Offenbach´s Orpheus in the Underworld is by some considered to be his best operetta, marking a quantum leap from his previous works. Certainly it marked an advance in his oeuvre from the little one-acters he had done before. It retells the story of Orpheus and Eurydice with rather broad references to then-current 1858 Paris society. The music from this sparkling operetta is probably best known by most from the adaptation of many of its tunes by Manuel Rosenthal for the ballet ´Gaîté Parisienne´ from which a popular suite has been excerpted. For this performance at the Hamburg State Opera, as well as for the television production of Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld, Liebermann chose three performers whose immense popularity in theatre and film history speaks volumes Lieselotte Pulver, Inge Meysel and Theo Lingen. This DVD completes the Hamburg Opera Series on Arthaus, many of which have received excellent reviews in the musical press, including Gramophone and BBC Music Magazine.Technical information Directed for TV by JOACHIM HESS / Artistic Direction by ROLF LIEBERMANN / Sound Format Dolby Digital Mono / Picture Format 43 / Menu Languages GB, D, F, SP / Subtitle Languages GB, D, F, SP, IT / Running Time 101 min / DVD 9 NTSC / Region Code 0