Best Offenbach
Offenbach’s *La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein* is a French operetta from 1867. The work uses satire to critique military excess and aristocratic folly following the Franco-Prussian War. Featuring music by Jacques Offenbach and a libretto by Henri Bazin, it premiered with Hortense Schneider as the le...
Jacques Offenbach’s *Orpheus in the Underworld* is a 1858 French operetta blending mythology and satire. This opera-bouffe features memorable melodies and comedic characters, notably the infamous “Galop infernal.” Its vibrant depiction of the underworld and playful critique of societal norms make it...
The Tales of Hoffmann is a French opéra fantastique by Jacques Offenbach, loosely based on three short stories by the German Romantic author E. T. A. Hoffmann. Featuring a libretto by Jules Barbier, the opera follows the poet Hoffmann as he recounts the tragic love affairs of his past. Offenbach die...
This text is the libretto for La Belle Hélène, an opéra bouffe composed by Jacques Offenbach with words written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. The work premiered at the Théâtre des Variétés in Paris in 1864, offering a satirical retelling of the mythological elopement of Helen of Troy. The lib...
Jacques Offenbach’s *Les contes d'Hoffmann* is a French opera first performed in 1881. The work blends fantastical elements with a tragic romantic narrative, showcasing Offenbach’s skill in operatic composition and his ability to incorporate diverse musical styles. It remains a significant piece wit...
The Théâtre des Variétés is a theater located on the Boulevard Montmartre in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, inaugurated in 1807. Throughout the 19th century, it specialized in opéra-comique, pantomime, and vaudeville, serving as the primary stage for several works by Jacques Offenbach, including L...
Les brigands is an operetta by Jacques Offenbach composed in 1869. The French work utilizes a libretto by Henri Meilhac and Albert Halévy to satirize theft within various social classes. It employs traditional operatic conventions alongside comedic elements, reflecting the opéra bouffe genre popular...
Barbe-bleue is a French operetta by Jacques Offenbach, composed in 1866. It adapts Charles Perrault’s “Bluebeard” featuring a satirical libretto by Ernest Meilhac and Henri Bazin alongside music by Offenbach. The work gained recognition for its blend of comedic elements and dark themes, offering a u...
La fille du tambour-major is an operetta by Jacques Offenbach premiered in 1879. It’s notable for being one of his final works and a significant achievement within his prolific career as a composer of opéra comique. The story, set during the Napoleonic era, blends military themes with romantic intri...
Jacques Offenbach’s *Orphée aux enfers* is a French operetta from 1858. It utilizes the *opéra bouffon* form to deliver satirical commentary on Greek mythology, particularly through its darkly humorous depiction of the underworld. The work features the memorable “Infernal Galop,” a lively and chaoti...
Un mari à la porte (A Husband at the Door) is a one-act French operetta by Jacques Offenbach, first performed in Paris in 1859. The plot centers on a comic situation involving a composer who becomes trapped in a bridal chamber. The work belongs to the genre of opéra bouffe that Offenbach popularized...
Le voyage dans la lune is an opéra-féerie by Jacques Offenbach, with a French libretto by Albert Vanloo, Eugène Leterrier, and Arnold Mortier. Premiered at the Théâtre de la Gaîté in Paris in 1875, it loosely draws on lunar-travel ideas associated with Jules Verne while presenting them as comic fant...
"La belle Hélène" is an opéra bouffe in three acts by Jacques Offenbach, featuring a witty French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. Premiering at the Théâtre des Variétés in Paris in 1864, the operetta is a satirical spoof of the Greek myth surrounding the abduction of Helen of Troy. The...
"Fantasio" is an opéra comique in three acts composed by Jacques Offenbach, with a French libretto by Paul Boisselot based on an 1834 play by Alfred de Musset. Premiering in 1872 at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, the work initially struggled to find success during the composer's lifetime. It features a...
Le roi Carotte is an opéra bouffe féerie by Jacques Offenbach, with a French libretto by Victorien Sardou. First performed in Paris in 1872, it combines comic opera, fantasy spectacle, and political satire in a story involving the magical rise of the vegetable King Carrot. The original production wa...
La princesse de Trébizonde is a French opéra bouffe by Jacques Offenbach, with a libretto by Charles-Louis-Étienne Nuitter and Étienne Tréfeu. It premiered in Baden-Baden in 1869 and was subsequently expanded for a Paris production later that year, during the same period as Offenbach's Les brigands....
Monsieur Choufleuri restera chez lui is a one-act opérette bouffe composed by Jacques Offenbach, premiering in Paris in 1861. The plot centers on a bourgeois man who attempts to host a high-society gathering featuring famous Italian singers. When the professionals fail to appear, the host forces his...
Le pont des soupirs is an opéra bouffe by Jacques Offenbach, set in Venice with a French libretto by Hector Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy. It premiered in 1861 in a two-act version, followed by a four-act version in 1868. The work parodies historical and romantic operatic tropes set against a backdrop...
"La chanson de Fortunio" is a one-act opéra-comique composed by Jacques Offenbach, premiering in 1861. The piece features a libretto by Hector Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy and functions as a sequel to Molière's 1662 stage play "The School for Wives." It is structured as a light, witty French operetta...
"Robinson Crusoé" is an opéra comique in three acts by Jacques Offenbach, with a libretto by Hector Crémieux and Eugène Cormon loosely based on Daniel Defoe's 1719 novel. Premiering at the Opéra-Comique in Paris in 1867, it features a more ambitious and larger-scale musical score compared to many of...
Le 66 is a one-act operetta composed by Jacques Offenbach that premiered in Paris in 1856. The plot centers on two Tyrolean brothers who jointly purchase a winning lottery ticket bearing the number 66. It features a humorous narrative driven by themes of greed and deception, characteristic of Offenb...
Ba-ta-clan is a one-act opéra bouffe composed by Jacques Offenbach with a French libretto by Ludovic Halévy. Premiering in 1855 at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens, it represents Offenbach's first major success in the genre. The plot is a chinoiserie satire set in a fantastical version of China, sp...
"La Périchole" is an opéra bouffe in three acts by Jacques Offenbach, featuring a libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. The work premiered at the Théâtre des Variétés in Paris in 1868 and is based on the play "Le Carrosse du Saint-Sacrement" by Prosper Mérimée. The narrative is set in 18th-c...
“Gaîté Parisienne,” choreographed by Raymond Massine, is a vibrant and technically demanding ballet showcasing Parisian street life through energetic ensemble numbers and intricate partnering sequences, particularly noted for its innovative use of the “Massine” style.
La belle Lurette is an opéra bouffe by French composer Jacques Offenbach, one of his final stage works left incomplete at the time of his death in October 1880. The work was completed and premiered posthumously, joining other late Offenbach compositions such as Les contes d'Hoffmann that were finish...
M. Choufleuri restera chez lui le... is a one-act opéra bouffe composed by Jacques Offenbach. It premiered in 1861 at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens in Paris. The work serves as a satirical parody of the Parisian bourgeoisie's intense fascination with Italian bel canto opera and the social preten...
Madame Favart is an opéra comique in three acts by Jacques Offenbach, with a French libretto by Alfred Duru and Henri Chivot, premiered in 1878 at the Théâtre des Folies-Dramatiques in Paris. The plot concerns the real-life 18th-century actress Justine Favart and her adventures during the Wars of th...
"Le docteur Ox" is an opéra bouffe in three acts by Jacques Offenbach, with a French libretto by Arnold Mortier and Philippe Gille. It is based on the 1872 science fiction short story "Dr. Ox's Experiment" by Jules Verne. The comic opera premiered at the Théâtre des Variétés in Paris on January 26,...
"Geneviève de Brabant" is an opéra bouffe in three acts by Jacques Offenbach, first performed in 1859. The work is a satirical adaptation of a medieval legend concerning a falsely accused wife, drawing parallels to the story of Genevieve of Brabant. The score is particularly notable for its "Gendarm...
La vie parisienne is a French opéra bouffe by Jacques Offenbach, with a libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, first performed in Paris in 1866. Through mistaken identities, romantic schemes, tourists, servants, and fashionable social gatherings, it satirizes metropolitan life during France's...
