Aristaeus, c'est moi

And so to the opera. I have been for a bit of bouffe, in the form of an amateur production of Offenbach's 'Orphée aux enfers' by the Leeds Gilbert and Sullivan Society. There are many musical excerpts from opera that have entered the popular consciousness: Nessun Dorma from 'Turandot', the Toreador Song from Carmen, Figaro's aria from 'The Barber of Seville' and many more. But I would wager that this operetta contains the best known; a piece of music that everyone could hum (after a fashion), name (wrongly) and do the dance (badly). These, on the other hand, dance it well:

This production was set in two competing underwear companies, a conceit which worked very well indeed. I especially liked the idea that the firm representing Olympus and the living world only produced grey clothes while those of the underworld were colourful in the extreme; Pluto's helpers (Pants People) were dressed as a sort of Victorian Steampunk meets Teletubbies mashup. As Nietzsche put it "In heaven, all the interesting people are missing".

The orchestra - whose limited numbers only really became apparent during the overture - were very good, the ensemble singing was excellent and while the singing of the principals was perhaps patchy, some (Diana and Jupiter in particular) were very fine indeed. A special mention must go to Jason Weightman as Pluto, partly for his kilt, but also for being the only one to do the splits during the Infernal Gallop. I had never seen this company before and didn't know what to expect, but I have to say that it was a highly enjoyable night out.

And, more relevantly than you might imagine, here's Roger Moore talking about tortoises: