CANCELLED: NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester / NDR Chor / Marc Minkowski

Even if rockets are shooting into the sky outside, the biggest fireworks display on New Year’s Eve doesn’t take place in front of the Elbphilharmonie, but inside. For the third year running, the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and Choir offer a programme of light music to see the old year out and the new one in. After the witty and sparkling performances of »Die Fledermaus« and »My Fair Lady« the two previous years, tonight’s concert features another operetta masterpiece, Offenbach’s »Orpheus in the Underworld«.

Jacques Offenbach’s satire of the Greek Orpheus legend was premiered in Paris in 1858, and soon took the world’s theatres by storm. No wonder: the story of the unhappy marriage of the singer-songwriter of the ancient world and his beloved Eurydice is not only hilarious – with numbers like the legendary »can-can of hell« it also contains some of the catchiest tunes in music history. To this day, »Orpheus in the Underworld« remains one of the biggest stage hits of all time. In the Elbphilharmonie, Offenbach’s delightful score can be heard on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, with the French conductor Marc Minkowski leading the NDR ensembles and first-class soloists through two exhilarating evenings.