Toronto City Opera opened a two show run of Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld at (a very steamy) Trinity St. Paul’s on Saturday evening. It was auspicious in several ways. It, technically, marked the 80th anniversary of the organisation, which apparently had its origin at Central Tech in 1946 followed by many years as a TDSB Adult Ed programme at the Bickford Death Trap Centre. But really, TCO as we know it began life with the split from TDSB in 2018 and what’s notable about this latest production is that it’s their first with orchestra; the North York Concert Orchestra to be precise. And that really is a milestone!

Besides orchestra, this production has a number of attractive features. It uses a breezy English translation which makes it much easier for English speakers; on stage and in the audience, to appreciate the humour of the dialogue. There are judicious cuts; the John Styx scene for instance is pretty much gone (and that’s no bad thing!). They have cast young singers who, besides being excellent vocally, are good movers and look good. Offenbach and his management would never have underestimated the value of eye candy! There’s no scenery of course but very clever projections (Nathan Bruce) onto the organ work very well. And it’s all super lively and fast paced thanks to Amanda Testini’s judicious direction and choreography.

Let’s talk about the cast. Orpheus in the Underworld, like The Marriage of Figaro, is really more about the leading lady than the title character and here Eurydice is played by Teresa Tucci. She’s got the notes and the coloratura and she’s a great mover. She also projects, quite tangibly, that sense of dissatisfaction with everyone and everything that is so central to the character (and several other femmes fatales of literary note). She’s also got a flair for comedy.

Two men are also critical to the piece; the brothers Jupiter and Pluto. The former is played by Matthew Black and his handling of the dialogue is brilliant. He’s really funny but it’s hard to put one’s finger on exactly why. He just is! The big “fly sex” scene with Eurydice is right up there. The pair work brilliantly together and almost match the gold standard for lasciviousness set by Nathalie Dessay and Laurent Naouri. Opera’s filthiest scene did not disappoint. Christian Matta’s Pluto is strongly sung, splendidly wicked and also fu nny in a dead pan kind of way.

There are no weak links in the supporting cast. Jeffrey Liu sings well and is properly pathetic as Orpheus and Jada Alexiou manages an air of unshakeable moral superiority as Public Opinion that is really very amusing. Lis Soderberg as Juno is suitably acid and the younger goddesses; Aemelia Moser as Minerva, Megan Carney as Venus and Ana Isabella Castro add vocal pyrotechnics and glamour to the party scenes. The chorus too does really well, even managing to find some members who do a creditable job of the Can Can.

I didn’t know what to expect of the orchestra; never having heard them before but they were good. Concert Master David Rehner played all Orpheus’ solos very nicely and there was some excellent solo playing from Wendy Bornstein on oboe too. Rafael Luz conducted very efficiently and made a real contribution to a fast paced, well co-ordinated show.

This might be the best TCO show I’ve seen (though Susannah in 2024 would run it close). Let’s hope they can keep up the standard!

Photo credits: Dahlia Katz