History Theatre / OrpheusInTheUnderworld

* SettingUpdate: Several adaptations of the opera place it in the modern day or close to it, with humorous additions like Mercury arriving on rollerskates or a bike and Juno displaying photos of Jupiter's ''many'' lovers.

* AnachronismStew: The opera is essentially an Ancient Greek tragedy [[LighterAndSofter morphed into a]] [[DenserAndWackier ridiculous comedy]]. Also, in the final act, everyone sings and dances to a French Can-Can, which first appeared in the late 19th Century.

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Enter Jacques Offenbach's ''Orpheus in the Underworld'', a comic parody first performed in 1858 that lampooned 250 years of Orphean operas, as well as the decadent nobility of the day. Both praised and lambasted for the same reasons, it's essentially the ''Film/{{Airplane}}'' of opera--skewering familiar tropes, characters, and scenarios so thoroughly that ''serious'' retellings of the myth were hard to find for years afterward.

* AdaptationalAlternateEnding: Some versions of the show have [[spoiler:John Styx]] as Eurydice's final pick instead of Bacchus.

* AdaptationalAlternateEnding: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UJHyCOpNP4 This production]] has [[spoiler:John Styx]] as Eurydice's final pick instead of Bacchus.

* SettingUpdate: Several adaptations of the opera place it in the modern day or close to it, with humorous additions like Mercury arriving on rollerskates and Juno displaying photos of Jupiter's ''many'' lovers.

* NatureAbhorsAVirgin: Artemis is ''supposed'' to be virginal but really wants to get it on with her boyfriend; Jupiter nips this in the bud by turning him into a stag.

has several patter songs.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: While many Orpheus operas have a small cast of characters, this one goes all-out and brings in the ''many'' gods from Olympus, all with their own quirks.

Orpheus and Eurydice, in contrast to the Greek myth, are an unhappily married couple. Between Orpheus's terrible violin playing and Eurydice's thirst for adventure, each is pining for someone different--Orpheus for the shepherdess Chloe, and Eurydice for a mysterious shepherd who calls himself Aristaeus. Little does she know he's actually Pluto, Lord of the Underworld, in disguise, and with help from Orpheus she's successfully killed and taken to the Underworld, where Pluto plans to make her his bride.

Unfortunately for Orpheus, Public Opinion demands he go and rescue his wife, and unfortunately for Pluto, the gods and goddesses of Olympus aren't pleased at his shenanigans. Jupiter leads the charge in an expedition to Hades, hoping to seize Eurydice for himself, while Orpheus reluctantly takes up the call to rescue Eurydice. In the end, while it's hardly a traditional take on the story, it ends as happily as it can-can.

Orpheus and Eurydice, in contrast to the Greek myth, are an unhappily married couple. Between Orpheus's terrible violin playing and Eurydice's thirst or adventure, each is pining for someone different--Orpheus for the shepherdess Chloe, and Eurydice for a mysterious shepherd who calls himself Aristaeus. Little does she know he's actually Pluto, Lord of the Underworld, in disguise, and with help from Orpheus she's successfully killed and taken to the Underworld, where Pluto plans to make her his bride.

Orpheus and Eurydice are an unhappily married couple, each pining for someone different--Orpheus for the shepherdess Chloe, and Eurydice for a mysterious shepherd who calls himself Aristaeus. Little does she know he's actually Pluto, Lord of the Underworld, in disguise, and with help from Orpheus she's successfully killed and taken to the Underworld, where Pluto plans to make her his bride.

* DoubleStandardRapeDivineOnMortal: Pluto kidnaps Eurydice to have her as his bride/lover. Jupiter then frees her for the same reason...but Jupiter's such a fun guy that she doesn't care (he's better than stupid boring Orpheus).

* HypocriticalHumor: Jupiter condemns Pluto's philandering when he's ''much'' more well-known for bedroom antics, as Juno lampshades.

* AdaptationExpansion: A revision made in 1874 expanded the two-act opera to four, with additional revisions adding optional scenes in Neptune's underwater kingdom.

Unfortunately for Orpheus, Public Opinion demands he go and rescue his wife, and unfortunately for Pluto, the gods and goddesses of Olympus aren't pleased at his shenanigans. Jupiter leads the charge in an expedition to Hades, hoping to seize Eurydice for himself. In the end, while it's hardly a traditional take on the story, it ends as happily as it can-can.

* TheUnitelligible: Played for laughs when Jupiter tries to seduce Eurydice in the form of a fly; his portion of the song is nothing but buzzing.