orpheus and Eurydice, but so did Luigi Rossi, Johann Josef Fux, Christoph Gluck and Jacopo Peri.

Orpheus is a character from Greek mythology. It was he who nagivated the Argonauts past the Sirens by playing beautiful music on his lyre to distract the soldiers from the enticing song of the Sirens. (Although it is the story of his descent into the underworld to retrieve his wife, Eurydice, that is the subject of the operas.)

Is there any evidence that the Offenbach work is a direct spoof of the Monteverdi opera?

Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2006 12:28 pm
by TUBAMUSICIAN87
that is a good point, ive just always considered the offenbach as such as its a comedic opperetta based off the orpheus and euridice(spelling?) story wich i associate with the Claudio Monteverdi version, my appologies