Orpheus in the Underworld

Overture for Jacques Offenbach's operetta written by the Austrian composer Carl Binder in 1860, on the occasion of the first Viennese performance which followed the exceptional success achieved in the Parisian theatres.

Jacques Offenbach, for the first version of the Orphée composed in 1858, did not write any overture, he would write one for the version in the form of an opera buffa in quatto of 1874 for the Theâtre de la Gaité. Since in the Viennese theaters the presence of the instrumental introductory piece was considered obligatory, Carl Binder composed one based exclusively on thematic material taken from Offenbach's work, including the most famous piece, the Galop Infernale (known to the general public with the title of Can can) which effectively concludes the overture.