When Orpheus's wife Eurydice is carried off to the underworld by Pluto, Orpheus is secretly delighted to be rid of her, but Public Opinion forces him to mount a rescue. In Hades, Jupiter himself has designs on Eurydice, and the gods revolt against their boredom in a wild celebration that culminates in the infamous can-can. Offenbach's irreverent operetta, a satirical demolition of Greek mythology and Second Empire society, launched the golden age of French musical comedy.