1.
Jacques Offenbach
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Jacques Offenbach was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario of the romantic period. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s–1870s and he was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Johann Strauss, Jr. and Arthur Sullivan. His best-known works were revived during the 20th century. The Tales of Hoffman remains part of the opera repertory. Born in Cologne, the son of a cantor, Offenbach showed early musical talent. At the age of 14, he was accepted as a student at the Paris Conservatoire but found academic study unfulfilling, from 1835 to 1855 he earned his living as a cellist, achieving international fame, and as a conductor. His ambition, however, was to compose pieces for the musical theatre. Finding the management of Paris Opéra-Comique company uninterested in staging his works, there he presented a series of his own small-scale pieces, many of which became popular. In 1858, Offenbach produced his first full-length operetta, Orphée aux enfers, during the 1860s, he produced at least 18 full-length operettas, as well as more one-act pieces. His works from this period included La belle Hélène, La Vie parisienne, La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein, Offenbach became associated with the Second French Empire of Napoleon III, the emperor and his court were genially satirised in many of Offenbachs operettas. Napoleon III personally granted him French citizenship and the Légion dHonneur, with the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, Offenbach found himself out of favour in Paris because of his imperial connections and his German birth. He remained successful in Vienna and London, however and he re-established himself in Paris during the 1870s, with revivals of some of his earlier favourites and a series of new works, and undertook a popular U. S. tour. In his last years he strove to finish The Tales of Hoffmann, but died before the premiere of the opera, Offenbach was born Jacob or Jakob Offenbach to a Jewish family, in the German city of Cologne, which was then a part of Prussia. His birthplace in the Großen Griechenmarkt was a distance from the square that is now named after him. He was the son and the seventh of ten children of Isaac Juda Offenbach né Eberst and his wife Marianne. Isaac, who came from a family, had abandoned his original trade as a bookbinder and earned an itinerant living as a cantor in synagogues. He was generally known as der Offenbacher, after his native town, Offenbach am Main, in 1816 he settled in Cologne, where he became established as a teacher, giving lessons in singing, violin, flute and guitar, and composing both religious and secular music. When Jacob was six years old, his father taught him to play the violin, within two years the boy was composing songs and dances, and at the age of nine he took up the cello
2.
Les deux aveugles
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Les deux aveugles is an 1855 one-act French bouffonerie musicale by Jacques Offenbach. The libretto was written by Jules Moinaux and was a condensation of his 3-act Les musiciens ambulants, the half-hour long piece is a comic sketch about two blind beggars, consisting of an overture and four numbers. Offenbach was bold in making light of the poor. Most Parisians had been pestered by beggars on Parisian street corners, the little piece was an instant hit, praised for its catchy dance tunes, and it soon spread Offenbachs name and music around the world. Les deux aveugles premiered on the night of the Bouffes-Parisiens on 5 July 1855 at the companys first theatre. It was the hit of the evening and was performed at the Salle Lacaze into the fall, after Offenbachs new winter theatre, the Salle Choiseul, opened in December, the show continued to be presented there. A revised version was presented in Paris at a gala at the Opéra-Comiques second Salle Favart on 28 May 1858, with revivals on 6 November 1900,14 December 1910. The first work by Offenbach to be presented in Vienna, it influenced the subsequent career of Karl Treumann. The Opéra de Monte Carlo performed it in French on 7 May 1902 and it had clearly become one of Offenbachs most successful one-act works. A complete performance of Les deux aveugles forms part of the 1996 television film Offenbachs Geheimnis, with Les deux aveugles Offenbach became the darling of Second Empire Paris. His later pieces would continue to mock customs of the day, Offenbachs early operettas were small-scale one-act works, since the law in France limited musical theatre works to one-act pieces with no more than three singers and, perhaps, some mute characters. In 1858, this law was changed, and Offenbach was able to offer full-length works, when passers-by drop coins, the beggars are able to see well enough to retrieve them. To impress each other, they fabricate wild stories, accompanied by singing, the music consists of an overture and four short numbers, of which the bolero, a duet which begins La lune brille, le ciel scintille, is probably the standout. The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre, second edition, london, John Calder,1980 ISBN0714538353 ISBN 0-7145-3835-3, Flemington, NJ, Riverrun Press,1980. Les deux aveugles in Sadie 1992, vol, totowa, New Jersey, Rowman and Littlefield. The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Jacques Offenbach, His Centenary, translated by Theodore Baker, in The Musical Quarterly, vol. Théâtre de lOpéra-Comique Paris, répertoire 1762-1972, OCLC44733987,2174128,78755097 Yon, Jean-Claude
3.
Le violoneux
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Le violoneux is a one-act operetta by Jacques Offenbach to a French libretto by Eugène Mestépès and Émile Chevalet, first performed in 1855. Le violoneux was part of a performance given in April 1860 for the Emperor at the Théâtre-Italien, along with Orphée aux enfers. Offenbach went to Vienna in 1861 to conduct performances of Le mariage aux lanternes, the Opéra-Comique in Paris staged the work in 1901 with Jeanne Tiphaine as Reinette, Lucien Fugère as Père Mathieu and Ernest Carbonne as Pierre. The scene is a square in Brittany. Reinette asks Père Mathieu to help Pierre who is terrified as he has been conscripted in the army and his uncle has refused to help him with the money and sent him packing. Pierre is not happy when his sweetheart Reinette suggests approaching Mathieu, Père Mathieu inherited the violin from his father along with the mysterious command to break the instrument in pieces if ever Mathieu is in an emergency, which he has yet to do. When Mathieu plays a song he bewitches Pierre, who when it is over runs off, alone with Mathieu, Rienette threatens to run after Pierre and become a cantinière. Alone, Reinette embraces the old fiddle – the livelihood of her guardian, Pierre catches her doing this and angrily smashes the instrument. Among the broken pieces, it reveals its mystery, a letter, Matthieu offers the money for Pierre to avoid conscription and marry Reinette and tears up the letter. Pierre offers to repair the violin, and Matthieu says he will remain a poor fiddler
4.
Ba-ta-clan
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Ba-ta-clan is a chinoiserie musicale in one act with music by Jacques Offenbach to an original French libretto by Ludovic Halévy. It was first performed at the Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens, Paris, the operetta uses set numbers and spoken dialogue and runs for under an hour. Ba-ta-clan was Offenbachs first big success, and opened his new winter theatre, the witty piece satirised everything from contemporary politics to grand opera conventions. It was frequently revived in Paris, London and New York for decades, in 1858, this law was changed, and Offenbach was able to offer full-length works, beginning with Orpheus in the Underworld. In 1864, a music-hall called Bataclan opened in Paris, named after the operetta, the action takes place in Ché-i-no-or - in the gardens of the palace of the Emperor Fè-ni-han, with kiosks and pagodas. Ko-ko-ri-ko, chief of the guard is the head of a conspiracy to dethrone the Emperor and they leave, and the princess Fé-an-nich-ton reads a book - La Laitière de Montfermeil by Paul de Kock, she notices that Ké-ki-ka-ko is leafing through a copy of La Patrie. They realize that each of them is not Chinese, but French, Ké-ki-ka-ko is the Viscount Alfred Cérisy, once shipwrecked on the coast of China and captured, tortured and brought to the palace and condemned to only repeat the rebels song Ba-ta-clan. The two Parisians reflect wistfully of home, and Fé-an-nich-ton sings the Ronde de Florette and they both decide to run away, dancing as they go. The conspirators return, but when alone, Fè-ni-han laments on his lot, he is actually Anastase Nourrisson, Ko-ko-ri-ko comes back threateningly and he and Fè-ni-han sing a duo in made-up Italian in the style of Bellini. In fact Fé-an-nich-ton and Ké-ki-ka-ko have been caught by Ko-ko-ri-ko while trying to flee, and the emperor has been asked for the death penalty and he now makes the same offer to Ké-ki-ka-ko who naturally refuses, and asks why an insurrection is being plotted. Fè-ni-han, it seems, through not speaking Chinese had accidentally impaled the five most virtuous people in the land, Ké-ki-ka-ko threatens to join the conspiracy so both summon the conspirators with the Ba-ta-clan anthem. All ends happily with a reprise of the Ba-ta-clan anthem, and Fé-an-nich-ton, Ké-ki-ka-ko, while the historical butt of the satire, Napoléon III, has passed, the situation mocked is timeless, the emperor Fé-ni-han being able to represent any great ruler on earth. Kracauer summed up the target of the piece as, “Power is a joke, the Mikado by Arthur Sullivan, first performed in 1885. Information about the operetta Opera-opera plot summary Operadis discography, accessed 11 March 2011
5.
Tromb-al-ca-zar, ou Les criminels dramatiques
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Tromb-al-ca-zar, ou Les criminels dramatiques is a bouffonnerie musicale in one act of 1856 with music by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was by Charles-Désiré Dupeuty and Ernest Bourget, with its dialogue containing plays on words and stage business from contemporary Parisian dramas and operas, it is described by Kracauer as satirizing the romantic bandits of grand opera. Tromb-al-ca-zar was premiered in the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens, Salle Choiseul in Paris, as well as extravagant parodies both of specific more serious musical works, the work pokes fun at the brigand element in romantic opera generally. Tromb-al-ca-zar was performed in Brussels in September 1858 and in Vienna in March 1862, the interior of an inn near Saint-Jean-de-Luz The inn-keeper Ignace bemoans his lot at his isolated inn, with no customers. Having abandoned his cousin Simplette he lives in fear of bandit raids, vert-Panné, Gigolette and other members of the company now also seek refuge in the inn. They had all been jeered from the stage during a performance the night in a neighbouring town. In a trio they quote from various stage and popular works of the day, including Félicien Davids chanson Les Hirondelles. They are about to depart when Ignace calls for help to set the table for dinner, as they accept the invitation to eat, Ignace – aside – recognises in Gigolette his cousin, while she – also aside – recognises Ignace. After singing the praises of ham, they accept kirsch from Ignace and he is brought back in on the quartet about the legendary Tromb-al-ca-zar and eventually, after pleading for mercy, Ignace is enrolled in the troupe, despite his lack of dancing skill. After numerous puns on the word Pau, the ends with a reprise of the song in praise of Bayonne ham, Eh bon, bon, bon. que le vin est bon. avec le jambon de pif, paf, pif, pouf. Overture Recitative and aria Ô rage, ô désespoir, Trio Le crocodile en partant pour la guerre Trio Détaillons Couplets La gitana, ah. Trio Un jambon de Bayonne Quartet Un beau jour Introduction, Valse et Reprise du Trio du jambon Léonce, costume by Draner Pradeau, costume by Draner
6.
La rose de Saint-Flour
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La rose de Saint-Flour is a one-act opérette with music by Jacques Offenbach to a French libretto by Michel Carré, first performed in 1856. The characters in the piece use Auvergnat accents in their dialogue and songs, Pradeau was pure Auvergnat, the work was much revived over the next twenty years and staged in Vienna. It was performed in England as The Rose of Auvergne, the scene is a cabaret run by Pierrette in Saint-Flour Alone, Pierrette bemoans her broken cooking-pot and decides to borrow one when she goes out to buy groceries. She muses on her two admirers, the cobbler Chapailloux and the coppersmith Marcachu, as it is the festival of Saint-Pierre, and there will be dancing that night, she longs for a new pair of shoes with sequins to dance in, and a new unbreakable pot. Marcachu brings in as a token of his love a new cooking-pot for Pierrette, hanging it by the fireplace with a bunch of flowers in, Chapailloux next creeps in and puts his present of shoes on the table. When Pierrette returns a tiff with Marcachu turns into a fight and they prepare the soup, into which unexpected ingredients are placed. When Chapailloux arrives, they eat and discover the contents of the soup, another fight ensues, and Marcachu storms off with his marmite. Pierrette decides she would be better off with Chapailloux and he hesitantly agrees, Chapailloux gives his hand to Pierrette just as Marcachu re-enters to make up for all the damage, giving Pierrette a new chair, crockery and the cooking-pot. A bourrée is heard as the signal for dancing, Marcachu concedes, hoping he might be, comm dans la Dame blanche god-father to their children. They dance and sing Nous nétions ni homms ni femmes – Nous étions tous Auvergnats, commnous nous amujames Trio and finale Je vous épouse et je vous tends la main Notes
7.
Le 66
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Le 66 is an opérette in one act of 1856 with music by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was by Auguste Pittaud de Forges and Laurencin, gänzl describes the work as in the rustic vein of Le violoneux and Le mariage aux lanternes. The premiere was at the Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens Paris, on 31 July 1856, Le 66 remained in the Bouffes Parisiens repertoire, and was played by them in Vienna in 1862. It had already been seen at the Carltheater in that city in 1859, was produced in Budapest in 1860 and it was revived in Paris in 1984 at the Studio Bertrand alongside Pépito. Contemporary critics particularly admired in the score the romance and tyrolienne, en route for Strasbourg two starving travellers reach the outskirts of Stuttgart. Grittly has learnt that her sister is in distress and set off to see her. On meeting a pedlar on the road Frantz wins 100,000 florins in a lottery with the ticket 66 and he borrows money from the pedlar and goes off to the town on a spending spree, returning in expensive grotesque clothes. Grittly and he argue – and then discover that the ticket is actually 99, however, the pedlar turns out to be a rich long-lost relation who wanted to give Frantz a lesson in the dangers of extravagance. » Final « Ah. quel bonheur » Notes Original livret de censure of July 1856, accessed 27 July 2011
8.
Le financier et le savetier
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Le financier et le savetier is a one-act opérette bouffe of 1856 with words by Hector Crémieux and Edmond About, and music by Jacques Offenbach, based on the poem by La Fontaine. In 1842 Offenbach had set The Cobbler and the Financier among a set of six fables of La Fontaine, Le financier et le savetier was first performed in Paris, at the refurbished Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens, on 23 September 1856, and ran into 1857. In 1858 it was performed by the company at Bad Ems, at the Carltheater in Vienna it was staged as Schuhflicker und Millionär in January 1859. A complete recording of Keck’s critical edition was made in 2007, the drawing-room of rich financier Belazor on his name-day, it is 1856 and nine o’clock in the evening A page waits at the entrance, Belazor paces up and down. Larfaillou can be heard singing off-stage, Larfaillou, the cobbler who works downstairs comes in, uninvited, and is asked to leave by Belazor. Larfaillou says he has come to ask for the hand of Belazor’s daughter Aubépine, Belazor asks how he has come to know the girl, and the cobbler replies that he does the repairs for the pensionnat where she stays. The cobbler also admits that the girl’s potential dowry and inheritance are no barriers to his proposal, Belazor stalls his first guests as he gets rid of Larfaillou. Aubépine, released from the pension for the celebration, enters and she then sings a fable, based on that by La Fontaine, but arranged by her school mistresses. A waltz is heard in preparation for dancing, Belazor has a brainwave, invite the cobbler back up and bribe him with 300 écus. Larfaillou comes in and reluctantly accepts the money, alone with Aubépine – who has fallen in love with him – he admits he is no Prince of Gerolstein, but – in a duo with Aubépine – declares his love for her. They wonder how to get round the problem of his lack of money, Aubépine says that she has learnt from her father how to play the stock exchange but as it is nearly midnight and it is closed, Larfaillou challenges one of the guests to a game of lansquenet. Chance is on his side, in the trio he continually beats the guest. Then Belazor plays against him, but loses 8,16, then 32 million, then his house, his spectacles, the cobbler, donning these fine clothes loses his common accent – while Belazor, in the cobbler’s old clothes begins to speak in slang. As a final attempt to annoy his neighbour the financier tries a song of his own, however, as a millionaire now, Larfaillou can again demand the hand of Aubépine. The end of the trio refers to the duo of Blondel, in the scene of ‘jeu d’oie’ in Act II of La belle Hélène Offenbach referred back to Le financier et le savetier. Notes Fontaines fable Le Savetier et le Financier
