OFFENBACH – Infernal Gallop (‘Can-Can’) from the opera ‘Orpheus in the Underworld’) – FOUR CELLOS, OR CELLO ORCHESTRA (easy)

Other Identification:
The cancan is believed to have evolved from the final figure in the quadrille, which is a social dance by four couples. The exact origin of the dance is obscure, but the steps may have been inspired by a popular entertainer of the 1820s, Charles Mazurier, well known for his acrobatics, including the grand écart or jump splits – both popular features of the cancan.

The dance was considered scandalous, and for a while, there were attempts to repress it. The early cancan dancers were probably prostitutes, but by the 1890s, it was possible to earn a living as a full-time dancer and stars such as La Goulue and Jane Avril emerged, who were highly paid for their appearances at the Moulin Rouge and elsewhere.

Many composers have written music for the cancan. The most famous music is French composer Jacques Offenbach’s Galop Infernal in his operetta Orphée aux Enfers (Orpheus in the Underworld). The work, first performed in 1858, is said to be the first classical full-length operetta. Offenbach’s earlier operettas were small-scale one-act works, since the law in France did not allow full-length works of certain genres.

The first performance of the two-act, opéra bouffe version took place at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens in Paris on 21 October 1858 and ran for an initial 228 performances. It then returned to the stage a few weeks later, after the cast had been given a rest. Orpheus was not only longer, but more musically adventurous than Offenbach’s earlier pieces. Titled by Offenbach as the “Infernal Galop” from Act 2, Scene 2, the piece is famous outside classical circles as simply the music for the “can-can” to the extent that the tune is widely, but erroneously, called just “can-can”!
Enjoy the music!!